Drake explains why he name-drops exes in lyrics after admitting 'disrupting their lives'

Drake has a long history of name-dropping his exes in his songs and is well-aware of the chaos it causes in their lives after a former girlfriend called him out.

Fans of the 36-year-old musician may recall his 2011 songs ‘Club Paradise’ and ‘Shot for Me’, which directly mentioned his exes Rose Mary, Leanne Sealy, Catya Washington and Alisha Phillips.

Then, in 2018, he referenced his ex-girlfriend Keshia Chanté in his 2018 hit ‘In My Feelings’. Keshia is apparently the woman named 'Kiki' mentioned in the song’s hook.

The list doesn’t end there, however. In the song ‘Mr Right Now’ with 21 Savage and Metro Boomin, the Canadian star spilled that he ‘used to date SZA back in ‘08’.

Jason Richardson / Alamy Stock Photo

But the ‘Kill Bill’ hitmaker later clarified that they were a ‘thing’ in 2009 after fans called out the fact that she was around 17 for most of 2008.

Thankfully, both artists are cool as exes, even though SZA compared Drake to Regina George from Mean Girls.

“I feel like Drake has a Regina George quality to him where it’s just kind of like, ‘Have you or anyone you know been personally victimized?’” she said during an interview with Big Trigger last year.

“He’s like a cool kid, you know. When you’re the popular kid in school, it’s entertaining. It’s entertaining, but you sometimes are taking losses in the midst of that entertainment. The honesty, I respect that. But I definitely laughed real hard… I cackled.”

@sza/Instagram

But now, it seems like SZA may be one of the last women to be referenced by Drake in one of his songs, as the 35-year-old rapper has he admitted some regret over doing it in the past.

In a chat with fellow rapper Lil Yachty on FutureMood’s A Moody Conversation, Drake admitted that he ‘could have done without’ name dropping his former lovers.

This is what we call growth!

“When I've said girls’ names in songs… Maybe those are the two things I look on and I’m like, ‘Maybe I could have done without, like, s***ting on people for age or disrupting somebody's life',” he shared.

Drake – who goes by Champagne Papi on Instagram – said his lyrics are ‘never with ill intent,’ and admitted that he’s aware of the impact his words have on others after a former flame contacted him about his lyrics.

He claimed: “The lyrics are never with ill intent, but I had somebody one time be like, ‘You know, it's not necessarily what you're saying about me, it's the fact that you said it.’”

The unnamed ex told the former Degrassi star: “‘You don't know who my boyfriend is at the time or you don't know what my family knows or doesn't know. And if you express any form of discontent for me and call me by name in a song, then all of a sudden, I'm left to pick up the pieces of my own life that I've tried to build up for myself.’”

The dad-of-one then reflected: “So I've tried my best to stop doing that. But I like to be honest in music too so that one's a push and pull.”