I was torn when snippets of Drake‘s new Sexyy Red feature started popping up on X (formerly Twitter) last night. This is the song he chooses to break his silence with? Was that really him rapping over “BBL Drizzy”? Nah, it couldn’t be. Not after Kendrick labeled him “the colonizer,” not after Kendrick spit those bars about the two rappers on “euphoria.” In fact, some thought he should distance himself from Sexyy. The block is still too hot, they’d say. But the more I thought about it and the more I listened to “U My Everything” once it dropped, the more I now think it was a smart move on his part.
Why not be in on the joke? That’s a classic Drake move if you’ve followed his career. He’s never really been afraid to make fun of himself. He’s reposted memes of himself and poked fun at his background on SNL. Why not keep relevant while also continuing to show love to one of his favorite new artists? The collabs work both ways. There are times when I give Drake the Larry David stare when he rides certain waves, always remixing the hottest songs. But that’s his M.O., and he rocks with shorty, so why not come back on a song that’s directly in his wheelhouse — while still throwing subs and leaving the door open for more battling? This is rap music after all. Drake has no choice but to stand tall. And, not for nothing: This route is more interesting than waiting for Drake to come back with a song he hopes tops the Hot 100.
We knew a Sexyy Red feature was coming sooner or later; the two have taken multiple pictures together, she was featured on “Rich Baby Daddy,” he’s appeared in the “Get It Sexyy” video, and they’ve been at the center of fan theories about their connection to gamma boss Larry Jackson. One person asked, “are you f–king Drake for features?” to which she sarcastically replied, “yes.”
And I’m gonna just say it: I like the song. I don’t know what to tell you, man. Sue me. “U My Everything” shows Sexyy Red at her most charming. The beat is soulful and so is her hook. This is the type of chorus you find yourself singing randomly throughout the day. I’m willing to bet the Drake stimmy check will get this high on the charts. There are too many factors at play. The St. Louis rapper is a hitmaker in her own right, with “Get It Sexyy” creeping into the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Then there’s the guy in Toronto who has made a home for himself on the charts. Why wouldn’t this song do numbers? It’s fire, and there was already conversation and lore around it just off the snippet.
This is clearly a calculated move by the Toronto MC. He references the beef multiple times. First, he raps, “You know the timin’ we on when my n—as start lurkin’ and tyin’ they hoodies and s–t/ Soon as this sh—t get resolved, I’ll turn to librarian for you, I’m bookin’ that sh—t.” Then there’s the lines, “Maybe we go to Saint Lucia, I been there, so I’ll introduce you/ Or maybe you go to Saint Martin with me if these n—as take break and quit startin’ with me.”
But then, the beat switches to “BBL Drizzy” and your ears perk up. You think you can’t be hearing what you’re hearing. He then starts going in with a machine gun flow: “BBL Drizzy, they want a new body, they ask me for it/ The last one, Jung, he did it for free ’cause I sent over so many past ones for him.” (I Google’d “jung bbl” and what do you know? Dr. Calvin Jung — @drjungmoney on Instagram — popped up.)
Sometimes you just gotta sit back and laugh. Drake is a smart guy. You gotta love when a rapper leans into villainy like a pro wrestler. Drake is trying to pull a Hollywood Hogan, the beloved institution who turned heel. Can this s–t backfire? Of course it can, but I still applaud it.
