Drake's eighth studio album, For All the Dogs, is finally here after a round of delays, and as expected, social media is buzzing over the alleged disses the 6 God dished out on the 23-track project.
It's not a secret that the self-proclaimed "Petty King" likes to quickly jab his foes on some of his songs while cleverly referencing situations where people wonder who Drake is talking about. For All the Dogs is no different, and he made that clear on "8am In Charlotte" with the line, "I'll prolly hold a grudge against you guys 'til I'm seventy-five."
The speculation over who Drake would take aim at began long before the album dropped, thanks to Lil Yachty claiming during an episode of his A Safe Place podcast last month that Drake will have some "controversial" bars that will have people talking. Drizzy fueled the rumors even more during the Friday morning (3 a.m. ET) broadcast of Table for One, where he stated things that he says on the album could "sever some ties and burn some bridges."
If that weren't enough, the official tracklist for Drake's new album had people going nuts over the title for the intro, "Virginia Beach," which is his nemesis Pusha T's hometown. Even though the intro was about something completely different than what listeners had in mind, The Boy had plenty of prime real estate saved for those who crossed his path.
Some received direct mentions, such as the Houston Rockets' Dillon Brooks (who is also Canadian) and jazz artist Esperanza Spalding, while others like Rihanna, XXXTENTACION, and more are speculated to have caught some strays.
Complex compiled a list of targets Drake directly and subliminally/potentially mentioned on For All the Dogs. Read more below.
Pusha T
What was said on "Calling For You": "Ah, he lied to me. Yo, he lied to me. Like I didn't give a fuck that we sat in economy, I gave a fuck 'cause he said the economy was full. It was not full He said, 'Economy was—.' He said, 'There was no first class, so we're sitting in economy.' I get up on that plane, I see so many seats in first class. Twelve, fourteen seats, bruh. I sat in the back of the plane."
Context: The first speculated jab at Pusha T in For All the Dogs occurs in the interlude on "Calling For You," where a woman is complaining about not making it to first class and having to sit in coach. Some people believe that the skit is Drake referencing a message Pusha posted earlier this week on X (formerly known as Twitter), in which he complained about the poor service he received from American Airlines. In his post, Push explained he was told he would have a first-class seat but was put in economy instead.
What Drake said on "Fear of Heights": "You n***as some pussy, for real / You n***as some sissy, for real / Virginia, I pull up and chill / You know you can't come where I stay."
Context: People connected the dots and came up with the belief that Pusha T is the target on Drake's track "Fear of Heights" where he mentions going to Virginia and having the freedom to "chill" but his opposition can't even stay where he does. Pusha is from Virginia Beach, and the beef between him and Drake has been going on for over a decade now.
Rihanna
What Drake said on "Fear Of Heights": "Why they make it sound like I'm still hung up on you? / That could never be / Gyal can't ruin me / Better him than me / Better it's not me / I'm anti, I'm anti / Yeah, and the sex was average with you / Yeah, I'm anti 'cause I had it with you / Okay, I'm auntie like your daddy sister / Auntie like a family picture / And I had way badder bitches than you, TBH / Yeah, that man, he still with you, he can't leave you / Y'all go on vacation, I bet it's Antilles"
Context: Ever since Rihanna and ASAP Rocky made their relationship official in 2020, social media had a field day dragging Drake over the feelings he once had for the Bajan singer earlier in his career. The two were no longer friends as of 2018, according to RiRi. On "Fear Of Heights," Drake chooses a few words that could speculate he was talking about Rihanna, from the word "anti," the name of her last studio album and the pronunciation of “gyal.”
Esperanza Spalding
What Drake said on "Away From Home": "Four GRAMMY's to my name, a hundred nominations / Esperanza Spalding was gettin' all the praises / I'm tryna keep it humble, I'm tryna keep it gracious / Who give a fuck Michelle Obama put you on her playlist? / Then we never hear from you again like you was taken."
Context: Esperanza Spalding caught one of the more direct strays on the penultimate track "Away From Home," where Drake mentioned he's been putting in work since losing to the jazz musician in the Best New Artist category at the 2011 Grammys. Both artists have 5 Grammy wins, while Drake was nominated 51 times, and Spalding has only received nine nominations.
XXXTENTACION
What Drake said on "Daylight": "Internet swear that I bought the body / Take more than that to go pop somebody / Them n***as talk about everybody / So lowkey I'm happy they got somebody, n***a, what?"
Context: In addition to fans getting a kick out of Adonis Graham getting a feature on his dad's song "Daylight," the record has seemed to resurrect the unsubstantiated rumors that Drake was involved with XXXTENTACION's death. Drizzy mentions his shooters "shot him in daylight" in the chorus of the song before making references to the internet, thinking he's calling out hits.
People on social media have long theorized (again, no proof of this) Drake had something to do with XXXTENTACION's 2018 murder due to the late rapper claiming the Toronto rap star jacked his song "Look At Me!" for the More Life record "KMT" featuring Giggs. X was shot and killed outside of a motorcycle shop in Florida. Drake received a subpoena to appear in court during the trial for XXX's murder last February, however, a judge decided he would not have to give a deposition in the trial due to a lack of evidence of his alleged involvement.
Dillon Brooks
What Drake said on "Another Late Night": "Shawty ran some Dillon Brooks / can't believe this n— talkin', damn," he raps at the beginning of his verse.
Context: Drake had a bar ready for Houston Rockets forward Dillion Brooks on the track "Another Late Night" featuring Lil Yachty. During an interview with ESPN and Team Canada at the FIBA World Cup, the team was asked to choose between Drake and Ryan Reynolds. Brooks picked Reynolds.
"Weirdos" Who Criticized His Friendship With Actress Millie Bobby Brown
What Drake Said on "Another Late Night": "My bank account is magnolia, Milly rockin', ayy / Weirdos in my comments talkin' 'bout some Millie Bobby, look / Bring them jokes up to the gang, we get to really flockin' / Or send a finger to your mama in some FedEx boxes / Open up that shit, it's jaw droppin', really shockin', ayy / I ain't pretty flacko, bitch, this shit get really rocky, ayy"
Context: Folks on social media heavily criticized Drake for his friendship with Millie Bobby Brown back in 2018 due to their age gap. The Stranger Things star fired back at the rumors that year, claiming people were "weird" to "make a lovely friendship ur headline." Drizzy was next to defend his friendship with Brown on "Another Late Night" featuring Lil Yachty, where he told his critics to bring those "jokes" up to the "gang" to see what happens next.
Side Bar:
NBA YoungBoy
What J. Cole said on "First Person Shooter": "I still wanna get me a song with YB / Can't trust everything that you saw on IG / Just know if I diss you, I'd make sure you know that I hit you like I'm on your caller I.D."
Context: J. Cole squashed any rumors that he has beef with NBA YoungBoy on the track "First Person Shooter." On the song, Cole makes it very clear that he still wants to work on music with YoungBoy and that people will know who he's dissing because it'll be a direct mention. Cole's rumored beef with the Louisiana native kicked off in 2021 when the Dreamville captain waited nearly 8 hours in session for his younger peer.
Things picked up in May 2023 when Cole linked up with YoungBoy's rival Lil Durk on "All My Life." On that same day, YB dissed Cole on his track "Fuck The Industry Pt. 2."
“J a ho, that n***a played it cold, like he was gon’ do a feature,” YoungBoy rapped on the track. “So I texted his line, a muscle sign, I swear it’s gon’ be nice to meet you.”
