Drake Acknowledges Taylor Swift’s Industry Influence in “Red Button” Lyrics

On his recent EP Scary Hours 3, Drake recognized Taylor Swift’s chart-topping game with some perfectly executed lyrics in the song “Red Button.” The six-track EP dropped Friday, November 17, as an expansion of his recent album, For All the Dogs, and opens with a tribute to T-Swift’s absolute chart domination.

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Taylor Swift the only ni–a that I ever rated / Only one could make me drop the album just a little later, Drake raps on the track, backed by an angelic choir as produced by Lil Yachty. He continues, Rest of y’all I treat you like you never made it / Leave your label devastated / Even when you pad the stats, period, I never hated.

Drake and Swift are usually neck and neck on the charts, and it’s about time someone brought attention to it. For All the Dogs was released on October 6, while 1989 (Taylor’s Version) dropped three weeks later on October 27. Additionally, Midnights was released on October 21 last year, while Her Loss, the joint venture of Drake and 21 Savage, was set to release on October 28 that year. The date was then pushed to November 4. It seems that instance of chart-topping rivalry is what inspired Drake’s lyrics on “Red Button.”

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Will Swift acknowledge the back-and-forth chart-topping she and Drake get up to with their recent releases? We’ll have to wait and see. For now, she seems busy enough with her worldwide Eras Tour, while Drake has announced he’s stepping away from music to focus on his health.

On his radio show “Table For One” on Sirius XM, Drake shared that after For All the Dogs he’s going to be taking a break from making music. “I probably won’t make music for a little bit, I’m gonna be honest,” he said. “I got some other things that I need to do for some other people that I made promises to but I probably won’t make music for a little bit. I’m gonna be real with you.”

He continued, “I need to focus on my health, first and foremost. I’ll talk about that soon enough. Nothing crazy, but I want people to be healthy in life and I’ve been having the craziest problems for years with my stomach.”

On the topic of how long he’ll stay away, Drake said, “I have a lot of other things that I would love to focus on so I’mma lock the door to the studio for a little bit. I don’t even know what a little bit is. Maybe a year or something. Maybe a little longer.”

Looks like fans will have to make do with For All the Dogs and Scary Hours 3 for a while in terms of new music. But, his devoted followers can get their fill with Drake’s recently announced It’s All A Blur Tour — Big As The What?! with J.Cole.

Tickets are available now through StubHub where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand. (See tour dates below)

Drake and J. Cole It’s All A Blur Tour — Big As The What?! Upcoming Dates

01/18 – Denver, Colorado – Ball Arena  

01/19 – Denver, Colorado – Ball Arena 

01/22 – San Antonio, Texas – Frost Bank Center 

01/25 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Paycom Center 

01/29 – New Orleans, Louisiana – Smoothie King Center 

01/30 – New Orleans, Louisiana – Smoothie King Center 

02/02 – Tampa, Florida – Amalie Arena 

02/07 – Nashville, Tennessee – Bridgestone Arena 

02/08 – Nashville, Tennessee – Bridgestone Arena 

02/12 – St. Louis, Missouri – Enterprise Arena 

02/16 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – PPG Paints Arena 

02/20 – Columbus, Ohio – Schottenstein Center 

02/21 – Columbus, Ohio – Schottenstein Center 

02/24 – Cleveland, Ohio – Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse 

02/27 – Buffalo, New York – KeyBank Center 

03/02 – Kansas City, Missouri – T-Mobile Center 

03/05 – Memphis, Tennessee – FedEx Forum

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03/10 – Lexington, Kentucky – Rupp Arena 

03/14 – Belmont Park, New York – UBS Arena *

03/18 – State College, Pennsylvania – Bryce Jordan Center *

03/23 – Sunrise, Florida – Amerant Bank Arena *

03/27 – Birmingham, Alabama – The Legacy Arena at BJCC *

* = without J. Cole

 Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella