On December 24, Drake gave fans a Christmas gift with his "War" freestyle, which appeared on Oliver El-Khatib's El-Kuumba Tape Vol. 1. As is the case whenever Drake freestyles, he came loaded with bravado, talking up his crew while sending vague shots at opponents. A lot of names are dropped in the song, thus raising questions about who is being praised and who is being dissed.. While the mentioning of Detail is a transparent reference to him being beaten up by Drake's bodyguard back in 2014, the rest of the people Drake shouts out appear to be his affiliates. However, Drake is making sure to clear up any misinterpretation that he was trying to shade any Toronto rappers on "War".
"Just wanna say this for my city in regards to the song 'War.' My goal is to always uplift and show love to rappers that are buzzing and gaining the world's attention," Drake wrote in an Instagram story. "My goal is to use our talks that we all use without having it feel like I am taking sides. My goal is to make anyone feel like with the right songs and the right team and the right amount of drive and focus they can push past the darkness and be able to provide for their people and create a legacy. I understand there are politics in every city that we can't deny or escape but I want to be clear on my intentions when I show recognition and support. I pray you all emerge successful and can't wait to see what artists from Toronto pop off in 2020 and beyond."
In other Drake news, he continues to fuel speculation about What A Time To Be Alive 2.