Hip-hop and pop culture go hand in hand. In the early days, this relationship was a bit one-sided, but once rap took over the world, both sides have benefitted from coexisting and having their respective artists work together to create hit songs. When it comes to television, rappers love referencing their favorite shows, characters, actors and actresses as well as best episodes. Funny enough, Drake, a rap superstar who was a child actor before hip-hop fame, has name-dropped plenty of TV shows and their characters throughout his career, from his pre-So Far Gone era to more modern times. Here, XXL features a few of Drake's best bars about TV.
It should come as no surprise that Drizzy, who made his leap into the public consciousness via acting on the television show Degrassi: The Next Generation in 2001, loves television, but makes it known in an impressive way. Throughout his discography, Drake has name-dropped a variety of TV shows. On the 2009 song "Unstoppable" featuring Lil Wayne and Santigold, the Toronto MC mentions Mr. Feeny of the 1993 coming-of-age drama Boy Meets World in a way that proves he really did watch the show. The lyrics, "And I belong right where you see me/Ain't on the fence about it, I ain't Mr. Feeny" are clever because Feeny used to dispense wisdom to the show's main character, Corey Matthews, over his fence since they were neighbors on the show. A passive viewer wouldn't remember this detail, making it clear that Drake was tuned in to Boy Meets World.
Drake's TV references also extend to more recent times. On "Mob Ties," from his 2018 album, Scorpion, he rhymes, "Yeah, I can tell/I just gave ’em two for 40 million like Chappelle," after the legendary comedian Dave Chappelle landed a huge business deal. Reportedly, he entered into a contract with Netflix in 2016, in which the actor would be paid $20 million per comedy special. In 2017, Chappelle had the Netflix specials The Age of Spin: Dave Chappelle Live at The Hollywood Palladium and Deep in the Heart of Texas: Dave Chappelle Live at Austin City Limits, which was packaged together, and Dave Chappelle: Equanimity & The Bird Revelation, also packaged together. So quite literally, he gave Netflix "two" for $40 million. Considering Dave originally became a household name thanks to the success of his sketch comedy show Chappelle's Show, it makes sense that Drake shouted him out.
Take a look through the gallery below for more of Drake's TV show references. In the wise words of Juelz Santana, "Don't watch me, watch TV."