Opening up: The Drake song that left Mariah Carey flattered
Regardless of his public perception, it is hard to deny Drake‘s success. His ability to consistently produce album after album, if we’re including playlists and mixtapes as well (which we probably should considering their length), has seen him collect multiple world records.
Those records include the highest-certified digital single sales in the United States, the most Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles by a male solo artist (13, tied with Michael Jackson), most Billboard Hot 100 top ten singles (78), and the most Billboard Hot 100 charted songs (376). With this level of success, fame is sure to follow. But, of course, there is an ugly element to everyone knowing who you are and wanting to know your business.
In the world of hip-hop, there will always be haters. As such, In ‘The Story of Adidion’, Pusha T’s Drake diss track, the secret about Drake’s son, Adonis, was leaked to the public. This followed claims from Adonis’ mother, French model and adult film star Sophie Brussaux, that Drake was the father of her child in 2017.
Drake confirmed the existence of his son on his album Scorpion mentioning him on three separate tracks. On ‘Emotionless’, he rapped: “I wasn’t hiding my kid from the world, I was hiding the world from my kid. Breaking news in my life I don’t run to the blogs. The only ones I want to tell are in my phone I can call”. On ‘8 out of 10’, he rhymed: “Kiss my son on the forehead, then kiss your ass goodbye”, and on ‘March 14’, he spat: “She not my lover like ‘Billie Jean’, but the kid is mine.”
The first of those tracks samples another iconic artist in Mariah Carey. Her track ‘Emotions’, a bouncy house track released in 1991, was chopped up and converted into a gospel-style rendition, finally layered onto a snare and bass-heavy rhythm, which Drake’s producer, Noah “40” Shebib, has incorporated into his signature.
Carey was taken aback by the tribute which she outlined in an interview with genius.com. Having heard the track over the phone, she added, “They ended up using pretty much all of it. I was like, ‘Okay, well, I’m so glad they liked it.’ I was very flattered by it.”
To flatter a woman of Carey’s standing is a huge accomplishment. She is no stranger to the spotlight. During the 1990s and the 2000s, she was a, if not the, it girl of the music world. With the unforgettable track ‘We Belong Together’ and her insatiable collaboration with Busta Rhymes on ‘I Know What You Want’, the New York native still holds Billboard Hot 100 records for the most number-one singles by a solo artist (19), female songwriter (18), and female producer (15). Spending a record 93 weeks atop the chart.
Drake may arguably be the biggest artist of the last decade. But a huge accolade that he can claim is his ability to honour those who came before him, even those who were at the top of the game, as a part of his journey.