Drake Salutes Jamaica On ‘Lemon Pepper Freestyle’, Hails Skillibeng On Rebooted OVO Radio

Canadian rapper Drake owns the weekend once again after his fire new collab, Lemon Pepper Freestyle, dropped to rave reviews on Friday. The saucy, six-minute Rick Ross feature found on Drake’s latest EP, Scary Hours 2, has sent the internet into a frenzy.

The seasoned rap duo swapped success story rhymes on the snappy pulse, but it was Drake’s special salute to “Jamaica” that had some fans calling for a link-up with the 6God and his Dancehall affiliates. 

Drake’s close ties with the island are no secret and appear to only be getting stronger.  After his OVO Sound Radio was relaunched on SiriusXM’s SOUND 42 Channel this week, Drake shouted out Dancehall star Skillibeng on his Instagram Story yesterday. According to an OVO release on the reboot, the 24-hr satellite channel is “a platform for us to tell you what we’re thinking, or play what we’re listening to.” 

Not surprisingly, Mr. Universe is on the prolific label’s radar, as Drake tagged the deejay while Crocodile Teeth blared from the speakers. From OVO signee Popcaan to his one-time parry turned nemesis Mavado, Champagne Papi has a pattern of connecting with the hottest talents within the Dancehall scene. 

Both Skillibeng and Drake’s closest Jamaican comrade, Unruly Boss Popcaan, hail from St. Thomas, and performances on the Unruly Fest roster two years running have helped make Drake’s name a local mainstay. 

Following the Jamaica shoutout on Lemon Pepper Freestyle, however, fans are calling for an official link-up on Drake’s home turf in Toronto.

“If this is your hobby, then come and meet your maker/ Champagne, ring bells in the streets of Jamaica/ Started at the crib, look how far this s—t’ll take ya,” he spits on the track.

Though success has taken him to every corner of the world and back, fans still think Drake is leaving out one key location. 

Canadian YouTube personality Michael McCrudden, most known for his Before They Were Famous celebrity documentary series, entered the chat via Twitter with a one line request: “Need Drake to shoot a video on Eglinton West with Popcaan.”

The bold tweet stands at nearly 1K likes and it has resonated with good reason. Aside from being one of two main regions in which Drake grew up, Eglinton West is a “major pulse for the Caribbean diaspora”, according to The Fader.

Need Drake to shoot a video on Eglinton West with Popcaan.

— Waiting to Oxtail (@ThatDudeMCFLY) March 5, 2021

Drake raps about his former stomping grounds often enough — “I take Eglinton to 401 east, And exit at Markham Road in the east end,/ Where all the pretty girls are sleeping,” he said in Connect.  But for all his video shoots and appearances in Jamaica, there hasn’t been a similar spectacle in Toronto. Eglinton West, also referred to as “Little Jamaica”, would be a fitting locale for such a link-up with Popcaan, and possibly Skilli and others. 

Fans in McCrudden’s comments were ready with suggestions for visuals, citing ALL I NEED, the smoky, ambient bedroom banger from Popcaan’s 2020 FIXTAPE, as a worthy contender. “Jerky standing outside RAP’S [a popular restaurant] making magic in the drum when Popcaan hits the hook,” one of them imagined.