Drake Addresses Rumored Feud with The Weeknd in New Song 'War': 'We Just Had to Fix Things'
Drake and The Weeknd have ended their longtime feud.
The “Nice for What” rapper released a winter-themed music video for his new song “War” on Christmas Eve, in which he addresses the rumored rift — and name-drops supermodel Gigi Hadid — saying he and The Weeknd, 29, “just had to fix things.”
“OVOXO link up, mandem drink up, me in the drillers/Hawk and Stix and Cash and Baka, Gucci, P, and Gilla/And the boy that sound like he sang on ‘Thriller’/You know that’s been my n—, yeah/We just had to fix things, family, 6 tings, we can’t split up,” Drake, 33, raps. “Anyone I’m beefin’ with is a no name/N— can’t even win home games/They just gotta fall in line like Soul Train.”
The two, who are both from Toronto and have collaborated on music in the past (with many crediting Drake for launching The Weeknd’s career), were reportedly feuding in 2017.
At the time, The Weeknd was dating Selena Gomez but Drake and The Weeknd’s ex, Bella Hadid, were romantically linked (he reportedly threw the supermodel 21st birthday bash in New York City).
Although Drake doesn’t call out Bella by name in “War,” he does mention her equally famous sister: “I didn’t trust no one, swore I got a lie, n— got too greazy/Niko never move neeky, sweatsuit Nike, sweatsuit DG/If man get beaky, ring ring, call up GiGi, do him up neatly,” the “God’s Plan” rapper says.
RELATED: Proud Dad Drake Shows Off a Painting Done by His 14-Month-Old Son: ‘Adonis > Picasso Don’t @ Me’
Back in January, the Weeknd dropped his single “Lost in the Fire” and fans were quick to speculate that some of the lyrics were about Drake’s son.
Drake is the father of a 14-month-old son named Adonis, whom he shares with French artist and former adult-film star Sophie Brussaux. He revealed the news on numerous tracks on his double album Scorpion, which was released in June 2018.
Fans who subscribe to the shade theory are hearing the lyric in question as, “I just want a baby with the right one / ‘Cause I would never be the one to hide one.”
RELATED: Is The Weeknd’s ‘Heartless’ New Song Hinting at His Recent Split from Bella Hadid?
Fans drew the comparison immediately, flooding Twitter with comments alleging The Weeknd purposely called out Drake for, as one described, “his secret baby.”
“Damn The Weeknd taking shots at Drake in his new song,” one user tweeted, adding a crying laughing and fire emoji, while another joked of the Toronto-born stars: “Drake vs the Weeknd is pretty much a Canadian civil war.”
On the flip side, many argued that the lyric was “hurt” and not “hide,” with one fan tweeting a slowed-down clip of the song and writing, “Ppl making s— up again. Listen to this in slow-motion.”
In a 2013 cover story with Complex, The Weeknd — who contributed to multiple tracks on Drake’s sophomore album Take Care — said the rumors about a rift between the musicians were “definitely not true.”
“I told [Drake] what my decisions were going to be. And he was down with it from the beginning,” he said. “I don’t like to spoon-feed people. I don’t like to be like, ‘You know what? I’m going to let the world know that we’re cool. We’re going to take a picture together. Everyone’s cool.’ It’s all about the mystery, and people like it.”
