There has been a lot of conversation in Hip Hop recently about co-writing or ghostwriting. Two of the top stars in the genre, Drake and 21 Savage, have now opened up about the topic of getting help with their lyrics.
Drake and 21 Savage dropped the Her Loss studio LP on November 4. The project opened at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 404,000 first-week units, the highest one-week sales for a 2022 rap album.
Audio of Drake and 21 Savage discussing Her Loss has gone viral on social media. In particular, the two rhymers discussed helping the other with some of the bars on the body of work.
“I ain’t gonna cap, Drake wrote some of my verses on this album,” stated 21 Savage. “These facts. I don’t give a f### what a n#### say. Drake helped me with some of my verses on this album.”
Then Drizzy chimed in, “By the way, you also helped me with s### too.” This statement from Drake comes after he has been embroiled in ghostwriting rumors for a large part of his music career.
Other Rappers Repeatedly Slammed Drake For Allegedly Using Ghostwriters
Meek Mill feuded with Drake in 2015. The beef included the release of a reference track for Drake’s verse on their “R.I.C.O.” collaboration. In addition, reference tracks for other Drake verses leaked as well.
Pusha T also lyrically attacked his longtime rival over allegations that Drake got help penning his rhymes. Plus, some listeners speculated that Kendrick Lamar used “King Kunta” to take a subliminal shot at Drake allegedly using ghostwriters.
The “ghostwriting” label does not seem to be as damaging as it once was for a Hip Hop artist. Latto recently acknowledged using reference tracks and writers for her creative process. JT also admitted that Nicki Minaj assisted her in writing bars for a track.
Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss includes one guest feature from Houston rapper Travis Scott. The album remained at #2 on this week’s Billboard 200 chart with an additional 119,000 units collected over the latest tracking period.