Has Drake Dissed Meek Mill On 'Views'?

Bombastic, menacing, and with that trademark cocky swagger that we've come to know and love from Drizzy, "Hype" is easily one of the standout tracks from Drakes new album, Views which was released on Friday on Apple Music. There's also another reason why the song is getting a little bit more attention than some of the rest on Views, and that's because there's speculation that "Hype" is possibly a Meek Mill diss track. The feud between Meek Mill and Drake has been going on for a while now, so it seemed inevitable that there could be a track on Drake's new album dedicated to trashing the rapper. But, like most feuds, the disses here are loaded discreetly behind a lyrical wall of speculative subtext that make it unclear if he's talking about Meek Mill at all.

So what else can we do but try and unpack those lyrics? Let's start with the first verse:

Last year I know you learned your lessonI could GPS you if you need some addressing

Drake could cheekily be making reference to the times that he shut Meek Mill down last year, but the most notable salt in the wound phrase here is the GPS one which could possibly be in reference to Meek Mill being put under house arrest for 90 days at the start of this year, possibly suggesting that Drake can come to him in order to settle their beef once and for all. (You know, since Meek Mill won't be going anywhere anytime soon...)

Drake has also been pretty open with his attacks on Meek Mill so far, and in an interview with The Fader in Summer 2015, he suggested that the rapper would do better to attack him through music rather than creating "propaganda" against him instead, saying "You’re gonna engage in a conversation about writing music, and delivering music, with me? And not have anything to put forth on the table?" It seems pretty easy to come to the conclusion that Drake could well be targeting Meek Mill with the following lines for discussing their feud "in private" rather than via music.

I hate a rapper especiallyThey feel the same but they hide itThey just discuss it in privateDon't get along man, we tried itWhat's the point in trying

Interestingly enough, there's also a line later on in the song which seems to echo Drake's quote regarding someone creating "propaganda" against him as he raps:

I do my own propaganda

In what also sounds pretty unmistakably to be a direct attack on Meek Mill's original feud-fueling comments that Drake uses a ghostwriter for his rhymes, there are also lyrics which appear to shrug off those statements by suggesting that people didn't believe the accusations anyway:

I don't run out of materialYou shouldn't speak on me, periodYou try to give your side of the storyThey heard it, but they weren't hearing it

It's easy to speculate that these lyrics could well be part of what sounds like a never-ending take down of Meek Mill, but, at it's heart, "Hype" is far more than a diss song; it's actually Drake bragging that he's bigger than all of that.

Talent-wise, money-wise, and women-wise (essentially the three pillars of Drake's cocky swagger), he's an artist who seems himself as being above a common feud but that he'll gladly continue to take every opportunity to be his own hype-machine, using his success as the strongest weapon he has against his haters and enemies:

Look what I've done in my lifeI had to count it and count it againTo make sure the money was rightThey love to talkMe, I'm just done in the hype

By speculating over whether "Hype" is a Meek Mill diss track or not, we're playing straight into Drakes hands, giving him the platform of a possible lyrical attack on his alleged nemesis-rapper without actually mentioning him directly whilst also maintaining a powerful focus on his own skills and successes. And if that is the case? Then well played, sir. Game Drake.

Images: Giphy