All eyes were on Kendrick Lamar’s show-stopping Super Bowl performance filled with symbolic messages, iconic hits and a surprise cameo from Serena Williams, who left everyone talking with her crip-walking skills.
But there’s more to the moment than meets the eye.
As we all know, Lamar and Drake have had an ongoing public feud, with ‘Not Like Us’ becoming one of the most culturally defining moments of 2024 and beyond.
These are all the times Drake has spoken about Serena Williams in his music – or when fans have speculated about hidden meanings in his songs.
2013: ‘Worst Behaviour’
In Drake’s ‘Worst Behaviour’ from his 2013 album Nothing Was the Same, he raps: “I’m with my whole set, tennis matches at the crib / I swear I could beat Serena when she playing with her left”.
This line was interpreted as a subtle reference to Williams, especially in light of their rumoured relationship at the time.
2017: ‘Nothing into Somethings’ speculation
In ‘Nothings Into Somethings,’ Drake touches on the feeling of an ex moving on without any final resolution. Considering Williams tied the knot with Alexis Ohanian in 2017, many fans believed the song alluded to their past connection.
2019: ‘Back to Back’ inspiration
In Drake’s famous 2015 diss track aimed at Meek Mill, the rapper casually suggested it was Williams who helped him finish the song.
In a 2019 interview with the Rap Radar podcast, he revealed he was “with Serena at the time” of writing the song. The pair were “talking a lot about her and [Maria] Sharapova going back and forth over the years”.
“And she had made this comment to me and she was like: ‘Well look, if you’re gonna go again, you gotta finish it,'” Drake continued.
“You know, she’s a top competitor, so she was like: ‘You gotta finish it. I’m talking about done. Over. And it’s gotta be something that everyone [Meek] is with and him have to hear. You can’t do some s*** for the moment and then it goes away.’
“She kinda put this battery in my back.”
2022: Drake disses Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian
Drake escalated tensions by taking a shot at Williams’ husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, in the track ‘Middle Of The Ocean’ from his 2022 album Her Loss.
In the song, he raps: “Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie / He claim we don’t got a problem but / No boo, it is like you coming for sushi.”
Ohanian fired back with a tweet, saying: “The reason I stay winning is because I’m relentless about being the absolute best at whatever I do — including being the best groupie for my wife [and] daughter.”
2024: Drake reveals ‘Too Good’ was about Serena Williams
Drake launched a website full of his own archival footage and unreleased songs titled 100 Gigs.
In one clip, Drake is seen in the studio speaking to his mother Sandi Graham.
“No, I get heavy on a couple joints, but this is more about me and Serena,” he said in the resurfaced clip, to which Sandi quipped: “I gather!”
In his track with Rihanna, ‘Too Good,’ Drake shares his frustration over a one-sided relationship, singing, “I’m too good to you / I’m way too good to you / You take my love for granted / I just don’t understand it.”
