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Of the many beefs Drake has had over the course of his career, one of the longest and most intense has been with Chris Brown, which is why it was surprising to see the two collaborate this year with the release of the song “No Guidance.”
You can read “The Complete History Of Drake And Chris Brown’s Relationship” here, but the gist of the discord is that Chris Brown took issue with Drake cozying up to Rihanna after their split in 2009 and again after their short-lived relationship revival in 2012. Bottles, subtweets, and lyrical shade were thrown off and on for years until the two suddenly began showing love for each other in various ways on social media throughout 2018, which we can assume is what led to them getting in the studio together this year.
On one hand, it’s a sign of maturity that the artists have let their petty past go — after all neither of them owned Rihanna and she didn’t owe either of them an explanation when it came to who she involved herself with once their situations fizzled. However, what has remained a question in many people’s minds since Chris and Drake mended their relationship is how Drake was able to look past the physical and emotional pain Chris once caused the woman he proclaimed was one of his “best friends” at the 2016 MTV VMA Awards and whom said he’d been in love with since he was 22 years old.
This week, an answer finally came via a two-hour sitdown interview Drake had with TIDAL’s Rap Radar podcast hosts Elliott Wilson and Brian “B.Dot” Miller that was released yesterday. While speaking on his relationship with Rihanna and working with Chris, the 33-year-old explained:
“That person that was in the middle of us is no longer a part of either of our lives currently and I have the most utmost love and respect for her. I think of her as family more than anything. I felt, I actually had kind of a moment of hesitation before because I didn’t want her to ever feel disrespected by me linking up with him. But I also know how many nights she knows that me and him have both been consumed by this issue and I think she’s a good person with a good heart that would rather see us put that issue to bed than, um, continue, like, childish sh-t that could end up in a serious situation so I decided to go ahead with it.”
While I’m inclined to think Drake could’ve put his beef with Chris to rest without working with him if he was truly concerned about disrespecting Rihanna, he knows the beauty mogul better than I do and clearly has peace with his decision. So much so that they’ve collaborated on additional tracks. Speaking of his upcoming project, Drake said, “I don’t know what’s going to make the album, but we have done more music together.”
