There are two sides to Drake: the nice guy, in-his-feelings, emo-rapper, who’s equally praised and clowned for being in touch with his sensitive side; and the bad guy, who’s all bravado, misogyny, and seeking revenge for his broken heart. 

 

On Friday, Drake dropped his new album, Her Loss and the passive aggressive title was a warning about which Drake we got on this one. It’s supposed to be a collaborative project with 21 Savage but he’s been a supporting role. And Drake doesn’t just take the spotlight on the album, the entire conversation around the project isn’t about the two emcees going toe to toe on each track, pushing each other to elevate their skill, because (lol) that didn’t happen. The conversation has been eclipsed by Drake’s unnecessary trolling of Megan Thee Stallion.

How sad is it to think one of the biggest artists in the world is resorting to scandalous name drops for promo? Is this what you do when you’re trying to compete with Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift’s streaming numbers? Is this the plan that’s hatched when the fans didn’t live for your dance album Honestly, Nevermind just a month before Beyoncé resurrected house music? We’re used to Drake lyrics making headlines (how many Instagram captions has he given people with his words) but I wasn’t expecting him to be attacking women for clout. 

 

A subliminal line directed at Megan Thee Stallion happens on the song, “Circo Loco”, when Drake says “This bitch lie 'bout gettin' shots, but she still a stallion”. That sounds like one of the most famous rappers in the world using his massive platform to not just speak on Meg alleging she was by Tory Lanez but taking Tory’s side. Calling her a liar. Dragging a Black woman for personal gain. Megan fired off a few tweets on Friday, making it clear that Drake has joined a growing list of male rappers who are using her traumatic experience for clout. As her lawyer said in a statement, “Despite the irrefutable evidence that Megan was a victim of gun violence, the ignorant continue to support her attacker.”

 

The backlash was fierce. But over the weekend rapper, Lil Yachty (who has a writing credit on the track) said the line isn’t about Megan lying about being shot. Rather, it’s about women lying about getting butt shots and saying their butt is real, when it’s actually fake. He wanted to clear things up because, according to him, Drake’s not going to address it. And that explanation of the lyric makes sense, considered how the line continues: “This bitch lie 'bout gettin' shots, but she still a stallion / She don't even get the joke, but she still smilin'”. But also, how rich of Drake to be talking about anyone not being honest about work they’ve had done when he’s rap’s resident king of cosmetic procedures. Let’s have that conversation. 

I do believe Yachty’s explanation, but (and it’s a big BUT) that doesn’t excuse Drake for using her trauma as a cute reference. Wordplay on lying about the cosmetic augmentations somebody did to get a stallion physique and Megan Thee Stallion lying about Tory Lanez shooting her doesn’t make me laugh. I’m not pausing the song to reflect on how clever you are after hearing that line. It just makes you a dick. And the added layer of gross is that he knew, on first listen, that everyone would think he’s agreeing with Tory Lanez and calling Megan a liar. It doesn’t matter if that’s not what he was saying. The line was constructed to be clickbait on the issue. 

Drake used Megan for clout back in 2019 (when her star was first starting to pop off), flying her out to be a surprise guest at his annual OVO Fest in his hometown. But that situation was mutually beneficial. Now he’s using her once again, except this time she’s hurting while he’s celebrating another #1 album.