Drake Sets the Record Straight on How Much The Weeknd Wrote on ‘Take Care’ Album
On Wednesday (Nov. 15), Drake celebrated the sixth anniversary of his Take Care album's release date by uploading a rare draft of the project's tracklist onto his Instagram account. As is almost always the case, though, someone had to jump into the comments section to discredit the Toronto rapper—and Drizzy was having none of that.
Responding to a commenter who claimed The Weeknd, born name Abel Tesfaye, penned most of the album many consider to be Drizzy's best, Drake offered a paragraph's worth of clarification below his image. "Abel Tesfaye CO WROTE on 'Shot For Me' and 'Practice,' obviously was featured on 'Crew Love' and 'The Ride' and that’s it," wrote Drizzy, responding to an Instagram user by the name of @meechie____. "There’s 20 songs on that album … don’t try me."
If, by chance, you haven't been keeping score, it could seem odd that Drizzy, who's quantifiably one of the five biggest artists in the entire world, took the time to respond to a random Instagram account. If you have, though, you already know that Drizzy's always gone out of his way to address anyone trying to discredit his art.
In the summer of 2015, Meek Mill accused him of using ghostwriters, and Drake responded with a couple of vicious diss songs and a ruthless meme-powered Meek roast session at the 2015 OVO Fest.
At around that same time, Drizzy spoke with The Fader about his writing process, and the way he collaborates with other writers to make great songs. He also attempted to contextualize the leaked Quentin Miller reference tracks.
"I need, sometimes, individuals to spark an idea so that I can take off running," he explained at the time. "I don’t mind that. And those recordings—they are what they are. And you can use your own judgment on what they mean to you. There’s not necessarily a context to them. And I don’t know if I’m really here to even clarify it for you," he continued.
Although Drake said Weeknd only co-wrote a few Take Care tracks, the crooner himself said he gave his fellow Toronto artist half his House of Balloons project for Take Care.
“I was hungry... I was like, ‘Dude, take anything,'" Weeknd said in the 2013 Rolling Stone interview, also calling Drizzy his "closest friend in the industry at that time.” He continued, “I gave up almost half of my album. It's hard. I will always be thankful—if it wasn't for the light he shined on me, who knows where I'd be. And everything happens for a reason.” He added, “You never know what I would say if this success wasn't in front of me now.”
With all of that said, Drizzy and Weeknd appear to be as close as ever, with Drizzy even saying an OVO-XO project needs to happen.
See Photos of Drake's Different Looks Over the Years