How Drake’s “Hotline Bling” Became His Peak Emo Ballad

Drake has always been a magnet for attention. His strange journey has taken him from teen fame on Degrassi to blockbuster rap stardom. In 2024, his beef with Kendrick Lamar has blown up into one of the all-time biggest hip-hop beefs. They went from zero to 100 real quick, sending deadly insults and accusations back and forth. Yet he’s also still Drake, the pop icon and the certified loverboy who sings emo ballads like the 2015 classic “Hotline Bling.”
When “Hotline Bling” dropped, it felt like a victory lap-after a year of hip-hop flexes, he felt confident enough to sing his most vulnerable soul ballad, pining over an ex who’s doing fine without him. Obviously, in 2024 Drake is in a totally different place. He hasn’t been in his feelings over his exes’ vacation photos lately. Instead, he’s caught up in a rap beef of historic proportions.
On this week’s episode hosts Rob Sheffield and Brittany Spanos discuss Drake’s career, “Hotline Bling,” and the Kendrick beef. They’re joined by their brilliant colleague Jeff Ihaza to talk about “Hotline Bling” and its place in the Drake story. Jeff also helps us break down the context of Drake’s hip-hop status in 2015, and how that influenced how the world heard “Hotline Bling.”
00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Drake's Hotline Bling
01:12 Drake's Musical Journey and Impact
03:15 Drake's Unique Style and Influence in Music
07:04 The Cultural Phenomenon of Hotline Bling
11:36 Drake's Relationship with Other Artists and His Musical Versatility
19:18 The Drake and Kendrick Lamar Beef: A Turning Point?
27:08 Reflecting on Hotline Bling's Legacy and Drake's Future
Apple: pod.link/1734617231.apple
Spotify: pod.link/1734617231.spotify
IHeartRadio: pod.link/1734617231.iheartradio
Others: episodes.fm/1734617231

[@gurdyghost]

He remixed a song called the cha cha from an artist named dram. Scraped the name and called it hotline bling. Scam artist

[@ToneLive]

Rolling Stone fell off hard. 50 views breh?

[@thomasminarchickjr.7355]

Drake died. You didn’t hear?

[@carlosdelacueva2713]

LMAO..

[@ebnest123]

Drake has been in multiple battles Kendrick has been in 0??

[@dannysbookauthority7280]

Yikes now rs is attacking Johnathan Cahn. Shame on you. They even used a yiddish word schtick to insult him. And the rest of us. How low can you go. 😢

[@mbc6008]

355 views? Why even bother? This used to be a good channel years ago. You will be out of business if you don’t get back to what works.

[@sebastiangarcia2596]

rolling stone is cooked. 300 views in a day? so cringe. just give up

[@ebnest123]

Kinda? Clear loss

[@HazyWave1974]

Drake sucks.