How Drake went from a ‘6 God’ to a ‘6 Man’ in one year
Drizzy, Champagne Papi, The Boy. Drake is a man of many nicknames, all co-signed by himself. The ‘Nothing Was the Same’ rapper also calls himself the ‘6 God’ to reference his origins. ‘The 6’ is a nickname for Toronto due to its six boroughs and area codes 416 and 647, while the nickname essentially calls him the king of where he comes from.
In 2014, Drake took things even further and put his claim into music, releasing a song called ‘6 God’. He raps on the song, “I hear the talk on road is I’m the shit, boy/ Phone call back home, shit is hot up in TThe 6, boy/ Shit hot up in The 6 right now/ Shit hot up in The 6, boy/ Shit is hot up in The 6 right now/ Come see us and get it fixed, boy.”
Drake released the hard-hitting track, produced by Boi-1da and Syk Sense, the day after his birthday alongside two other songs, ‘How About Now’ and ‘Heat of the Moment’. At the time, he revealed that he dropped the songs because hackers stole them.
‘6 God’ appeared on his mixtape, 2015’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, alongside another Toronto-centred track called ‘6 Man’. In the song, Drake references NBA player Louis Williams, who was previously the sixth man for the Toronto Raptors.
He raps, “Boomin out in South Gwinnett like Lou Will’/ 6 Man like Lou Will’/ Two girls and they get along like I’m— (Lou)/ Like I’m Lou Will’, I just got the new deal.” Williams was only at the Raptors for one season, but he won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
Daxs, who produced the song with Noah ’40’ Shebib, explained how the beat came about. “It was quick,” he told Complex. “I basically did all the drums, but the idea for the beat came from him putting two of my beats together as one to get the bounce, and he did the melodies on it and everything.”
Drake’s nicknames have inspired social media handles and tattoos. In 2016, a fan told Vice, “I’m a huge Drake fan. I just spent $2,500 on the 6 God Meet and Greet in Buffalo, AND I scored floor seats for Toronto (best part? I’m going alone, ha). I’m well known on social media as the ‘6 Goddess.'”
She continued, “Drake is Toronto. I feel like I live and breathe Toronto. It’s an amazing feeling to be so connected with an artist who musically connects with the city on such an intense level. I actually have one [tattoo] in the works — ‘6 Goddess’ under my other boob.”
Drizzy has referenced The 6 on other songs throughout his career, including more records on If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. On ‘Know Yourself’, he famously raps, “Runnin’ through The 6 with my woes/ Countin’ money, you know how it goes/ Pray the real live forever, man/ Pray the fakes get exposed.”
However, in 2024, Kendrick Lamar took shots at Drake over his self-proclaimed ‘6 God’ name, rapping on his ‘Not Like Us‘ diss track, “Devil is a lie, he a 69 God, ayy/ Freaky-ass n*ggas need to stay they ass inside.” From hero to villain, a nickname can so easily be used for better or worse.