Drake began his career as an actor on a Canadian show which helped him pay his bills before he forayed into music to follow through with his passion. Since releasing his first mixtape, Room For Improvement, in 200, Drake has continued to work on building great music, and his success has reached astronomical heights in the last decade. Creating good music has always been important for Drake, and sometimes the rapper has been accused of copying tunes.
Finding a unique song has become increasingly complex, but sometimes, pieces can be all-too identical to pass off as an inspiration. Drake has had a few run-ins with copyright lawsuits after his songs have become successful globally. From his hits like In My Feelings and Hotline Bling to the mixtapes, let’s look at when Drake was accused of riding another artist’s wave.
10 Meek Mill Accused Drake Of Using A Ghostwriter
Meek Mill released his album Dreams Worth More Than Money in 2015, and fans drew comparisons between him and Drake. Mill tweeted that people shouldn’t make comparisons as he accused Drake of not writing his song verses and using a ghostwriter. He also claimed that Drake had not promoted the album on his social media because his producers found out.
RELATED: Meek Mill Is Stepping Away From Social Media
9 Taking Sam Skully’s Beats From 2000’s Roll With It
Samuel Nicholas III, better known by his stage name Sam Skully filed a lawsuit against Drake in 2018 after his successful album Scorpion was released. As per the documents of the infringement suit obtained, Drake had reportedly stolen beats from his 2000’s song Roll Call for In My Feelings. He also claimed that Drake had used other beats of his for the song Nice For What.
8 Ripping Playaz Club Lyrics For His Song
Another dispute with copyright infringement occurred in 2014 when Drake featured on YG’s track Who Do You Love? from his album My Krazy Life. The rapper was accused of stealing lyrics from the 1994 song Playaz Club by 4-Tay. With the criticism that followed, Drake’s manager announced that Drake’s label had already paid $100,000 to 4-Tay for ripping off the song.
7 Chris Brown And Drake’s Collab Made From Stolen Song
Timothy Valentine and Brandon Cooper, who adapted the stage names Drum’n Skillz and Mr. Cooper, filed an infringement lawsuit against Drake and Chris Brown in 2021 for their track No Guidance. The rappers claimed that the song was derived from their track I Love Your Dress, released three years before Drake and Brown’s song.
6 Soulja Boy’s Accusation Against Drake For Miss Me
Soulja Boy, who has released selective music over the last few years, stopped at The Breakfast Club's podcast in October 2020. The rapper mentioned that Drake stole his rapping style in the track Miss Me featuring Lil Wayne. He also played the song and showed how the song was a copy from bar to bar.
5 Copying The Style Of XXXTentacion
Late rapper XXXTentacion was alive in 2017 when Drake released his mixtape More Life. While he complimented Drake for his musical genius and having a successful career as an R&B artist, he later fired off that the rapper stole his tunes while he was in prison. XXXTentacion also said he wasn’t a real man for stealing the vibes from his music.
4 Received Criticism For Aaliyah’s Posthumous Album
Famous hip-hop singer Aaliyah was known as the Princess of R&B but had an untimely death in a plane crash at just 21 years of age. In 2012, Drake and Noah 40 announced their collaboration on a posthumous album with Aaliyah’s vocals. The world criticized Drake’s involvement in the album, and the project was scraped off altogether.
3 Duplicated Visuals For Hotline Bling
Hotline Bling became an internet sensation for its meme-worthy music video and catchy lyrics, which brought an onslaught of accusations on Drake for stealing beats and visuals. The internet accused the rapper of stealing the aesthetics from infamous artist James Turrell known for his stunning installations. Drake addressed the speculations and said the artist heavily influenced him.
2 Took Cha Cha Vibes For Hotline Bling
When Drake released the music video for Hotline Bling in 2015, rapper D.R.A.M was on tour with Chance The Rapper. Once the show ended, he addressed getting jacked and spoke about the different similarities between his song Cha Cha and Hotline Bling. The Timmy Thomas track also inspired Cha Cha Why Can't We Live Together, but the artist was credited.
1 Lying About Permission For Jimmy Smith Rap
After the release of the track Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2, Drake was instantly hit with a lawsuit for using Jimmy Smith’s Rap from a 1982 song without permission. In court, Drake and his lawyers explained that there was no infringement as they hired a music license company to obtain the requirements and won the case.
Drake has also beefed with Common, who has mocked him for being too soft with music, while rapper Tyga once accused the Canadian rapper of being fake. With the growing popularity and success of Drake’s music, he has become a standard fixture for being accused of stealing lyrics and using writers to create his verses.
Sources: Billboard, Complex, Rolling Stone, Hollywood Reporter
