Drake Reunites With His “Incredible Mentor” JAY-Z on “Pound Cake”ĭrake Mocks JAY-Z’s “Trendy Art Shout-Outs” When Drake hears a song he wishes he’d made, “I get physically sick,” he says, adding, “It doesn’t happen often.” It happened in 2011, when he heard JAY-Z and Kanye West’s “Ni**as in Paris,” from 'Watch the Throne.' “I was like, ‘How did I not think of that?’ - ‘Ball so hard, that shit cray!’ It was real rap shit, but it felt melodic all the cadences felt so good.” The song directly inspired “Started From the Bottom,” he says, challenging him to come up with a rapped hook just as catchy as a sung one. In a 2014 Rolling Stone profile, he admitted that The Throne’s mega-hit challenged him to “come up with a rapped hook just as catchy as a sung one.” Thus, “Started From the Bottom” was born.
He might not have been impressed by “H.A.M.,” but “N*ggas In Paris” certainly left an impression on Drake. “N*ggas In Paris” Inspires Drake to Make “Started From the Bottom” “Will I win one after that comment? Probably not.” Since losing out to Hov in 2010, Drake has won three GRAMMYs. “Would I love to win a GRAMMY? Sure,” he said. If that comment seems ancient after Chance The Rapper’s multiple wins on Sunday night, then Drake’s prediction about his future GRAMMY prospects was even more off-base. Because it goes against the grain of everything that is traditional.” I just felt like they had an option to give me a GRAMMY for a mixtape, and they just didn’t do it. “That one to me was, like, really? Not to say that JAY-Z isn’t the most incredible rapper and that ‘D.O.A.’ wasn’t a good song. “The one that really got to me was when I lost to ‘D.O.A.’ for ‘Best I Ever Had,’” Drake told Billboard, referring to JAY-Z's win for Best Rap Solo Performance in 2010.
Let’s be honest, who wasn’t disappointed after hearing “H.A.M.”? Drake Admits He Wasn’t Happy About “D.O.A.” Beating “Best I Ever Had” at the GRAMMYs Though not as blatant, Drake appeared to take a dig at The Throne himself during his verse on the song: “Please pardon my brother, he’s just angry at you n*ggas / Who don’t have your heart in your rap shit and got too fucking comfy.” Reigniting their own cold war of words, Weezy turned Hov’s taunt into a cold-blooded threat on his Carter IV cut, “It’s Good” ( “Talkin’ bout baby money, I got ya baby money / Kidnap yo bitch, get that how-much-you-love-yo-lady money”). More than a year later, Hov threw a bucket of cold water on Baby’s hot take on Watch The Throne’s first single, “H.A.M.”: “I’m like, ‘really? Half a billi n*gga, really?’ You got baby money / Keep it real with n*ggas, n*ggas ain’t got my lady’s money.” In 2009, back when Birdman and Lil Wayne’s relationship felt more like A Perfect World and less like He Got Game, Birdman claimed that Wayne was better than Jay Z because he has more money. Drake Has Lil Wayne’s Back On “It’s Good”