Drake really blitzed fans on August 6. The rapper decided to drop over 100 GB of new and unreleased material. There were some songs thrown in for good measure, but the truly revelatory material came in the form of video footage. One of the most notable was the footage for "Yikes." Drake received a credit on the 2018 Kanye West song, but it appears as though the rapper was single-handedly responsible for coming up with the hook. It's easy to see why the 6 God leaked this session, in particular.
Drake can be seen recording in an Arizona Diamondbacks jersey. The footage sees him harmonizing over the Kanye West beat that anchored the final song. What's evident from the session, though, is that Drake was figuring out the hook for "Yikes" in real time. The pieces of what would become the finished version can be heard during the first few seconds. "Sh*t could get menacin', frightenin', find help," the Toronto star sings. "Sometimes I scare myself, myself. Sh*t could get menacin', frightenin', find help..." He runs through the hook a few more times during the nearly three-minute session.
Drake Worked Extensively On Kanye West's 2018 Album
To be clear, Drake's work on "Yikes" is not a ghostwriting situation. He's credited as one of the main songwriters on the song, alongside Consequence and 070 Shake. It's more that Drake's contribution to the song appears to be the most substantial of anybody involved in its making. The footage aligns with the picture that Drake painted when it came to Kanye West's 2018 recording sessions. The rapper said that West wanted to become his "Quincy Jones," and help boost his career, during an appearance on HBO's The Shop.
"[Kanye] sold me on this whole speech," Drake recalled. "Like, 'I'm in a great place, I'm making money, I'm a father. I wanna be Quincy Jones and help you. But in order to do that, you gotta be transparent with me and you gotta play me your music and tell me when you're dropping." The Toronto rapper said that he fell for Kanye West's pitch, and was subsequently burned by him. West famously surrounded the release date for Drake's Scorpion with his own GOOD Music albums. "I was in the studio and I guess we all felt a genuine vibe from it," the rapper admitted. Now, fans have footage of this genuine vibe.