And for his next trick, after turning J. Cole into a horny mess on Cash Cobain's "Grippy," Kendrick Lamar will turn this Toronto superstar from "Mob Ties" to small fries. At least, that's what a lot of fans think about these new features from the Compton creative's rivals, especially Drake's recent remix of "Wah Gwan Delilah" by the 6ix's hot new Internet personality, Snowd4y. People are clowning the "Hey There Delilah" cover endlessly online, and while we completely understand why given the context of the rap beef, we also don't think it's as bad as some might say.
After all, this is far from Drake's first foray into putting on local Toronto culture in a cheeky way, and far from his first "bad" song. Remember when he included "Ratchet Happy Birthday" on 2018's Scorpion right after losing to Pusha T? Well, this kind of invokes that dissonance, but in a way that's much more on the nose and impossible to ignore. As for what The Boy's future holds in the short and long term, we can only guess at what shifts and switch-ups will happen next or when he will return to straight-up bars. But right now, we can assess that "Wah Gwan Delilah" doesn't deserve your ire: just a chuckle before you move on to something else.
It's Still A Cover
You’re telling me that, meme status or not, “Hey There Delilah” by The Plain White T's isn’t one of the most recognizable and beloved cheesy 2000s hits? At least the catchiness is still there, and Snowd4y even plays with it by fitting a comically long list of Canadian financial institutions to scam in one of the chorus melodies. Drake is a master of the earworm, and this song provides a killer set of tunes for him to show off with. For some, maybe the fact that this is a cover and not an original song about Toronto is what makes it so corny and cringe; after all, the T's are from Illinois. But if it was an original song, people might not have been able to see it for what it is: just a fun meme song that, more likely than not, only the 6ix will understand.
"Wake Up The City"
Toronto is not like us, and that's totally fine. In fact, it's cool to see the city get a huge, overt, albeit comically exaggerated ode to the city and its culture, and if you disagree, think of all the cornball traditions that you're so proud of your hometown for. What makes "Wah Gwan Delilah" carry particular weight (in both the positive and negative sense) is that it came out a month after Kendrick Lamar made fun of the 6ix and its slang and accents on "Euphoria" and then repped his origins with a West Coast banger. If nothing else, Drake's decision to stick to Toronto this time around (or to his close collaborator Sexyy Red) seems impossible to interpret as anything other than him reclaiming this narrative. However, while he's embracing his identity, hopefully, this parody-bordering auto-crooning isn't all he does to present this to the world these days.
Drake's Timing
These are the “summer vibes” Drake was talking about when the Kendrick Lamar beef ended... at least, presumably. As we mentioned before, "Wah Gwan Delilah" and the "BBL Drizzy"-sampling "U My Everything" feature for Sexyy Red see him really lean into the negative perception around him that tracks like "Euphoria" propelled to the forefront of conversation. If Drizzy can't out-rap you, he'll definitely try to out-moment you or go viral to get himself back to his usual path. But this release right after the beef cleanses the palate, reminds us of his poppier side, and oddly enough, sets up his eventual return to rap. We know that Aubrey will get back to subliminal disses and hard barwork eventually, but he thrives off of the push and pull of his duality. He'll make you dance and wave your hand, threaten you, and dance again to make you forget.
Read More: Snowd4y Was Manifesting A Drake Collaboration For The Viral Trolling Hit “Wah Gwan Delilah”: Watch
It's Just Funny
Be it mockingly or genuinely, there’s something pretty funny about Drake’s bars, the autotune on both performances, and the raw plainness and simplicity of the cover. If you think this was at all a serious effort, just go look at his IG Story. The 37-year-old raps about being cheesed over a girl's 'Gram and going on double dates with his friend in a shiesty... come on. Snowd4y himself is also unsurprisingly gut-busting here, even if you might be laughing at his vocals more than you might be laughing at his lyrics. There's an inherent meme quality to covering "Hey There Delilah" in this fashion and attaching someone as big as Drake to it, and we can't deny that it's entertaining. Can't we let the 6ix God have some unserious fun, or at least joke about literally anything that isn't serious culture vultures and grooming allegations?
Drake's Vocal Tone
Drake may not be going hard on "Wah Gwan Delilah" or trying to best himself, but it's a crime how good he can sound without breaking a sweat. Say what you will about his technical performance and vocal effects, but you can't deny that he has one of the most distinct and recognizable voices in popular music that takes up a lot of space whenever it appears. The "Virginia Beach" artist is a rare instance of a tone and delivery that works so well across most things that you throw at it, especially with melodies as infectious as those on "Hey There Delilah." But the sad reality is that it feels like he wants to test these limits and see just how far fans will go for it. This is just the latest of many examples in which these experiments resulted in a bad song… but not a terrible moment.