How times have changed. While Drake and Kanye West are more likely to grumble upon crossing paths, they once made for a pretty spectacular duo. In many ways, "Say What's Real" was one of the foundational layers of the Drizzy pyramid. Emotional, check. Vulnerable, check. Reflective, check. Stylish in its delivery of ennui, double check. Backed by a sparse, haunting masterclass in minimalism from a post 808s and pre-Dark Twisted Fantasy Kanye, "Say What's Real" encapsulated dissatisfaction amidst a theoretical paradise. Now, Drake wears his accomplishments proudly, though it was not always the way.
"Transitioning from fitting in to standing out, Los Angeles Cabanas or Atlanta South," muses Drizzy. "Watchin' Hov's show, embarrassed to pull my camera out, and my mother embarrassed to pull my Phantom out." Student of hip-hop that he is, it's likely that Drake is no stranger to the notion of "Mo Money, Mo Problems." "Say What's Real" is his somber flip on the concept.
Relive this classic cut now, on all official streaming platforms. Despite everything that has transpired between the once mighty Drake and Yeezy, we can at least take solace in the uneasy truce that appears to be forming. Sometimes, a sample clearance is all it takes.
Quotable Lyrics
Nah, but 40 told me to do me
And don't listen to anybody that knew me
'Cause to have known me would mean that there's a new me
And if you think I changed in the slightest, coulda fooled me
Boy, and to my city I'm the 2-3
Drug dealers live vicariously through me
I quit school and it's not because I'm lazy
I'm just not the social type and campus life is crazy
Understand, I could get money with my eyes closed
Lost some of my hottest verses down in Cabo
So if you find a Blackberry with the side scroll
Sell that mothafucka to any rapper that I know