While some fans thought Drake would use his Valentine’s Day collab with PARTYNEXTDOOR to address the Kendrick Lamar situation, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U takes a different route.
The 21-track project, dropping a couple years after his team-up with 21 Savage, mostly sticks to relationship talk like the title suggests. But there are some exceptions – particularly two solo Drake tracks that sit side by side on the album: “Brian Steel” and “Gimme a Hug.”
On “Brian Steel,” named after the lawyer handling Young Thug’s RICO case, Drake celebrates Thug getting out before dropping some lines about unnamed beef.
Broski just hit me, said, ‘Put all the beef on the side,’ I can’t
I’m heated now
N***as wanna meet up, talk about shit, I’m vegan now
Evil eyes were staring at me and I see it now
On “Gimme a Hug,” Drake keeps the beef talk going, comparing himself to Neo from The Matrix avoiding shots coming his way.
Drake comes out swinging on the track, appearing to address Ye’s comments from last year, when he discussed “the elimination of Drake” while breaking down his “Like That” remix with Justin Laboy.
Later in verse one, Drake talks about folks wanting “to see RIP me on a t-shirt like I’m Hulk Hogan” while showing love to fans who’ve had his back. He also gets real about why he’s still single and dodging marriage.
He gives 21 Savage a solid shoutout (“Savage, you the only n***a checkin’ on me when we really in some shit”), then takes a jab at fellow Canadian Melyssa Ford for hanging with Joe Budden. But when it comes to beef, Drake hints that’s not what he’s focused on right now, at least on this track.
They be droppin’ shit, but we be droppin’ harder shit
Fuck a rap beef, I’m tryna get the party lit
Tryna get the party lit for the bitches
Them Nike tights is huggin’ on that ass like they missed it
In a cool timing twist, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U drops right after the 10-year mark of Drake’s classic mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, which featured PND. Complex writer Miki Hellerbach celebrated the anniversary by dropping a piece with 12 hidden facts about the project. Last year, we ranked the tape as Drake’s third-best release ever.
