Entertainment
A Lyric Analysis Of Drake's New Single, "Sneakin"
Drake shared four new singles on the latest episode of his Beats 1 show OVO Sound Radio — and every one of them seems to be clapping back at haters or just generally talking about how great the 6God is (or thinks he is, more accurately). But Drizzy isn't alone in his clapping efforts, the Atlanta rapper, 21 Savage also got in on the fun in three of the songs, "Two Birds One Stone," "Fake Love," and “Sneakin." These songs will appear on Drake's December album More Life, which he announced at the end of the episode. He also did a pretty cool remix of the UK rapper Dave’s (aka Santan Dave) song “Wanna Know," which was also brag-heavy, but I distracted by Dave's sexy English accent oozing through. Of all the albums, I found "Sneakin'" to be mainly Drizzy and 21 Savage talking themselves up.
I love me some Drake, so even when is song is pretty much just about how great he is, I'm still down to deeply analyze and think about the lyrics. So, without further ado, let's try to get inside our favorite Champagne Papi's head.
He starts with the usual fare — stuff like, his success is God's plan, he's good at every last detail of his work, he's going to take over the world with his fame, other people aren't as "big" as he, he's got a lot of hits, etc. Let's take a look:
This is all God's doing man you can't plan itBut if the devil's in the details then I'm satanicBout to take over your city and you can't stand itMy accountant say you sinking like the TitanicDavid Blane last summer man you had to vanishI get the hits like somebody pitching underhandNext, he brags about his "Spanish ting," in a line that I'm just going to pretend doesn't exist in the song, because it's a little rude to women, even if it's just a metaphor for how convincing Drake is. He says, "Got my Spanish ting convinced that I know Spanish/Really when she get to talking I don't understand it." How is being bilingual a bad thing? I feel very confused about this part. Again, let's pretend it doesn't exist.
The next round of talk seems to denote Drake's dissatisfaction with his place in the rap community and the nature of the music business in general.
You ain't own it right away, you had to wait on n*ggasMan I'm only 29 have some patience with usPlus I never met nobody from my label n*ggaI just pop up with the music then they pay a n*ggaShit ain't been the same like beforeI still love it but I used to love it moreHe's basically saying he's not the perfect musician yet, but he's only 29 — he's 30 now but I guess wasn't at the time of writing the song — and he's getting there. Also all he does is make music and they pay him, so not only is he on the come-up, he's also making money left and right. Despite all his power, he doesn't love the game as much as he used to, which is kind of a bummer. Poor Drake. He points to the constant rap beef he's dealing with saying, "face time with my shawty on tour/ and she texting purple hearts cause she know we at war, yeah." A purple heart is a medal awarded to members of the armed forces, or families of deceased members of the U.S. who are wounded in action. It's a pretty cool word-play, I'll give Aubrey Graham that.
In the hook, Drake basically opens a window, reaches his head out and screams, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore" with his lyrics. He says,
N*ggas keep reaching and dissin'
Can't afford mistakes, not on this end
Make me call my bros for assistance
You gon make me call my bros for assistance
N*ggas keep reaching and dissin'
Put me in a fucked up position
Make me call my bro
Drake reminds his enemies that they can keep dissing him all they want, because he's been rolling through the 6 with his woes for years and they will back him up. One of his newest woes seems to be 21 Savage, whose rhymes are featured next in the song. The Atlanta rapper stars by reminding everyone he is a "savage" and not "romantic." He proceeds to prove this by talking about how women who didn't give him the time off day give him oral pleasure now often, he's doing much better financially, and no longer needs to fight to stay alive. He looks down on those who snitch and those who are "reachin" also known as fame grabbers.
Baby I'm a savage I ain't romantic When I come around these rappers n*ggas start to panic And they pockets going under like the Titanic Got some head last night and it was outstanding' They was hatin' on me then and they hatin' now She was playing with me then but she waitin' now Used to sleep inside a den I got acres now I was fighting n*ggas then but I'm spraying now (blasting) I don't pay no mind to no sneak diss I won't spend a dime on a freak bitch N*ggas takin' cheap shots on some cheap shit They the type to stand in line for some free shit Babygirl gon' suck it til her jaws locked She gon' make me put my bitch on call block We the ones poppin', we the ones shoppin' We the one droppin', n*ggas we the ones They the ones duckin' when them heaters come You that n*gga snitchin' on your people huh 21 savage aka the reaper huh Pussy n*ggas gettin' shot for all that reachin' huh
Drake's back in after 21 Savage's little ditty. and he reminds everyone that he is in fact, "the goat" (greatest of all time). He's "selling out arenas" while his unnamed adversary is "putting a show." But that doesn't matter to him, because what is most importance is taking care of the people he loves. He's got a lot money now from Jordan brand sneaker sales and selling stadiums out, so the stress his mother once felt about all the "things we need" can dissipate.
I don't need love I'm the goat I just hit the beat and float
And I'm selling out arenas, but you putting on a show I been tryna change life around for everyone I know Cause if I don't share the wealth, then how the fuck we supposed to grow Mom's stressed theres a lot of things we need Chain smoking in the house it's hard to breathe I used to have to hit my T's with Febreeze Jordan pull up in the TL now I'm cheese
I'mma turn this TSX to a Benz soon
I'mma see a lot of blessing for my friends soon
150 in screen in my bedroom
To finish up his verse before the hook ends the song, Drake reminds us all that he changed rap music forever saying, "Shit ain't been the same like before/They don't even wanna look at the score." Maybe they don't, but pretty much through the entirety of the song, Drizzy has reminded us, the fans of his greatness, so at least someone's getting the message. Thanks for the reminder via your new hits particularly "Sneakin", Champagne Papi, but don't worry, we were all already pretty sure you were the goatiest of the goats.
