Drake Shows Love to Arabs in his New Album “More Life”
By: Yara Jouzy/Contributing Writer
Last week, rapper Aubrey Drake Graham, also known as Drake, dropped his newest album titled, “More Life.” Fans all over the world were bursting with energy, particularly his Arab ones, after they heard his references to their culture in several songs.
Arabs were feeling the love from Drake in multiple songs throughout his album. Habibi, which means “my love” in Arabic, was used in his song Portland. In the song, Drake says, “It’s all Habibis ting, ya?” referring to a shisha lounge in Toronto, Canada, where Drake is from. His habibi lyrics led to the trending hasthag on Twitter and Instagram #HabibiTing.
The legendary rapper also gave a shout out to Dubai and Abu Dhabi on his album. Drake sings, “I wanna move to Dubai, so I don’t never have to kick it with none of you guys,” in his song Free Smoke. He also says, “I got Dubai plates in the California state,” in his song Sacrifices.
Drake visited Dubai in 2015 on his World Tour and his love for the people, culture, and lifestyle was pure. Drake publicized his trip and his appreciation for the Emarati culture on social media. He also started a friendship with Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum and referred to him as his, “long lost brother,” on his Instagram.
Not only did Drake mention Dubai, but he also he gives a shout out to Abu Dhabi on his track titled Glow, which features Kanye West, and says, “we the new Abu Dhabi, this is our time.” In 2016, Drake made another visit to the U.A.E and stayed in Abu Dhabi for more than two weeks after his performance at the Formula One Race.
It’s safe to say the incredible Emirates inspired Drake during his visit. The pink flower is a symbol of his album “More Life,” and he used this in an Instagram post when leaving Dubai, along with a blue heart and the U.A.E flag.
After months of patiently waiting, his fans finally heard what is now a record-breaking project with 384.8 million streams on multiple music platforms. Apple Music alone broke records, where the playlist was streamed almost 90 million times in it’s first 24 hours and approximately 300 million times within the first week.
The high expectations his fans had for this album were met. Drake is definitely a habibi and his presence in the Arab world will only grow from here.
