On Sunday (Dec. 3), Drake appeared to respond to Metro Boomin’s remarks regarding streaming figures and award show politics.
In a deleted post on Twitter the previous day (Dec. 2), the beatmaker discussed the DSP success of his sophomore studio album compared to Drake and 21 Savage’s joint project. He stated, “Her Loss keeps winning Rap Album of the Year over [HEROES & VILLIANS]. Proof that award shows are just politics and not for me. [I don’t care] about awards. Honestly, the true award and REWARD is knowing that the music I spend so much time on brings joy to people’s everyday lives.”
Drake seemingly addressed Metro’s comments on Instagram by quoting JAY-Z’s “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love).” The post read, “Damn, little mans, I’m just tryin’ to do me/ If the record’s two mil’, I’m just tryin’ to move three.”
HEROES & VILLIANS came out in 2022 with 15 tracks. It included guest appearances from Future, Gunna, Young Nudy, The Weeknd, Don Toliver, Takeoff, and ASAP Rocky, among others. Notably, it landed at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart upon release.
In a January interview with DJ Drama, Metro revealed why he decided not to feature Drake on “Trance,” which already contained contributions from Young Thug and Travis Scott. “Really, it was a song I had did with Travis and Thug, originally for my album,” Metro said. “[Drake] really wanted to get on it, but I was letting him know that it was really just done for real. I was like, ‘Bro, I ain’t trying to sell you no dream. I’m locked in where it was.’”
Drake did record a verse for “Trance,” but Metro chose to use the original version. The producer added, “He did some stuff. A couple [of] parts was cool, but like, I just felt like just even with like Slime verse, and Trav verse, and the outro, it just wasn’t no room.”