The Drake/Meek Mill beef began in 2015 when Meek claimed Drake used a ghostwriter. When Funkmaster Flex leaked some reference tracks, the 6 God seemed to be in trouble. But Drake immediately denied the accusation, and even went into detail regarding his position in an interview two years later. For those of us who grew up in the 1990s—or even the 2000s—the mere accusation was enough to make us apprehensive, though. According to a Rap Radar talk with “God’s Plan” producer Boi-1da, the accusations were blown way out of proportion.
Boi-1da not only claims the longstanding rumors are completely incorrect, but that Drake is one of the most talented artists in the game, as well. “I think Drake is literally one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and he writes his own songs,” he said. “And for someone to try and discredit somebody who I’ve literally seen write songs like he’s writing an essay, it bothers me because I’m close to it. I know he writes his own songs.”
Specifically, the rumor Meek pushed out there was that Atlanta rapper Quentin Miller was responsible for Drake’s bars on the Meek/Drake track “R.I.C.O.” As Boi-1da told Brian ‘B.Dot’ Miller in the aforementioned interview, Drake and Miller had definitely worked together before, in a collaborative manner—but the Drake was very much responsible for his own work. “They collaborated on some songs,” said Boi-1da. “Quentin is really dope, but somebody just made some fake narrative of Drake writing in sweatshops and all this stuff. It’s just not true man.”
Drake has had to talk about this accusation for years, with the 2017 interview with DJ Semtex touching on the matter two full years later. While the rapper's statements were good to hear, they were also oddly worded. “If you ask about any of the biggest Drake records, I’ve done them all, and if you ask about those Quentin Miller records, I was there,” he said. It’s the inclusion of the word “biggest” there, which gives people like me some pause. On the other hand, it’s not a big secret that artists as huge as Drake work together with composers, writers, and people adept at crafting catchy hooks. It’s simply part of the creative process to surround yourself with other productive minds. This ghostwriting theory is now, in 2018, frankly a bit dull. Drake's music is universally beloved, and he doesn't seem to be losing steam.
