When Nas dropped off “Life Is Good” in 2012, it felt like reassurance. A reminder that, in spite of a few concerting personal narratives, his equilibrium was back on track. Fast forward to 2020, where Future and Drake have borrowed the expression for their first major single since What A Time To Be Alive. One might think a moment of humility was upon us; both men have witnessed their personal baggage going public, with Drake admitting to having been “caught slipping” in this very chorus. Yet the stakes have become too high, the fortune too vast. When Future and Drake connect, it’s opulence over everything. It’s part of what makes them such an enjoyable partnership; the hip-hop equivalent to Fraiser and Niles Crane.

For the most part, Drake’s contributions to “Life Is Good” dwell on his material gains, and how they serve to contextualize his cultural dominance. Within the opening lines, he’s already dropped an elite level flex about his acrobatic Patek -- courtesy of Virgil Abloh, esteemed designer and writer of “Brick” on bricks. Shortly thereafter, he’s boasting about a “manor house in Rosewood,” establishing his reach as international. Essentially, he’s reminding his haters that they’re simply beneath him, a brazen cockiness no doubt emboldened by Future Hndrxx, the self-proclaimed “well-known nuisance.” He even makes reference to Kanye West hijacking June 2018 for his Surgical Summer, a move Drizzy deemed to be on some serpentine energy.

It’s interesting to note that while Drake remains adamant that “Life Is Good,” many of his chosen exhibits lead back to material wealth. For an artist who often speaks candidly about his insecurities and doubts on a personal level, some of his material with Future can feel a bit shallow in comparison. Even his section of the instrumental seems to lack any urgency, like a formidable mobster who may or may not have gained a wine gut. Still, what he loses in substance he makes up for in swagger; the duo have a formula and little reason to dete from it. Perhaps Drizzy is simply content to sit shotgun, as he did back on What A Time To Be Alive. In reality, “Life Is Good” remains Future’s show through and through.

Driving that point home further is a beat switch, a tactic that has become a staple in Future’s arsenal. Cementing Fewtch as a man of action, the spooky instrumental picks up the pace accordingly. While Drake opted for a success-is-the-best revenge approach, Future seems content to return to the trenches and handle his business accordingly. “I'm tryna avoid nonsense, get Osama sprayed in this bitch,” he raps. “They had the candlelight lightin' it up, n***a anybody could get it.” Cementing himself as a "poor high class" individual, there's a validity there that speaks to the appeal of Future's image. Even at his bougiest, there's an underlying sense of menace arisen from a hustler's personal experience. And damn it, the formula works. Perhaps simply it's a shared sense of expensive tastes that allow Future and Drake to find common ground -- neither one seems inclined to challenge themselves during a collaboration. It's not like they need to -- when it comes to providing elite-level threatening luxury raps, Future and Drake are the logical conclusion. 

Drake and Future finally bestowed their highly anticipated single, “Life Is Good,” on us today, and the title could not ring more true. Though it was not yet known what the shoot was for, the first hint that a collab was on the way was revealed when the two legends were spotted filming a music video in December, posing as fast food workers. The actual name of the single was revealed last week along with a snippet of the song, followed by an official announcement Thursday that the single would be dropping at midnight. While the world awaits the highly speculated sequel to their joint album What A Time To Be Alive, “Life Is Good” is certainly enough to hold us over.

With the release of “Life Is Good,” Drake decided to put a “face” to some of the lyrics, by posting a photo of the Patek watch he boasts about ont he track. The lyric, “Virgil got the Patek on my wrist doing front flips” in Drake’s first verse could be heard in the snippet that Future shared on his IG story last week, but the Patek watch is mentioned again in the chorus on the line, “Virgil got that Patek on my wrist goin’ nuts.” Drake took to Instagram to show us just which watch that Off White designer Virgil Abloh designed, with a little sarcasm.

“New designer you guys probably have no idea what’s going on in the scene super underground all good I will put you on to Veerjil Ablow,” Drizzy captioned the photo of the green Patek Philippe x Virgil Abloh timepiece, intentionally spelling Virgil’s name wrong and playing the role of the pretentious fashion buff. Virgil appreciated the joke, commenting, “Hahahahaha hahah. It’s too early in the new decade to laugh this hard ????.”

He also shared the same photo on his own account with the caption, “‘no rap cap.'” Drake commented “Front flips,” referring to the lyric in his verse. Drake’s affinity for flashy jewelry has been a recurring theme during this “Life Is Good” hype. After dropping over $400K on a matching chain with Future, it was reported on Friday that he also purchased a $1 million 100-carat diamond heart-shaped chain for himself. Drake is icing himself to a new level for this (hopefully) new WATTBA era, and who can blame him.

Rumors of a new project from Drake and Future have swirled around for a minute, although no confirmation has been made. What is confirmed, though, is that they have new music in the cut. With the number of leaks they've faced, and snippets that have surfaced, it's evident that they got stash worth of unreleased material but the question is: when will it see the light of day?

While we anticipate What A Time To Be Alive 2, an album that may or may not exist, Drake and Future will be releasing their highly anticipated single, "Life Is Good" tomorrow. The song is set to debut on iHeartRadio tomorrow and set to play every hour. This is a great way to kick off the new year, although it's unclear whether the video is supposed to drop tomorrow as well.

The two rappers were previously spotted filming the music video for the song at a burger joint. The two rappers ditched the rapper lifestyle while embracing the fast-food get-up, headset and all. The video is directed by Director X so there's no doubt that it will be a stunning visual overall. 

As Future and Drake continued to ramp up the hype for the single, they recently debuted their matching FBG x OVO chain that had a eagle and owl sitting next to it. Delivered by Jason of Beverly Hills, the two chains are worth $400K.

If the theme ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Ever since they linked up to deliver What A Time To Be Alive in 2015, Drake and Future have been steadily laying the groundwork for a sequel to the bombastic album. Granted, the first one wasn’t all that deep, with both parties essentially reveling in their lavish lifestyles, finding common ground in materialism and the occasional moment of indulgence. Luckily, they did so over crisp production with their respective charisma meters teetering on high. For that reason many still look back fondly on WATTBA, and would not only accept a sequel but actively anticipate it.

 Christopher Polk/Getty Images 

Luckily, all signs point to some new WATTBA2 developments in 2020. After months of teasing the sequel’s existence, including a few behind-the-scenes shots of an upcoming video shoot, Drizzy has officially given the public something to work with. Taking to IG, Drake shared a story of a still from “Life Is Good,” a new video from himself and Future. To be fair, it’s unclear whether the single is set to be one chapter of a greater whole or a standalone piece — either way, it’s something to look forward to.

Judging from the title, which calls back to Nas‘ album of the same name, it seems as if the celebration of life will remain the primary theme our heroes choose to explore. Given all the fancy new toys Drake has procured since the first go-around –an OVO jet, a custom basketball court, and so on– Future certainly has his work cut out for him in this bout of healthy competition. Check out the story while you still can.