The Best Drake Hooks

Few present-day rappers are as well-known for their hooks as Drake is. Despite what the haters and non-believers might want you to think, a Drake hook can make a good rap song into a great rap song. From classics like "One Dance" to tracks you may have forgotten about, these are the best Drake hooks.

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Despite being one of the biggest mainstream successes in recent rap history, Drake is no stranger to haters, who long to bring him down once and for all: he’s too sensitive, he’s played out, his Caribbean accent sucks (Okay, that one is kind of fair). The ghostwriting accusations didn’t help, and have made critics even more quick to downplay Drake’s success, and even more reluctant to give credit where credit is due. 

Thankfully, there are still plenty of fans and admirers ready to remind the world how much we’d be suffering without the force that is Champagne Papi. Whether he’s turning around a quick dis track or casually dropping a 22-song “playlist,” Drake has blessed us with banger after banger in the eight-plus years since he released “Best I Ever Had.” He’s worked to master many things over the years, and has moved through a wide range of sounds. But what has always come naturally to The Boy, what has always been constant, is a hook. 

Whether or not dissenters will admit it, a Drake hook is something magical. The magic isn’t necessarily found in his lyricism (repeating “Houstatlantavegas, Houstatlantavegas,” leaves a little something to be desired, poetically), but instead in his ability to propel something unassuming into an absolute smash. No disrespect to Rick Ross, but the most memorable part of “Diced Pineapples” isn’t his brag about going to Cannes Film Festival, or even the (admittedly incredible) euphemism in the title; it’s “Call me crazy, shit, at least you’re callin’.” 

A Drake hook sounds like unabashed confidence. It sounds like the hypest of hypemen. It sounds like a text from your friend convincing you to come out, even though you swore you were gonna chill out this weekend—or weekday. It’s your favorite part of the song, even if you don’t play favorites. It’s the reason we’re here today. These are the best Drake hooks, ranked.

25. Drake f/ Kanye West, Eminem, & Lil Wayne, "Forever" (2009)

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Producer(s): Boi-1da

Album: Music Inspired by More Than a Game

Label: Zone 4/Interscope/Shady/Aftermath

“Forever” is one of Drake’s easiest hooks to sing along to, but when you consider where his career has gone since its release, it takes on another level of importance. When Drake sang, “I don’t plan on stoppin’ at all/I want this shit forever, man,” the words sounded like something any other rapper would, and frankly should, say. Drake had planted his flag in the rap game, and was declaring that he was going to be around for the long haul. But nobody really knew this hook would become prophecy, which makes it that much better, even nine years after its release. —Kameron Hay

24. Drake "Best I Ever Had" (2009)

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Producer(s): Boi-1da

Album: So Far Gone

Label: Young Money/Cash Money

If Instagram had been invented in 2009, we would have seen “Best I Ever Had” captions galore. It can be difficult to find the right words to say to express how much your significant other means to you, but Drake gave us all the words we’d ever need to say (or hear). Sometimes, less is more: “You the fucking best.” —Kameron Hay

23. Drake f/ Wizkid & Kyla, "One Dance" (2016)

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Producer(s): Nineteen85, DJ Maphorisa, Noah “40” Shebib, & Wizkid

Album: Views

Label: OVO Sound/Cash Money/Young Money

Say what you want about Drake experimenting with dancehall and afrobeat—call it appropriative or just cringe-worthy—but one thing can’t be denied: the “One Dance” hook is too infectious not to sing along to. When “I need a one dance, got a Hennessy in my hands” comes through the speakers, the dance floor still floods. Dancehall Drake might not have been the Drake we wanted, but he turned out to be the Drake we needed. —Kameron Hay

22. Drake "Houstatlantavegas" (2009)

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Producer(s): Noah “40” Shebib

Album: So Far Gone

Label: Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money

Drake gets a lot of flack for being "too sensitive," but that's never been an issue for his female fans. In fact, we love that shit, and "Houstatlantavegas" was a custom-made gift from Drake, to women. A standout on 2009's So Far Gone, the song came out right around the time Twitter started popping, and one out of every me girls (true stat, forreal, look it up) had "Houstatlantavegas" marked as their Twitter bio location. Admittedly, Drake doesn't explore much on the hook—in fact, he just says the title over and over again, then says, "And she dance, to this song/And she dance, to this song/And it goes, 'Hey now now, watch her go down.'" Nothing revolutionary, but the way he coaxes the words out of his mouth and into our ears feels comfortably intimate, like anyone could be one of his beloved strippers, while dancing to this song behind closed doors. —Kiana Fitzgerald

21. Drake "Redemption" (2016)

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20. Rick Ross f/ Drake & Wale, "Diced Pineapples" (2012)

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Producer(s): Cardiak

Album: God Forgives, I Don’t

Label: Maybach Music Group/Def Jam/Warner Bros.

In the summer of 2012, there was no limit to where you might hear Rick Ross’ sultry "Diced Pineapples"—a house party, a club, or blasting through the window of a passing car. Between Rozay’s sun-grazed bars praising a woman’s beauty and style, Drake croons the infectious hook: “Call me crazy, shit, at least you callin',” reminding a lover how easy it is to say things she doesn’t mean in the heat of the moment, and enticing her to take him back. He promises her sweetly to “fuck all night, 'til things get right,” an invitation that’d be hard to resist, cementing "Diced Pineapples" as one of Drake’s most instantly recognizable hooks. —Tiffany Wines

19. Lil Wayne f/ Drake, "She Will" (2011)

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Producer(s): T-Minus

Album: Tha Carter IV

Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Republic

A master of the art of seduction, Drake often gets what he wants from the opposite sex. That much is evident on Lil Wayne’s “She Will,” where the OVO lyricist croons about the sins the woman of his desire will perform “for the realest n***as in the fuckin’ game right now.” Playing wingman to Weezy on this Tha Carter IV cut, Drizzy oozes enough confidence on the hook to make the song’s numerous indecent proposals seem more like a guarantee than the gamble most guys face when shooting their shot. This isn’t the sexiest sex song ever made by far, but Drake’s melodic chorus perfectly captures his rockstar lifestyle and ensures that someone will be having sex tonight—chances are, he will. —Anslem Samuel Rocque

18. Drake "Marvin's Room" (2011)

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Producer(s): Noah “40” Shebib

Album: Take Care

Label: Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money/Republic

A hook’s purpose is to pull a song together, and on the standout track of Drake’s Grammy-winning 2011 sophomore album Take Care, that’s exactly what it does. The track is notoriously laden with controversy—most notably a lawsuit filed by his alleged ex-girlfriend Ericka Lee for the voicemail sample used throughout the song—and the real life drama only enhances the pathos of the song. Drake question’s his ex-lover’s commitment to her new relationship, prompting listeners to wonder if "Marvin's Room" is a fictionalized account, or maybe not so removed from reality after all. —Tiffany Wines

17. Drake "Fake Love" (2016)

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Producer(s): Vinylz & Frank Dukes

Album: More Life

Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Motown

Drake has been praying that the fakes get exposed since at least 2015, but almost two years later he let us know that those prayers have gone unanswered. Sadly, he still has fake people showing fake love to him—straight up to his face, no less. It’s safe to say that no one has ever been stoked to realize that they’re surrounded by fakes, but the infectiousness of this hook makes us feel like it might not be so bad. —Carolyn Bernucca

16. DJ Khaled f/ Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne, "No New Friends" (2013)

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Producer(s): Robert Bullock, Boi-1da, Noah “40” Shebib, Vinylz

Album: Suffering from Success

Label: We the Best/Cash Money/Republic

Some might say it’s best to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but not Drake. On this DJ Khaled single, Champagne Papi makes it clear that he’s all about surrounding himself with familiar faces. “I stay down from day one, so I say fuck all y’all n***as except my n***as.” The harmonious hook encapsulates the paranoia of money, power, and success, which requires a tight and trusted circle to navigate the murky waters of fame. Even those not named Drake, Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne can relate to the idea of keeping outsiders at bay; because whose parents didn’t tell them not to talk to strangers? So yeah: “One more time. Fuck all y’all n***as except my n***as.” —Anslem Samuel Rocque

15. Lil Wayne f/ Drake, "Believe Me" (2014)

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Producer(s): Vinylz & Boi-1da

Album: N/A

Label: Young Money/Cash Money/Republic

Wayne's prophetic business model of putting Drake on every hook continued to fulfill itself in the summer of 2014, the same time The Boy ran shit on the strength of just one song, loosies, and features like this one. Weezy is in rare form here, but 2011 to early 2015 was Drake's imperial phase, full of effortlessly earworm hooks. "Believe Me's" self-esteem affirmation is no exception; it's one of those Drake hooks that can almost double as a verse (which he's returned to—see: "Look Alive"), but never overstays its welcome. —Frazier Tharpe

14. Drake "Passionfruit" (2017)

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13. BlocBoy JB f/ Drake "Look Alive" (2018)

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Producer(s): Tay Keith & Silent Assassin

Album: N/A

Label: OVO/Warner Bros. Records

Some of Drake's most well-known hooks are of him singing—"Hotline Bling," anyone?—but the most impactful ones are those where he sounds like he's two seconds away from catching a body (or telling someone else to catch it for him). "Look Alive" is a perfect example. With an even, low tone that suggests he's in thug mode, Drake kicks off the track by shouting out a local street in Memphis, the city where the song's lead artist Blocboy JB is from, and the city where Drake's dad has roots. Throughout the hook, which is painted exquisitely over a beat that was made to live in your head, The Boy talks cash money shit about how he's unfuckwittable. The best line, though, comes with a moment of self awareness: "I've been gone since, like, July, ni**as actin' like I died." Even when he's spitting hard shit, Drake is still paying attention to how we're paying attention to him. That's how the best hooks are made, ladies and gentlemen. —Kiana Fitzgerald

12. Drake "Gyalchester" (2017)

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11. 2 Chainz f/ Drake, "No Lie" (2012)

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Producer(s): Mike Will Made-It & Marz

Album: Based on a T.R.U. Story

Label: Def Jam

Drake’s hook on “No Lie” creeps into your ears and immediately gets stuck in your head, until you can’t help but recite it. It’s so catchy, in fact, that most of us ignored the fact that Drake, of all people, is threatening to kill somebody—or have them killed (“If I take you out of the picture/I know real ni**as won’t miss ya/No lie, no lie, no lie-ee-i-ee-i”). The hook starts off slow, but picks up some serious energy, and perfectly leads into each verse. This song was inescapable during the summer of 2012, and it gets us just as hype today as it did back then—tru story. —Kameron Hay

10. Drake f/ 2 Chainz & Big Sean, "All Me" (2013)

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Producer(s): Key Wayne & Noah “40” Shebib

Album: Nothing Was The Same

Label: OVO Sound/Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money/Republic

“All Me” is Drake at his most cocky. Not only does he boast about the checks he’s bringing in, he also takes full ownership of his success while declaring he got here with no handouts. The hook of the song provides the perfect launchpad for 2 Chainz and Big Sean to follow suit in flexing. And that bank statement? To quote another Drizzy x 2 Chainz project, it’s a big amount: “I don't even know how much I really made, I forgot, it's a lot.” That’s a level of stunt we can all aspire to reach. —Edwin Ortiz

9. Drake "God's Plan" (2018)

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Producer(s): Cardo, Yung Exclusive & Boi-1da

Album: Scary Hours EP

Label: OVO Sound/Young Money/Cash Money

Casual listeners and full-blown stans alike love "God’s Plan" for a number of reasons: the incredible trap beat, the six-minute wholesome meme that is the music video, that one lyric about beds and moms... But let’s be real: the most important component is the hook. Faith in God isn’t at all new to rap music, but the simplicity of “God’s plan, God’s plan,” and Drake’s ability to trust in the man upstairs even with all the bad things that they wishin’ and wishin’ and wishin’ and wishin’ on him, makes us all want to believe in something. —Carolyn Bernucca

8. Drake f/ Majid Jordan, "Hold On, We're Going Home" (2013)

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Producer(s): Nineteen85, Noah “40” Shebib, &Majid Jordan

Album: Nothing Was The Same

Label: OVO Sound/Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money/Republic

When this song first came out, I—a lifelong East Coaster—was in Bel Air, staying at a house with a big pool and a sound system that would blast music both indoors and out. Years later, hearing the song's titular phrase brings me right back to a very particular L.A. type of melancholy. You're surrounded by beautiful weather and nice things, but there's still a part of you that can't wait to be somewhere more familiar. —Shawn Setaro

7. Birdman f/ Drake & Lil Wayne, "Money To Blow" (2009)

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Producer(s): Drumma Boy

Album: Priceless

Label: Cash Money, Universal Motown

The autotuning of Drake’s voice on Birdman’s “Money To Blow” may be subtle, but it makes the hook about a million times better than it would have been otherwise. The track opens with a full 70 seconds of Drizzy, straight into the hook’s opener, “They can’t help it/And I can’t blame ‘em,” otherwise known as the lyrical personification of the ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ emoticon. The hook closes with the melodic, "I got money to blow oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh," on some Lady Gaga "Poker Face" type shit. The last verse in the song, delivered by none other than Drizzy’s mentor, reminds us what we’ve always known to be true, and what will likely be true for years to come: “We gon’ be alright if we put Drake on every hook.” —Carolyn Bernucca

6. Drake "0-100/The Catch Up" (2014)

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Producer(s): Boi-1da, Vinylz, Frank Dukes, Nineteen85, & Noah “40” Shebib

Album: N/A

Label: OVO Sound/Young Money/Cash Money/Republic

One could argue that the overall song is better than the hook, until the song actually comes on at a party and makes you unable to control bodily functions. Even I, Drake hater numero uno, can’t get enough of this track when I’m out painting the town red with three of my closest acolytes. This song is so hard, Puffy allegedly dislocated Drake's shoulder for taking it. This is relevant because my shoulder always feels like it might unhinge from the socket whenever a "0-100" moshpit forms on the dance floor as the Henny courses through my veins at a rabid pace. Wow, that kinda escalated quickly—some might say I went from zero to 100, real quick. —Angel Diaz

5. Drake f/ Lil Wayne & Tyga, "The Motto" (2012)

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Producer(s): T-Minus

Album: Take Care

Label: Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money/Republic

Drake surely didn't invent the acronym "YOLO," short for "You Only Live Once"—there has been a restaurant in Florida with that name since 2008 . Hell, he probably wasn't even the first person to use it on a Drake song—that honor likely belongs to Rick Ross, who used it on "Lord Knows." But Drizzy is the one who, with a single hook, turned YOLO into a catchphrase big enough to merit its own Wikipedia page. And for that, we, and the editors of Urban Dictionary, are eternally grateful. —Shawn Setaro

4. Drake "Hotline Bling" (2015)

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Producer(s): Nineteen85

Album: Views

Label: OVO Sound/Cash Money/Young Money

Drake has mastered the art of making a hook that’s both memorable and relatable, so much that it sounds effortless in execution. “Hotline Bling” perfectly shows off this mastery; in eight bars, he captures a fling of the past with the pain of the present over an otherwise bright, summertime backdrop. Aside from “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” this stands as his most accessible pop hook, and you could even give the performance partial credit for helping redefine the Best Rap/Sung Performance category at the Grammys. The award previously went to two or more artists under the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration title, but in 2017 Drake won the trophy on some Drake featuring Drake wave for “Hotline Bling.” —Edwin Ortiz

3. Drake "Started From The Bottom" (2013)

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Producer(s): Mike Zombie & Noah "40" Shebib

Album: Nothing Was The Same

Label: OVO Sound/Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money/Republic

The best hooks are not memorable just because they’re catchy, but because they represent a personal mantra. It also doesn’t hurt when said mantra can be easily hashtagged. “Started From the Bottom” ruled airwaves and dance floors in 2013 for its pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps bravado and overall #SquadGoals. Part aspirational, part altruistic, Drake’s simple but effective chorus succeeds because it’s an anthem that underdogs can aspire to and top dogs can bask in. —Anslem Samuel Rocque

2. Drake "Worst Behavior" (2013)

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Producer(s): DJ Dahi

Album: Nothing Was The Same

Label: OVO Sound/Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money/Republic

Arrogant Drake is the best Drake, and “Worst Behavior” is his most arrogant and defiant hook to date. “Motherfuckas never loved us, fucka never loved us,” speaks to the times when nobody wanted to support Drake on his come up, and some could argue that it still applies today. The bigger he’s gotten, the more and more people want to see his downfall, AKA the end of an unprecedented run of dominance in hip-hop. If you ever got it out pf the mud on your own, then this is probably the Drake hook you relate to the most. Fuck the haters and the naysayers—do it look like we stressing? —Kameron Hay

1. DJ Khaled f/ Drake, Lil Wayne, & Rick Ross, "I'm On One" (2011)

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Producer(s): T-Minus, Noah “40” Shebib & Kromatik

Album: We the Best Forever

Label: We the Best/Terror Squad/Cash Money/Universal Motown

When Drake walked into the studio and sang, "All I care about is money and the city that I'm from/I'ma sip until I feel it, I'ma smoke it 'til it's done," he had to know he was about to infiltrate the souls of millions. If you've ever been out at a spot when "I'm On One" comes on, you're familiar with the reaction it evokes—instant hype. While braggadocios verses from Rick Ross and Lil Wayne propel the song forward, its power rests on Drake's shoulders, and he delivers. By easing us into the hook with some subtle crooning, he gathers our emotions into a neat little pile, then he swan dives right into it when the beat kicks in: "Two white cups and I got that drink/Could be purple, it could be pink." This hook is No. 1 because it's the perfect balance of Drake's strengths as a pop rapper: he's contemplative, introspective, ambitious, and confident. Seven years later, "I'm On One" still goes off, and it's all because of Drizzy. —Kiana Fitzgerald

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