“Gimme a hug, gimme a hug!” Drake implores on one track from his latest album, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U.
After the turbulent period he has endured, it’s perhaps unsurprising that he craves comfort.
In terms of rap feuds, his loss to hip-hop’s lyrical maestro, Kendrick Lamar, has become a cultural sensation, even prompting Drake to file a lawsuit against Universal Music Group.
Lamar’s diss track, Not Like Us, a viral sensation since last summer, accuses the Canadian superstar of inappropriate associations with underage girls—claims Drake has vehemently denied.
First, the song dominated the Grammy Awards, with Taylor Swift and Beyoncé seen dancing along. Then came Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance, where an estimated 133.5 million viewers watched as an entire stadium chanted lyrics branding Drake as a predator.
And on Friday, the single finally reached number one in the UK charts, nine months after its release, mirroring its massive success in the US.
Yet rather than retreat into the shadows, Drake—the dominant chart presence of the last decade and a half—is taking an “intriguing” approach to damage control after finding himself in a “cultural chokehold,” says crisis PR specialist Mark Borkowski.
As Lamar basks in the spotlight of his triumph, Drake has opted to sidestep the conflict—aside from a single bitter freestyle condemning disloyal acquaintances—and instead focused on redefining his image.
Currently touring in Australia, he has been loosening up, subtly embracing the softer persona he had previously worked to shed, even delivering an intimate karaoke bar performance of his early, sultry hits.
Then, on Valentine’s Day, nearly a week after the Super Bowl, he released $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, a full-length collaboration with PartyNextDoor that recalls the R&B-infused style of his rise to fame.
Brimming with trap-soul beats narrating romantic escapades, Borkowski describes the album as a “strategic retreat into familiar, comfortable terrain,” aligning with the more sensitive “certified lover boy” image that characterized Drake’s initial breakout records like Thank Me Later and 2011’s Take Care.
During the 2010s, Drake was the most-streamed artist on Spotify, accumulating over 28 billion plays, with his biggest hit, One Dance, alone surpassing 1.7 billion streams.
Even though Not Like Us may have dented his dominance, he was still the fourth most-streamed artist globally last year.
A Commercial Chameleon
Drake’s resilience stems from his ability to adapt musically, seamlessly incorporating various genres at the peak of his pop-rap supremacy.
His discography—which includes 45 UK top 10 hits (six of them chart-toppers) and over 300 entries on the US Billboard Hot 100—draws from grime, dancehall, and Afrobeats influences.
His versatility as a musical shapeshifter means that “despite this undeniable loss and Not Like Us cementing itself as a landmark in rap history, Drake keeps moving,” Borkowski notes.
On $ome $exy $ongs 4 U’s track Gimme A Hug, Drake appears to surrender the lyrical battle against Lamar, declaring: “[Expletive] a rap beef, I’m tryna get the party lit.“
And commercially, this approach has worked. According to Billboard, Apple Music confirmed that $ome $exy $ongs 4 U broke first-day R&B streaming records on the platform.
In the UK’s official charts, the album debuted at number three.
Three of its tracks also landed in the top 40—including Gimme A Hug.
Critical reception, however, has been mixed. Vulture described it as a return to the “pre-feud star finding his footing,” deliberately reviving his past aesthetic.
In a three-and-a-half-star review, Rolling Stone’s Jeff Ihaza called it a “return to form from an artist who was truly cornered.”
Conversely, Pitchfork’s Alphonse Pierre was merciless, dismissing it as “a desperate project from one of rap’s most infamous egotists.”
Regardless, Borkowski is certain of the intent—Gimme A Hug, much like the album, is not a response to Lamar but rather an exit strategy. A recognition that Drake can still emerge victorious, just on a different battlefield.
A Nostalgic Strategy
So, where is Drake heading if he’s conceding the rap warzone? The answer lies in nostalgia.
Weeks before the release of his latest project, Drake opened his Australian tour wearing a vest with simulated bullet holes. He concluded the show by announcing: “My name is Drake, I started in 2008, I came all the way from Toronto, Canada. The year is now 2025, and Drizzy Drake is very much still alive.“
For music and culture journalist Manu Ekanayake, the new album’s callback to his early 2010s era, when he “sounded self-assured in his artistic vision,” aligns with this approach.
However, he questions whether, after three recent albums portraying him as the least convincing tough guy in hip-hop, he can truly revert to the smooth, melodic persona of his earlier career.
Drake certainly seems determined to make it work. Mere days after the album’s release, he announced an unprecedented three-night takeover of London’s Wireless Festival this summer, with each night dedicated to a different phase of his career.
Event organizers confirmed that tickets sold out in record time.
For Borkowski, this is a “masterclass in narrative control.”
“Drake is curating his own legacy, reminding audiences of his longevity, and steering the conversation away from defeat and back to his enduring influence.”
Ekanayake remains skeptical about the long-term sustainability of this approach:
“At 38, it all feels different from when he was an emerging talent in his 20s. What once seemed like a revolutionary new take on hip-hop for a new generation now feels like the final chapter of an era.”
Yet, ultimately, Borkowski returns to the fundamental point:
“Drake’s supporters aren’t necessarily music purists—they are Drake fans. They’re here for the lifestyle, the aura, and the brand. As long as he continues to deliver that, his legacy remains intact.”
The real power move? Aligning with Live Nation for his reinvention, Borkowski asserts.
“It’s about maintaining relevance, ensuring the hits keep coming, and keeping the machine running. In today’s music landscape, perception is currency, and despite recent setbacks, Drake is still cashing in.”
And it’s a good thing, too—because Lamar’s Not Like Us shows no sign of losing momentum on either side of the Atlantic.
The Compton rapper has already made history by becoming the first artist to have three albums simultaneously in the US Billboard Top 10, with his latest release, GNX, securing the number one spot.
The battle may be over, but the chart rivalry has only just begun.
