Drake credits R. Kelly and The Beatles on new album
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Drake is courting controversy by crediting shamed rapper R. Kelly on his new album Certified Lover Boy, and the Beatles have a surprise name check too.
The rapper’s new album dropped on Friday and the Canadian has sampled the Beatles’ 1965 song Michelle on track Champagne Party.
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Drake credits R. Kelly and The Beatles on new album Back to video
Late rapper Notorious B.I.G. and Right Said Fred also score mentions — Drake uses the Brits’ I’m Too Sexy hit on his seventh album track, Way 2 Sexy — as does R. Kelly, who is currently on trial for sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
According to WhoSampled, Drake’s stripper-celebrating track TSU uses the same musical intro as Kelly’s 1998 single Half on a Baby.
Kelly is also a credited songwriter on the track, as are Christopher Cross, Timbaland, and Justin Timberlake, due to the sampling of N’Sync’s version of Cross’ 1979 hit Sailing.
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A rep for Drake declined to comment to Rolling Stone about the sample. However, the credit was confirmed by multiple streaming services, Rolling Stone reports.
While The I Believe I Can Fly hitmaker’s music has frequently been sampled over the years, this is its most high-profile usage since he was indicted on several charges of sex trafficking. Kelly is currently on trial in New York and is also facing both a federal trial and state charges in his native Chicago, Illinois
According to Rolling Stone, TSU was written in 2018, before the damning TV documentary Surviving R. Kelly aired and charges were filed against the Sex Me star.
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Drake’s decision to retain the Half on a Baby sample has drawn criticism on social media, but despite the controversy, Certified Lover Boy quickly rose to the top at iTunes overnight, bumping rival Kanye West’s Donda.
Kanye similarly shocked fans by crediting rocker Marilyn Manson, who’s also been accused of sexual assault, and DaBaby, the rapper who faced backlash over his anti-LGBT comments earlier this year, on Donda tracks.
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