Drake's had a controversial history with reference tracks. The 2015 reference track for "10 Bands" was what sparked the rumor that the rapper used ghostwriters, and he has struggled to live them down ever since. Kendrick Lamar mentioned ghostwriters during his recent battle with Drake, and every couple of months, it seems as though another reference track for a Drake song makes its way online. The latest is "Mob Ties," which was a single on his 2018 double album, Scorpion.
"Mob Ties" has multiple credited songwriters. Drake is one of them, then Allen Ritter and Boi-1da, both of whom produce the song. The Firm and the Trackmasters are also credited, which makes sense given that "Mob Ties" samples the 1996 Nas single "Affirmative Action." Vory is the only songwriter who isn't part of OVO or the artists who made "Affirmative Action." His involvement in "Mob Ties" was never made clear, but if the leaked reference is to be believed, Vory wrote the bulk of the song. The version he made has a very similar structure, and only a few differences in terms of lyrics.
Vory Was A Credited Writer On Drake's 2018 Single
To be clear, this is not a ghostwriting situation. Vory is credited on the final version of "Mob Ties," just like he is on Bryson Tiller's 2015 single "Don't." Vory also pops up all over Kanye West's 2021 album Donda. The artist is a frequent behind-the-scenes presence for some of the biggest names in rap. The notion of him penning a song for Drizzy is, consequently, not a surprise.
Vory's involvement with "Mob Ties" has been debated in the past. DJ Akademiks claimed Vory didn't have any involvement with the song during a Twitch stream, only to look it up and realize he was wrong. "[Vory] is credited," he asserted. "But he ain’t write nothing." This reference track upends DJ Akademiks' theory outright. That being said, Vory has not yet verified that the reference is real.
A reference track for Drake's 2023 song "Calling for You" was leaked online, only for the artist credited on the reference track, Cash Cobain, to refute it. The rapper/producer hopped on Instagram to post an image of Allen Iverson. In other words, the reference was as fake as Iverson's famous fake pass move. AI-generated content is making it harder than ever to determine what's real. Ironic, given Drake's own use of AI for his "Taylor Made Freestyle."
