Drake Shouts Out Octavian After Singer Samples "Chicago Freestyle"

Drake loves to co-sign international artists. He's always singing along to their music, or tagging them on social media. Some of these co-signs lead to collabs, others merely boost the profile of the artist who's mentioned. Octavian falls in the latter camp. The French-British rapper has been getting love from the Toronto superstar since 2018, when the latter was seen rapping to his song at a Golden Globes party. Octavian has continued to grind since then, but it appears as though Drake is still a fan.

Drake posted a clip from Octavian's new single, "I See You," on his May 23 Instagram Stories. The song has been getting attention online, and once you hear it, you'll understand why Drizzy likes it. "I See You" contains a recognizable sample of Drake's 2020 song "Chicago Freestyle." The sample is looped under the verses, but the Giveon chorus from the original really comes through on Octavian's hook. It's a cool choice for a sample, as it's developed a reputation for being one of Drake's most underrated songs.

Octavian took advantage of the shout-out and posted a screenshot of Drake's IG Story on his own account. He simply tagged him @champagnepapi with a sword and black heart emoji. Octavian lucked out in terms of timing, as Drake has more eyes on him than ever these days. The world was waiting to see how the 6 God would respond to losing the Kendrick Lamar battle. The answer, it appears, is to act like it doesn't bother him. Drake popped up at a WNBA game the week of May 19. He also dropped his first new verse since the K. Dot battle ended.

In an attempt to make light of the battle, Drake appeared on the Sexxy Red single "U My Everything." He rapped over the "BBL Drizzy" beat that went viral, and flipped the meaning of Metro Boomin's version to suggest that he can link girls up with a BBL if they want one. The new single is going to do impressive numbers. That said, it wasn't received as well as Drake might have hoped.

About The Author

Danilo is a writer based out of San Diego. He graduated from the Art Institute of Tucson with a B.A. in digital media, and has since forged a career as a pop culture journalist. He covered hip-hop for Heavy.com, Rhyme Junkies and PopMatters prior to joining HotNewHipHop.com. Danilo's top five is constantly changing, but Biggie and Slug from Atmosphere remain permanent fixtures. His favorite rap album of all time is "Late Registration" by Kanye West, and that stays the same.

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