2. Drake Features Popcaan on If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (2015)
Drake and Popcaan have been mutual fans of each other since Poppy’s Yiy Change mixtape, and have since supported each other’s projects: Drake tweeted lyrics from Popcaan’s opus “Only Man She Want,” and OVO Niko from Drake’s crew directed Poppy’s “Unruly Rave” video and the web doc 6 in The 876, in which the OVO and Unruly crews roll together through JA. Dialogue from that video appears all over 2015’s mixtape release If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. Though he doesn’t add any original lyrics to the project, Popcaan can be heard on “Know Yourself,” reciting his intro from “Ghetto (Tired of Crying),” as well as speaking on “No Tellin” and “Star 67.” Elsewhere, Drake has been using slang like “unruly,” “way up” and “nuh shake” coined by Popcaan’s crew. You may have also heard him pronouncing himself “Way Up” on Big Sean’s hit single, “Blessings,” ushering the term into American vernacular.
The Unruly Boss’ influence on the IYRTITL project was enough to warrant an entire article in Complex, with Popcaan stating: “Big up Drizzy Drake anywhere him deh, ’cause them man say OVO unruly, so it’s a good feeling.” — Richard “Treats” Dryden