Drake released the track “Wu-Tang Forever” Thursday (September 12) off of his upcoming album Nothing Was the Same. The Web’s general consensus? A big old “Huh?”
Drake revealed the Nothing Was the Same tracklist earlier this month, and there, nestled between dreamy-sounding titles like “Tuscan Leather” and “Pound Cake” was the head-scratcher: “Wu-Tang Forever.” Did Drizzy write a tribute to the Staten Island Clan? In addition to a posthumous ODB, was Wu-Tang hooking up with Drake for their 20th anniversary? The answers to those queries: “Not really,” and “Probably not.”
“Wu-Tang Forever,” which features not RZA and Co. but Jhené Aiko, samples the Clan’s 1997 jam “It’s Yourz.” Drake’s song, however is more about ex-girlfriends (“I just love when I’m with you, yeah, this sh– is on ten”) and his prowess as a musician (“It ain’t about who did it first/It’s about who did it right”) than anything Wu-Tang ever rapped about. In short, it’s a Drake song — even if he does shoutout the Clan and cop some of their lines. Consequently, a lot of listeners in the Twitterverse were confused by the jam, even if clan member Inspectah Deck has no beef with it. Friday morning (September 13), he tweeted: “GM fam! Woke up to a lot of @Drake disses… WTH? The homey did a song about us right? Is that not love/respect? Or did I miss sum’n?”
Despite that seal of almost approval, however, fans took to the Web, SMH en masse. @VStarchaser tweeted, “Wu-Tang Forever .. This is not making any sense to me :/,” while @CainMcCoy, apparently, couldn’t get past the title, saying, “I was feeling everything from Drake up until ‘Wu-Tang Forever.'” @MicheleJenae quipped about the song, referring to another — literally softer — title on the upcoming album: “is this pound cake or wu-tang forever?”
Many pointed out the difference between Drake’s lyrics and Wu-Tang’s, some sharing side by side comparisons of “Wu-Tang Forever” and “It’s Yourz.” @The_Blackprint_ expression his confusion with a simile: “You can’t name a song ‘Wu Tang Forever’ and come soft as Charmin A– paper…SMH”
Despite the blowback, however, Drake fans did come forward to express their love for the track — even if they did so a bit sheepishly. @Mattao tweeted, “I’m feelin that Wu Tang forever joint I don’t care what yall say lol,” while @AnIsraeli_God said, “Wu Tang Forever was so raw that it was giving me chills,” referring to the spare nature of the track. @MikaelaBunker, for one, crooned, “I want to stop listening to Wu-Tang Forever, but girl…” adding to the chorus of supporters who expressed a desire to get down — in one way or another — to the jam.
What do you think of “Wu-Tang Forever”? Let us know in the comments below.
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