Drake has never needed an excuse to bark back and forth with someone in beef. As proven in his feuds with Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar alike, he’s willing to fall on his sword, even in defeat. Moreover, his track record is pretty strong, throwing shots at everyone from Tyga and Chris Brown to Jay-Z and Common.

One of his more lopsided feuds was against Meek Mill. He started the affair with a pretty tepid warning shot in “Charged Up” that suggested he wasn’t that interested in bickering with the Philly MC. But then he released “Back To Back”, the first diss song to ever be nominated for a Grammy. There, Drake trashed any ghostwriting allegations hurled at him and implied that Meek was hiding behind his then-girlfriend Nicki Minaj’s stardom.

From there, it was no question that the Toronto MC handily won the beef. Eventually, the pair reconciled their differences and collaborated again on “Going Bad” in 2018. But apparently, the Take Care rapper wasn’t initially going to make “Back to Back” at all.

In a 2019 interview with Rap Radar, he revealed that it was actually Serena Williams who empowered him to get back in the booth. The way she saw it, he was leaving matters unfinished if he didn’t try to end his adversary.

Serena Williams Talking to Drake is The Reason We Have One of The Biggest Diss Tracks in hip-hop History

“’You gotta finish it, I’m talking about done, over and it’s gotta be something that everyone that he’s with and him have to hear,’” he recalled the superstar tennis player telling him. “You can’t do some s**t for the moment and then it goes away. She kind of put the battery in my back.”

Then, he went into the studio, and “Back To Back” was the first beat he heard. All he needed was to speed up the tempo slightly, and history was made from there. Because Drake knew how serious a rapper and person Meek Mill was, he knew he couldn’t go lightly. Ultimately, he’s just glad that tensions didn’t mount so high that it turned into something much darker.

“These things go to another place. I could tell you firsthand that Meek’s not a pretender. He’s not a joker. He’s not beefing with one of these rap guys where their stories are all made up and they’re really not their characters… I wasn’t beefin’ with no punk,” Drake explained. “We had to turn that around ’cause we know how far it was going and almost went.”

Photo by John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images

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What better way to celebrate the milestone of turning 40 than singing one of the best pop songs ever? During a massive birthday celebration, Drake commissioned legendary boyband the Backstreet Boys to perform for him.

However, it wasn’t enough for him to enjoy and sing along from the crowd. Instead, he decided to hop on stage and croon along to their iconic song “I Want It That Way”. The Toronto MC is all smiles as he dons an incredibly sparkly suit and the band harmonizes with him on the chorus. Check out the big birthday bash down below:

Drake performing “I Want It That Way” with the Backstreet Boys at his 40th birthday party pic.twitter.com/iAa2Kz4E6G

— Kurrco (@Kurrco) October 24, 2026

Turning 40 years old also marked another massive occasion for Drake. In a report from Billboard, he officially surpassed 350 million RIAA-certified units with 30 new certifications under his belt. One big milestone in particular saw his massive 2016 album Views go diamond, with over 10 million copies sold. The same applied to his hit songs “Marvin’s Room” and “In My Feelings”. Meanwhile, “God’s Plan” went double-diamond.

Additionally, an abundance of his other albums and songs went to varying degrees of platinum. His most recent album ICEMAN, in particular, just went platinum five months after its release back in May 2026. All of these accomplishments cement the 6 God as the most certified artist of all time. Moreover, he also has the most diamond plaques of any artist in history.

Drake Celebrates Turning 40 Years Old With Backstreet Boys Karaoke

However, naturally, the Take Care rapper’s life isn’t without its fair share of setbacks. While celebrating his 40th birthday, he’s also grappling with a lawsuit for his smash hit “Janice STFU”. Artist, producer, and engineer Aviel Calev Hirschfield claimed that he wrote and recorded the hook for the song.

However, Drake allegedly never gave the proper credit nor paid for the work. To add legitimacy to the claim, Hirschfield said that the stems for the record are still intact, which would prove that he was behind its catchy chorus. Apparently, it was all made with him in mind, crafting the song after hearing Lykke Li’s song “I Follow Rivers”.

Of course, Drake and his camp vehemently denied taking any work or inspiration from Hirschfield. They claimed that it was yet another attempt at trying to discredit the rapper’s credibility and was only being done for the sake of publicity.

“These allegations are categorically, unequivocally, and unequivocally denied. There is not one iota of truth to these accusations,” his camp responded. “Drake wrote this song and has no connection or knowledge of this person, full stop.”

(Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

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Drake has been having an incredible year in 2026. After dropping three blockbuster albums that brought him back in fans’ good graces, his old feud against Kendrick Lamar almost feels like an asterisk. Despite the nasty beef, it’s as if he never stopped being the biggest rapper in the world.

To help with his case is his number one hit “Janice STFU”, a darker, moodier track that saw him take subliminal shots at Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar. However, despite this success, a new lawsuit suggested that he actually stole the catchy chorus for it. A member of his team essentially scoffed at the accusation.

In a new report from TMZ, they said, “These allegations are categorically, unequivocally, and unequivocally denied. There is not one iota of truth to these accusations.”

Additionally, they called it a “manufactured and baseless attempt” at gaining publicity and discrediting his work. “Drake wrote this song and has no connection or knowledge of this person, full stop,” they stressed.

The lawsuit was reported by Billboard, where hip-hop artist, producer and engineer Aviel Calev Hirschfield claimed he wrote the infamous hook. Moreover, it was made with the Toronto MC specifically in mind after hearing Lykke Li’s “I Follow Rivers”. He alleged that the final products were basically identical and the stem recordings were still intact to prove it.

Drake Gets Hit With Hefty Lawsuit Over His Hit Song ‘Janice STFU’

This isn’t the only time that he’s been accused of ripping off another artist. Back in May 2026, Florida rapper 1900Rugrat felt slighted, alleging that the ICEMAN rapper reached out about working on music. As a result, he sent over a few different records and immediately gravitated to a song that would eventually become his intro.

Once it was made clear that he was saving it for his album, Drake still allegedly affirmed that he would utilize him on the album. However, the stars never aligned, and afterwards, he claimed he heard a record on ICEMAN that sounded like his work. “Twin, that’s the only beat I’ve ever produced,” he said. “Don’t rip my s**t and repitch it like that, fam. That’s fried out and f**ked up, twin.”

After the video he made, he posted DMs between him and Drake that proved he wasn’t lying about the potential of them working together. In the end, he never took him to court for allegedly stealing his work, though.

Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images

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