The 100 Best Drake Songs

“Replacement Girl,” a single from Drake’s second mixtape, “Comeback Season,” caused a stir in the music industry when it became the first video by an unsigned artist to be aired on BET. Lil Wayne won the resulting bidding war, signing Drake to his Young Money imprint in 2009. Trey Songz, then one of the hottest singers in R&B, dominates the track. However, the Toronto newcomer gets off a few decent bars, bragging, “I’m a good dude, take pride in that.”

“Said that you’re a lesbian, well, me, too,” raps Drake in a singsong voice. Yes, it’s kinda creepy, though he says the line in such a harmlessly goofy way that it’s difficult to take as a threat. As pop-rap seduction, it still works, thanks in part to Lil Baby’s rapid-fire melodic-rap verse.

It’s a big pop collaboration between two rap superstars, with Drake serving as setup man for Nicki Minaj’s showstopping, rapid-fire flow. Meanwhile, his verse commiserates with a female crush as he raps, “Used to niggas coming on too strong girl/They want you in their life as a wife.” His stabs at empathy may sound like typical seduction lines, but they’re heartfelt nevertheless.

When iLoveMakonnen’s “Tuesday” began blowing up online, Drake gave it a turbo boost, signing the Atlanta rapper-singer to his OVO label and jumping on a remix of the track. The result turns Drake into a familiar mainstream anchor for Makonnen’s strangely airy and melodic vocals, even though the performance clearly belongs to the latter. The two eventually had a falling out and Makonnen left OVO; although he never capitalized on the success of “Tuesday,” he earned kudos for his behind-the-scenes work as a songwriter and producer with acts like Lil Peep.

Drake isn’t heard much on “Aston Martin Music.” He shares the chorus with Michele as he croons about how he can’t let someone go despite being “caught in the life.” Still, his romantic R&B aesthetic dominates the track, and even though Ross does all the rapping, it comes off as a Drake outtake. He used the same J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League beat for a loosie leaked to the internet, “Paris Morton Music,” and a verse from that track was used on the video version of “Aston Martin Music.”

As the opening track on his breakthrough mixtape, So Far Gone, Drake’s “Lust for Life” immediately sets a soft, melodic tone that veers between melancholic introspection and humblebrag boasts about his growing fame. 40’s lush beat samples the polyrhythmic drum programming from Tears for Fears’ “Ideas as Opiates”; Drake also uses the “put your ones up in the air for her” phrase for “Houstatlantavegas.”

Set over an iBeatz trap rhythm and featuring ad-libs by OVO member Baka Not Nice, “Gyalchester” finds Drake dropping bars with a halting flow for maximum impact, with “I switch flows like I switch time zones” and “I’m never washed but I’m not new” among the claims.

“What’s Next” kicks off with Drake dipping into a bounce cadence over a beat from Maneesh and Supah Mario. “I’m making a change today/The liquor been takin’ the pain away,” he raps in full boss mode. “I sit in the box where the owners do.”

“My stock been going up like a crescendo,” raps Drake on his only contribution to the Young Money compilation Rise of an Empire. It finds Drake touting his superstar status. But the moment feels bittersweet as Lil Wayne and Birdman’s decades-long relationship was fracturing, while breakout acts like Drake and Nicki Minaj moved on to build their own empires.

Released just after Drakeo the Ruler was released from prison and months before he was murdered, “Talk to Me” may be one of Drake’s most powerful co-signs. It’s a cut made for radio DJs, and Drake harmonizes to a crush while warning, “We might slide on a nigga inside this club/Girl close your eyes.” More importantly, it gave the L.A. rapper a final moment of mainstream visibility before his untimely demise.

“I want this shit forever, man,” Drake harmonizes on the lead single to the Lebron James documentary More Than a Game. It’s a key part of his 2009 explosion, pairing him with mentor Lil Wayne and key influence Kanye West as well as Eminem. Heard today, though, some of West’s lyrics may sound suspect: “I had raped the game young, you can call it statutory.”

Although it includes an unfortunate pun about Asian people (“Shout out to Asian girls, let the lights dim sum”), “Over My Dead Body” is still one of Drake’s most memorable album openers. Singer Chantal Kreviazuk offers a fantastically distorted vocal over 40’s momentous, piano-based production, while Drizzy brags about how he was “killing everyone in the game last year,” and promises — and delivers — more of the same.

Drake has often touted his connection to Houston, Texas — Jas Prince, son of famed Rap-A-Lot music executive James Prince, was an early investor in Drake’s career. That sense of place is heard on “Uptown Shit,” where Arthur McArthur and Boi-1da crafts a swanging-and-banging beat with a slowed-down loop of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl.” Meanwhile, Bun B claims, “I wrote this on my iPhone/So let me drop this iBomb,” and Lil Wayne says he’s an “all-American bad boy.”

Bad Bunny does most of the heavy lifting on his first U.S. Billboard Top 10 hit as a leader, twisting “MÍA”’s lyrics about adoration with his supple, bass-y voice. But give credit to Drake for meeting the Puerto Rican superstar on his terms, singing in Spanish with a soft, easy croon that doesn’t upset the rhythm.

Originally recorded as a Drake demo, the Drumma Boy-produced “Money to Blow” is largely memorable for his sung chorus: “They can’t help it/And I can’t blame them/Since I got famous/Bitch, I got money to blow/Gettin’ it in/Lettin’ these bills fall all over your skin.” Yes, Birdman and Lil Wayne are on this strip-club hit, too. But Drake’s the one on the rise, and he knows it.

“Houstatlantavegas” finds Drake deep in his R&B bag as he muses aloud about an exotic dancer working NBA All-Star weekends. “She lives in a mindset that I could never move to/Until you find yourself it’s impossible to lose you,” he raps, somewhat paternalistically. Sequenced at the beginning of his breakthrough mixtape So Far Gone, it announced to 2009 listeners that they were encountering a uniquely melodic artist.

With producer T-Minus’ soaring melodies, “Moment 4 Life” captures an era in rap defined by pop aesthetics and arena-size ambitions. It’s as much a tribute to Lil Wayne’s Young Money crew as a pairing between the label’s two biggest signings. “Young Money the mafia, that’s word to Lil Cease,” raps Drake on his verse. Meanwhile, Nicki says, “Young Money raised me” even as the pink princess proves that she calls her own shots.

Released in 2013 as an outtake from the Nothing Was the Same sessions, this 40-produced internet loosie finds Drake in seduction mode as Fauntleroy reprises the chorus from the Destiny’s Child track “Say My Name.” In a sign of how Drake tends to recycle catchphrases in songs throughout his career, his singsong line “No new friends, no, no, no, no” also turns up as the chorus of DJ Khaled’s 2013 hit “No New Friends.”

On this track, Drake summons the complications of teen romance: He meets someone in a club, then regrets hanging out with her instead of going home to his girl. Meanwhile, a slurry loop of Jennifer Lopez’s “If You Had My Love” programmed by Marvin “Hagler” Thomas serves as his conscience.

Since first collaboration “Sneakin’,” 21 Savage has become one of Drake’s most frequent collaborators. The Atlanta rapper has paired with the Toronto superstar on numerous songs since, with a joint full-length, Her Loss, due out Nov. 4. “Sneakin’” demonstrates why: Their approaches are a stark but charismatic contrast. Drake reminisces, “I used to hit my tees with Febreze” before megastardom, while 21 Savage proves why he’s “AKA the reaper.”

Heard today, “Over” sounds remarkably precocious and youthful. “What am I doing? Oh, yeah, that’s right, I’m doing me,” he harmonizes before offering now-dated hashtag puns like “’Bout to set it off, Jada Pinkett” and “Two thumbs up, Ebert and Roeper” while quoting Bob Marley and dead prez. The self-proclaimed “overnight” success still sounded like an arriviste, which may be why other bestselling rappers tended to “little-bro me,” as he’d later remark. Still, he’s clearly having fun, and the orchestral fanfare produced by Boi-1da and Nick Brongers complements him.

Meek Mill’s gleeful use of gospel tropes, courtesy of an organ melody inspired by the Doobie Brothers’ soft-rock chestnut “Minute by Minute,” turned “Amen” into an unexpected controversy during the summer of 2012. Numerous Christian rappers spoke out against a song where the Philly artist testifies with cheeky amorality, “I just want to thank God for all the pretty women he let into my life.” Meanwhile, Drake uses the occasion to pay tribute to his friends, rapping, “I just hope that I’m forgiven for caring ‘bout how they livin’/And loaning a little money and keepin’ ‘em out of prison.”

“Yes Indeed” clearly belongs to Lil Baby, who swerves and glides with a flow that seemingly turns every line into a quotable catchphrase. But Drake acquits himself well, kicking off the Wheezy and B-Rackz-produced song in a deliberately deadpan voice as he raps, “The dash is digi/The schedule is busy/My head in a hoodie/My shorty a goody.”

Drake’s cover of the intro to TLC’s Fan Mail originally dropped as a teaser for his never-released R&B mixtape, It’s Never Enough. “You could be lonely with a bunch of people around you,” he told MTV.com when asked how the song (originally titled “I Get Lonely Too)” resonates with him. It arrived when he promised to be a dual R&B/rap threat before decidedly planting his roots in the latter, and he sings with noted emotional commitment.

“No New Friends” finds Drake reusing a phrase he originally coined on his internet loosie “Girls Love Beyoncé.” The chorus weaves together this hit cipher about living large and loving life; and serves as a sequel to the three rappers’ appearance on DJ Khaled’s “I’m on One.” “Ever since YouTube/Niggas been callin’ me the leader of the new school,” boasts Drake. Meanwhile, Ross crows about trips to Turks and Caicos. Lil Wayne quips, “They throw dirt on my name/Well, that’s why they still dig me.”

“Big Rings” might be the Drake and Future song you’re most likely to hear during an NBA game. (The Golden State Warriors used it during their 2021-22 championship-ring ceremony.) Produced by Metro Boomin, it’s full of loud, emphatic keyboards and trap bass meant to reach the folks in the cheap seats, and Drake yells “‘Cause I’ve got a really big team/And they need some really big rings!” More than another fanfare-induced album opener — also see “Over,” “Headlines,” et cetera — it’s an example of how Drake not only excels at intimate dramas, but also knows how to conjure big pop moments.

The Weeknd’s mostly wordless chorus dominates this showcase of two Toronto artists entering megastardom. The second verse is a highlight: Drake uses second-person perspective to recall his days when he wasted gas-and-phone-bills money on champagne and tried to build a buzz for himself at local clubs. “Tellin’ stories that nobody relate to/And even though they hate you/They just keep on you tellin’ you, they feel you, nigga,” he raps.

This internet loosie dropped in 2013, reuniting the two rappers for the first time since Cole’s mixtape track “In the Morning.” Drake is his typical boastful self over a glossy, synth-heavy Bink! and 40 beat, claiming that he’s “26 on my third GQ cover” and that he can “still talk keys without pitching cane.” Meanwhile, Cole uses his verse to rue publications that don’t give him his due: “Your covers too Complex for me/Maybe it’s too complex for me.” Unfortunately, the “Jodeci Freestyle” spectacle was overshadowed by controversy over a Cole bar about autism and the two artists’ subsequent apology.

“HYFR” stands out for its unexpectedly winning chorus, and how it signifies Lil Wayne’s pop-punk crossover ambitions. “They say, ‘Hell yeah, hell yeah, fuckin’ right,’” he and Drake shout out like two righteous dudes at a frat-boy kegger. Meanwhile, producer T-Minus loops up E.S.G.’s “Swangin’ and Bangin’,” leading Drake to observe, “All my exes live in Texas like I’m George Strait.”

A Drake co-sign can be a gift and a curse, since his celebrity inevitably overshadows the newcomer that he works with. That’s arguably the case with “Look Alive,” a hit single that introduced Memphis rapper BlocBoy JB to a mainstream audience. With his deadpan delivery and coldhearted chorus, Drake takes over the track, rapping laconically “Oh, well, fuck ‘em dog, we gon’ see how hard they ride.”

“You and the 6” is one of many Drake songs that sound like an open letter to his mother, Sandi Graham. The format helps him make a few insightful confessions, as when he remembers, “I used to get teased for being Black and now I’m here and I’m not Black enough/’Cause I’m not acting tough/Or making stories up of where I’m actually from.” He also licks a shot at Rolling Stone over the controversy that ensued when his planned cover story was replaced by late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. “Gotta be careful ‘round Rolling Stone or anyone trying to throw stones at me, Mama,” he raps.

While it may seem like every major-label rapper is indulging in Afrobeats now, especially if they’re trying to score a late-night hit for baes, Drake’s roots run deeper than most. On “Fountains,” he generates sparks with Nigerian singer Tems, crooning sweet nothings about “how I can’t fathom this life without you.” Meanwhile, Tems responds by admitting “I’ve lost my composure,” and ladles the track with sensual frisson. 

“Why do I feel so alone/Like everybody passing through the studio is in character as if he acting out a movie role,” begins Drake as he raps over an instrumental of Kanye West’s “Say You Will.” What unfolds is a chorus-less, single verse — a familiar technique during the blog-rap era of the late aughts — as Drizzy contends with success. “I’m rolling around the city like your highness,” he boasts. More importantly, it’s an early example of his talent for composing confessional raps that showcase his emotional intensity.

“Know Yourself” demonstrates Drake’s knack for detailed autobiographical memories, from listing the names of old friends to selling Girbaud clothes. “Runnin’ through the 6 with my woes!” he shouts over a track where the beat changes midway through, and calls himself “Top Boy in this shit, I’m so international.” Meanwhile, a monologue from Popcaan near the song’s end represents an increasing interest in Afro-Caribbean culture that would come to the fore with 2016’s Views.

“Headlines” opens with a waft of keyboard fanfare from producers Boi-1da and 40, a musical proclamation that Drake plans to dominate rap for years to come. “I know I exaggerated things, now I got it like that,” he brags, deftly switching his voice between a melodic croon and a determined, matter-of-fact flow. “She says they miss the old Drake/Girl, don’t tempt me.”

Kicking off with a sample of Hiatus Kaiyote’s “Building a Ladder,” “Free Smoke” finds Drake taunting his opps, with internet commentators speculating he’s taking aim at former rival Meek Mill. He shouts out celebrity friends like Kevin “KD” Durant and Stephen “Chef” Curry, as well as longtime road dogs like Lil Wayne and CJ “Gibbo” Gibson, and remembers a line from Jay-Z’s “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love).” “I didn’t listen to Hov on that old song,” he admits as he seeks out enemies real and perceived.

“I’m a savage, but I fuck her to a slow song,” raps 21 Savage in his typical deadpan voice on this breakout hit. The song finds him and Drake referencing the R&B artists they like to play when making love, with Keith Sweat and Beyoncé earning honors. But the lyric that caused the most fuss is Drake’s revelation that “I used to date SZA back in ’08,” which she confirmed was true … while clarifying that their relationship actually occurred in 2009.

“Jungle” is one of Drake’s more unusual performances. Over a beat that loops a haunting vocal from Gabriel Garzón-Montano’s “6 8,” he asks if someone from “the jungle” — a reference to a neighborhood in Toronto — still cares about him. “Are you still down for the cause?” he asks with clear frustration. For someone known to mention past paramours by name in his songs, his object feels particularly vague here, and it seems as if he could be singing to his audience. “Fuck what they talkin’ about on your timeline,” he sings.

Drake may have swung and missed on the online-only remix of Wizkid’s 2014 classic “Ojuelegba.” But give him credit for lending crucial support as well as a feature on “Come Closer,” the Nigerian Afrobeats pioneer’s first U.S. single. Given that Wizkid has become a major global star, thanks to his massive 2021 hit “Essence,” Drake’s early advocacy now seems timely.

“I realize I gotta think for two now,” Drake raps determinedly on “March 14,” a song seemingly addressed to his newborn son. After all the tabloid speculation surrounding the event — as well as a memorable back-and-forth with antagonist Pusha T — this closing track on Scorpion is unexpectedly poignant. He admits, “Single father, I hate when I hear it/I used to challenge my parents on every album/Now I’m embarrassed to tell them I ended up as a co-parent.” Near the song’s end, he harmonizes in a mournful voice about loneliness, suggesting that his bravado masks deep feelings of guilt about the situation.

“Champagne poetry/These are the effortless flows supposedly,” raps Drake on the Beatles-sampling opening track from 2021’s Certified Lover Boy. As he takes stock of himself, the beat shifts midway through, turning the first half into familiar braggadocio and the second into a host of insecurities. “I know I tend to talk about how I got a fortune on me/But with that comes the politics the city’s been forcing on me,” he admits, adding that he hides his “pain” at L.A. restaurant Delilah’s “until my niggas carry me out.”