Did The Weeknd dis Drake on his new single? A Toronto Life investigation
Could beef be brewing between Toronto’s most beloved sons of song? The Internet has been buzzing since The Weeknd released his latest single, “Lost in the Fire.” The lyric in question? “I just wanna have a baby with the right one/’Cause I could never be the one to hide one.”
Here’s a quick recap for those who haven’t been following along with the Drizzy drama: last year, Pusha-T outed Drake as the father of a one-year-old son named Adonis. He fessed up to being a secret parent on his most recent album, Scorpion (and on Insta). Now, his former protégé is singing about people who hide babies, which certainly sounds like a swipe. But is it? We investigate…
Exhibit A: They’re friends
Back in 2010, Drake gave a shoutout to The Weeknd on his OVO blog, which attracted the attention of industry kingmakers like Pitchfork. Since, The Weeknd has been quick to praise Drizzy as his hip hop fairy godfather, and they’ve collaborated a lot over the years (after all, they do share that important #sixbond). “I will always be thankful. If it wasn’t for the light he shined on me, who knows where I’d be,” The Weeknd told Rolling Stone in 2015.
The takeaway: A dis track seems like a pretty odd way of expressing gratitude.
Exhibit B: Or are they frenemies?
Things haven’t always been peachy between Aubrey and Abel. Despite all the aforementioned gratitude, when the time came for The Weeknd to sign with a label, he opted for Republic Records over Drake’s OVO. (A move Drake shaded on Twitter). And let’s not forget all the drama following The Weeknd’s split with American model Bella Hadid last year, when a certain Six God was rumoured to swoop in for the rebound. Whether DrizzaBella™ were ever actually a thing was the subject of a very serious Toronto Life investigation in 2017, which concluded: “All signs indicate something’s going on here. Only time—and the inevitable dis tracks—will tell.”
The takeaway: If we’re looking for a motive, there are multiple.
Exhibit C: The lyrics
The lyric in question—“I would never be the one to hide a baby”—may have been edited by Internet trolls. As Pitchfork pointed out, the official lyrics on Apple Music are slightly different to what everyone else is hearing. Apparently, the real line is “I would never be the one to hurt a baby,” which doesn’t really scan as a direct reference to the Drake drama. The music video isn’t much help on the mystery-solving front. In fact, it seems like the confusion is intentional. During the crucial hurt/hide moment, The Weeknd covers his mouth.
The takeaway: Either this is the new Laurel-Yanny scandal or something is up.
Exhibit D: The Pusha co-sign
Pusha T, the original dis-track maker, responded to “Lost in the Fire” in an an ambiguous but telling tweet.
The take away: Pusha is no Drake fan, and he thinks the song is fire.
— King Push (@PUSHA_T) January 12, 2019
The verdict:
Either The Weeknd is talking about Drake, or he wants us to think he’s talking about Drake. Really, there’s not much difference between a dis and a meta dis. Your move, Drizzy.
. Now, his former protégé is singing about people who hide babies, which certainly sounds like a swipe. But is it? We investigate...
Exhibit A: They’re friends
Back in 2010, Drake gave a shoutout to The Weeknd on his OVO blog, which attracted the attention of industry kingmakers like Pitchfork. Since, The Weeknd has been quick to praise Drizzy as his hip hop fairy godfather, and they've collaborated a lot over the years (after all, they do share that important #sixbond). “I will always be thankful. If it wasn’t for the light he shined on me, who knows where I’d be,” The Weeknd told Rolling Stone in 2015.
The takeaway: A dis track seems like a pretty odd way of expressing gratitude.
Exhibit B: Or are they frenemies?
Things haven't always been peachy between Aubrey and Abel. Despite all the aforementioned gratitude, when the time came for The Weeknd to sign with a label, he opted for Republic Records over Drake’s OVO. (A move Drake shaded on Twitter). And let's not forget all the drama following The Weeknd’s split with American model Bella Hadid last year, when a certain Six God was rumoured to swoop in for the rebound. Whether DrizzaBella™ were ever actually a thing was the subject of a very serious Toronto Life investigation in 2017, which concluded: “All signs indicate something’s going on here. Only time—and the inevitable dis tracks—will tell.”
The takeaway: If we’re looking for a motive, there are multiple.
Exhibit C: The lyrics
The lyric in question—“I would never be the one to hide a baby”—may have been edited by Internet trolls. As Pitchfork pointed out, the official lyrics on Apple Music are slightly different to what everyone else is hearing. Apparently, the real line is “I would never be the one to hurt a baby,” which doesn't really scan as a direct reference to the Drake drama. The music video isn't much help on the mystery-solving front. In fact, it seems like the confusion is intentional. During the crucial hurt/hide moment, The Weeknd covers his mouth.
The takeaway: Either this is the new Laurel-Yanny scandal or something is up.
Exhibit D: The Pusha co-sign
Pusha T, the original dis-track maker, responded to "Lost in the Fire" in an an ambiguous but telling tweet.
The take away: Pusha is no Drake fan, and he thinks the song is fire.
??? https://t.co/kIdFTPZAH4
— King Push (@PUSHA_T) January 12, 2019
The verdict:
Either The Weeknd is talking about Drake, or he wants us to think he’s talking about Drake. Really, there's not much difference between a dis and a meta dis. Your move, Drizzy.){kind=link}