Cash Cobain is blowing up. He’s become one of the most sought-after talents in hip-hop over the last couple years. Unsurprisingly, Cobain has already linked up with Drake. The two men collaborated on the song “Calling for You,” which has become a source of controversy since its release in 2023. A reference track for “Calling for You” seemingly leaked online in April, suggesting that Cobain wrote the entire song. The rapper dismissed the reference track on social media, but a recent No Jumper interview led to him doubling down on his claim.
Cash Cobain was asked for clarity and he provided it. He claimed that the rumor of him ghostwriting for Drake is “fake news” and “cap” with no concrete proof. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he told the host. “I don’t write for nobody but me.” Cobain went on to assert that he isn’t against the concept of writing for other artists. “Why not,” he said. “Rihanna do it, Beyonce do it. All day, they got the biggest records. It’s a business.” He did, however, admit that there was a difference between writing for a pop singer or R&B star versus a rapper. “It’s just rap sh*t, you know,” he added.
Originality is something Cash Cobain prides himself on. He’s voiced admiration for artists like Jay-Z and 50 Cent the past, but made it clear that he wants to cultivate his own sound. “I didn’t want to emulate nobody,” he told Passion of the Weiss. “I love 50 Cent, Jay-Z, I loved all the artists growing up but those two were like, the main ones. [But] I didn’t want to emulate. I just wanted to make beats.” The decision to pursue a distinct sound has definitely paid off. Cash Cobain’s sound, which he describes as “sexy trap,” has spread like wildfire in 2024. He’s gotten co-signs from artists like J. Cole and Busta Rhymes, and his production style has is gradually bleeding into the mainstream.
Cash Cobain recently made the XXL Freshman list. He’s yet to link back up with Drake following the AI reference track leak, but the more successful he gets on his own, the less he needs a co-sign from the 6 God. Especially considering the all-time low that Drake’s reputation is currently at. It’ll be fascinating to see whether Cash Cobain recants his claim about writing only for himself as his profile continues to rise. Especially as more and more pop artists try to emulate his sound. If anything, Drake just got to the party early.
Another day, another leak. In the world of Drake, that became an occurrence every so often since Meek Mill exposed him for using a ghostwriter on “R.I.C.O.” However, in the years that followed, Drake became less apologetic for violating the cardinal rule of hip-hop and maintained a position that’s more akin to a pop star than a rap icon. That’s not to diminish his creative output but recent albums, such as Her Loss and For All The Dogs, have made it clear that his approach to creating bodies of work is far more of a collaborative effort than he or his fans, for that matter, would like to admit.
The number of reference tracks that have surfaced over the years has indicated as much. That’s not to take away from Drake’s pen or his ability to strike gold on his own terms, nor do these reference songs indicate whether Drake solely relies on outsourcing songwriting to other artists. We know what Drake is capable of, though, unfortunately, it isn’t seen as often as we’d like.
Nonetheless, on Tuesday, May 28th, Vory’s reference track for “Mob Ties” surfaced. A couple of hours later, PartyNextDoor’s reference track for “Ratchet Happy Birthday” began circulating on social media. Ultimately, it led many to question the authenticity of Drake’s artistry and his pen. That’s especially the case it turns out someone else penned a few fan favorites held in high regard. It’s a tragic outcome for an artist who has allowed us a window into his life through the same soundtrack he made for our consumption. We can’t share the demos themselves, here are 7 reference tracks for Drake that have surfaced online over the years.
To start things off, we’ll kick it off with Vory’s reference track for “Mob Ties.” A non-single highlight off of Scorpion, the Boi-1da produced track initially sounded like a direct response to the aftermath of Drake’s feud with Pusha T and Kanye West. Along with bars that many dissected as a sort of allusion to X’s death (“Louis bags for body bags”), much of Drake’s ominous lyrical assertions felt like a man ready to go to war, again. He even admitted to Lebron James on The Shop that he wrote and recorded the song following Pusha T’s “The Story Of Adidon.” While we can’t say that Vory wrote the entire song, he does boast writing credits on “Mob Ties.” So technically, Drake didn’t use a ghostwriter but he did cast more doubt on his pen.
6. “Ratchet Happy Birthday” – Scorpion (2018)
Another cut off of Scorpion, “Ratchet Happy Birthday” has remained somewhat of a divisive record in Drake’s catalog. Some people love it and come around to playing it once every year on their special day while others feel either impartial or hate the song. Ultimately, it’s not universally regarded as an S-Tier song in Drake’s discography. On that note, some may have been a bit relieved to discover a reference track from OVO Sound’s PartyNextDoor. Again, Party does have writing credit on the song so Drake has somehow managed to dodge the ghostwriting allegations this time, too.
In the wake of “Not Like Us” and its exceptional third verse, it’s hard not to regard his partnerships with 21 Savage and Lil Yachty as somewhat transactional. We can’t speak to his personal relationships with the two artists but both certainly aided Drake in ushering in a new era of his career on Her Loss. “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin” was an immediate standout from the project, specifically among Drizzy’s solo offerings.
However, to the dismay of fans, it turned out that Lil Yachty was actually behind the song. Though he had songwriting credits on the project, the reference track for “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin” made fans realize that his contributions to the project went above and beyond simply producing a handful of tracks and offering a few adlibs. Still, it benefited Lil Yachty’s career trajectory and helped many realize his brilliance.
4. “Calling For You” – For All The Dogs (2023)
For All The Dogs can’t hold a candle next to albums like Take Care or Nothing Was The Same, sure, but it doesn’t really deserve the hate it received. There were plenty of memorable moments across the project, from the J. Cole-assisted “First Person Shooter” to the Frank Ocean-sampling “Virginia Beach.” Both records felt like a version of Drake that many hoped would mark his return.
However, songs like “Calling For You,” while incredibly infectious, underscored Drake’s problem of attempting to ride current trends (in this case, Cash Cobain’s brand of Sexy Drill) to latch onto the clubs and radio. Cash already had credits as a producer on the song, though no one necessarily noticed his songwriting credits, too. The moment the reference track to “Calling For You” surfaced earlier this year, it became clear that Drake similarly sought after Cash’s hit-making prowess to flesh out the FATD tracklist. Though Cash later suggested it was AI, it doesn’t seem like many believe him. After all, that’s the go-to excuse these days. Ultimately, it’s a great look for Cash, a horrible revelation for Drake fans.
3. “R.I.C.O” – Dreams Worth More Than Money (2015)
We can’t go through this list without acknowledging the song that started the ghostwriting allegations in the first place. Quentin Miller, whose career has primarily been associated with the scandalous legacy of If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, appeared to deliver Drake’s verse from Meek Mill’s “R.I.C.O.” on a reference track. Ultimately, it led to Meek Mill’s online meltdown where he exposed Drake and triggered a summer of taunts with the releases of “Charged Up” and “Back To Back,” both of which Drake did write, by the way.
2. “10 Bands” – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (2015)
Another one of Quentin Miller’s most notable contributions to If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late is “10 Bands.” Though among the immediate highlights off of Drake’s 2015 opus, its legacy was somewhat tarnished after Funk Flex obtained the reference track for the song. Around this time, Funk Flex also aired Quentin Miller’s reference tracks for “Used To,” “Know Yourself,” and the aforementioned “R.I.C.O..” Miller’s lyrics and flow take center stage but despite the allegations of Drake using a ghostwriter, Miller has boasted credits on the album. Unfortunately, it’s hip-hop, and as Flex said at the time: “If you’re wearing that crown, you better write. If you don’t write, you don’t have that crown.”
1. “Legend” – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (2015)
The intro to If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late will always hold a special place in the hearts of his fans. The lush flip of Ginuwine’s “So Anxious” turned into a subtle yet powerful statement to kick off the 2015 mixtape. Drake’s talents and delivery made the song what it was but if it wasn’t for PartyNextDoor, we might not have ever had the song in the first place. An alleged reference track for “Legend” with PartyNextDoor’s vocals surfaced line in 2016, in the wake of both Drake’s victory against Meek and the release of Views. Regardless of who penned the song, it remains a fixture in his live shows, as evidenced by the It’s All A Blur tour.
Ness Lee, who claims to be the ghostwriter for Benzino’s “Rap Elvis‘ diss track, has come forward to clear the air on the rumors of his involvement. He did so during an interview with Trap Newz Daily in order to clarify that he had nothing to do with dissing the late rapper, Proof, on Benzino’s earlier diss “Vulturius.” The rumors began when a video of Lee working in the studio with Benzino leaked online.
During the interview, Lee began by explaining why he chose to work with Benzino on the new song. “I just wanted to do something historic,” he said. “I felt like I could accomplish writing the greatest diss song toward Eminem. That’s all I wanted to do.” From there, he explained his involvement was never supposed to be known. “It was never supposed to be public that it was me. This is my first interview and probably my only interview about it,” he said.
MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 01: Benzino attends the Celebrity Boxing Weigh-In at James L. Knight Center on October 1, 2021, in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Johnny Louis/Getty Images)
From there, Lee described Proof as “my big brother,” and revealed the history between the two. “He was eventually going to sign me back in ‘03, he was the first person to show me love in the industry, battle rap or whatever,” Lee said. “I would never disrespect that man like that. I’ve been getting some concerned messages from some of my brothers from Detroit. I had to tell them that I had nothing to do with that one. I physically do not write that basic.”
Ness Lee Speaks Out
Benzino previously denied using ghostwriters to craft his bars on Instagram, earlier this year. “This is Hip Hop, bro. I don’t wanna hear that ghostwriter sh*t,” he said at the time. “Shut the f*ck up, bro. You mad because I’m spitting. I wrote that sh*t.” Be on the lookout for further updates on Benzino on HotNewHipHop.
Rick Ross implied that Drake didn’t write his verse on Travis Scott’s hit song, “Sicko Mode,” while listening to the track on his Instagram Story, Sunday night. The accusation comes as the two have been feuding in recent days. “Who wrote this? Guess who wrote this, you would never guess who wrote this,” he said while the song played. It’s unclear exactly whether Ross was implying that he wrote the verse or he simply knows that someone else did.
Regardless, many fans came to Drake’s defense when Hollywood Unlocked shared the clip on Instagram. One user wrote: “Doesn’t matter who wrote it … ghost writing is an actual JOB … who made the beat?? Who played the drums? Who did the keyboards? Who was the engineer? Who did the edits? Who mastered the track? It’s all a PROCESS.” Another commented: “It don’t matter who wrote it. Who got rich off of it? Easy on Drake!” Others accused Drake’s fans of not being real hip-hop fans.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 26: Rick Ross attends the 2022 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on June 26, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
Drake first mentioned Ross on his leaked diss track, “Push Ups,” last week. Almost immediately afterward, Ross fired back with a diss of his own on “Champagne Moments.” He labeled Drake a “white boy” and accused him of getting a nose job. Drake took offense to the comments and called him “angry” and “racist” in texts shared with his mother afterward
Despite Ross’ reply, fans are still waiting on word from Kendrick Lamar, who started all of the drama with his bombshell verse on Metro Boomin and Future’s “Like That,” last month. Be on the lookout for further updates on Rick Ross and his feud with Drake on HotNewHipHop.
CJ Francis IV is catching a lot of smoke these days amid claims that he ghostwrote for Kendrick Lamar and other artists. Moreover, DJ Akademiks recently tweeted that he apparently spoke to Roddy Ricch, supposedly one of these other artists, who claimed that Francis is not for real. “Spoke with Roddy Ricch,” Ak wrote on Sunday night (April 14). “According to him CJ FRANCIS a complete fraud.. Roddy was open to collaborate with others for his Feed The Strets 3 about 2 years ago project and basically this dude he never met and no songs ever got put out that he collabed on. The voice note that [released] was Roddy checking him 2 years ago for claiming he was writing for Roddy Ricch.”
Furthermore, you can see fans antagonizing CJ Francis in the comments section of the post below, with some defenses too. After all, this is all still speculative, although some possible proof mounted up against these claims of ghostwriting recently. Specifically, these related to older demos of Kendrick Lamar’s “N95” than his alleged version of the song that K.Dot used as a reference track. Also, CJ Francis himself had this to say: “I had nothing to do with that song. Nor do I have anything to do with it being posted online.”
As such, none of this really seems to be his fault, so perhaps fans should attribute blame to two tweets that went viral on the subject instead. “Quentin Miller associate CJ Francis IV ghostwriting for Kendrick Lamar,” a Twitter user’s incendiary remarks on the matter read, kicking this whole thing off. “This is his demo of N95 (2022). I’d say this is a collab, but his name isn’t on the credits [ghost emoji].” “My boy CJ Francis IV wrote on the Kendrick project man,” another now-viral tweet from a user back in 2022 read. “I’m so f***in gassed for my boy!!!! He one of the most talented people in the world bro this s**t is so next level!!!”
Meanwhile, this all is obviously notable thanks to the Kendrick and Drake beef that’s dominating hip-hop discourse right now. Regardless, do these words from Roddy and Ak seal the deal on all this or are you still skeptical? Whatever the case, let us know in the comments down below. Also, check back in with HNHH for more news and the latest updates on Roddy Ricch, DJ Akademiks, the CJ Francis situation, and Kendrick Lamar.
As his war with Drake just escalated in a massive way today (Saturday, April 13) thanks to an alleged leaked diss track from Aubrey, Kendrick Lamar now has another big headline to worry about. Moreover, a Twitter user by the name of @certifiedjared and various other social media pages claimed that he used a ghostwriter on the track “N95” off of his 2022 album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. The presumed ghostwriter in question is CJ Francis IV, and a demo also surfaced that’s supposedly from 2019 in which you can hear Francis use the flow and some of the lyrics that the Compton rapper included in his song. Jared and many others pointed out that Francis is not officially credited on “N95.”
However, at press time, this all remains mostly speculative, and both Kendrick Lamar Stans and regular rap fans had a few counter-arguments or questions. First is their claim that “N95” had already leaked in 2019, so the veracity of this claim is more in question than folks assume. Still, either argument for it isn’t really air-tight, and thus this is still part of the rumor mill. But one of the most interesting aspects of this whole debate is how CJ Francis IV is a Quentin Miller associate, the Drake ghostwriter whose name places a heavy cloud over “Prince” and “Mike Jack’s” conflict.
Kendrick Lamar Hit With Ghostwriting Accusations: See Replies For Debate
Quentin Miller associate CJ Francis IV ghostwriting for Kendrick Lamar. This is his demo of N95 (2022). I’d say this is a collab, but his name isn’t on the credits. pic.twitter.com/BtevQZ0n5M
While this is one accusation of ghostwriting against Kendrick Lamar, Drake has encountered many of these throughout his career, and was still able to overcome them. Having writers is by no means a bad thing… if they’re credited… but even if not, it’s too common of an industry trope to single out any one criminal. If it wasn’t for this current beef, maybe this wouldn’t have really drawn the fanfare that it’s getting on some Internet corners right now. If you take one thing away from our article, let it be this: check out CJ Francis IV’s music instead of dismissing him.
Meanwhile, what do you think about how this feud has evolved over the past three weeks or so? Who’s “winning” right now, and do you even care about this back-and-forth or about ghostwriter accusations? However you may feel, let us know down in the comments section below. Also, stick around on HNHH for the latest news and more updates on Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
When Benzino’s recent diss tracks against Eminem came out, these being “Rap Elvis” and “Vulturius,” some fans noted some possible similarities between their writing and that of other MCs. Namely, one Twitter user believes that he actually used a ghostwriter, this being Philly MC Cassidy. “Anyone with a good rap ear can hear the Same flow patterns, internal rhyme style & his flips on the same word is SOOO Cassidy,” they expressed on the social media platform. “Cass either ghostwrote or Benzino just bit his whole style. Eminem Won.” Now, we have a new response to account for from this alleged ghostwriter.
Furthermore, Cassidy spoke on the matter in a new song snippet he shared to his Instagram account on Monday (March 25). “I ain’t ghostwrite Benzino diss, that’s bogus / In the past, I ghostwrote for the writer that ghostwrote it,” he spits on the cut. What’s more is that this adds to the former Source magazine co-owner’s own denials of using ghostwriters. “I don’t wanna hear that ghostwriter s**t,” he remarked on IG Live earlier this year. “This is hip-hop, bro. I don’t wanna hear that ghostwriter s**t. Shut the f**k up, bro. You mad because I’m spitting, I wrote that s**t.” But the 58-year-old admitted to getting help for writing, so maybe this is enough of a nail in the coffin.
“I ate his s**t up,” Benzino claimed during this live session. “I cooked him. Back in the day, he cooked me. But what you Stans is not gonna do, what you teens is not gonna try to do is come here and be like I didn’t affect him. Stop it. Because that shows that y’all ain’t real hip-hop fans. That shows that y’all are biased and probably halfway racist.
“If it’s dope s**t, give it up,” he concluded. “Just like my people give it up to him. Stop being racist, white people. If it’s dope and I rip, then say it. A lot of you guys already are. Salute to the stans that are in my DM saying, ‘Listen ‘Zino, I’m an Em fan but that song is dope.’” For more news and the latest updates on Cassidy, Benzino, and Eminem, keep checking in with HNHH.
With the Grammy eligibility window wrapping up soon there’s been a lot of discussion of the potential favorites and dark horse candidates for all the major awards. But snuck into the mix was a news story that surprised many fans and began dividing people online. “heart on my sleeve” is a song made by an artist called ghostwriter earlier this year. The track became controversial for using AI-generated versions of Drake and The Weeknd’s voices on the song. Surprisingly, the song was submitted for consideration for next year’s Grammy Awards. And perhaps even more surprisingly, it was deemed eligible.
Fans online had a variety of reactions to the news, but many from within the music industry are taking issue with the song’s award status. One of those is Young Guru who has warned fans about the future of AI music more than anybody. He first made a declaration about the dangers of the technology back in February when an AI-generated Kendrick Lamar track emerged. He described the song as “groundbreaking but dangerous moment” before many others were even talking about the potential future implications of AI.
Guru was also vocal about his stance when Timbaland claimed he was interested in the future cross-sections of AI and music. Guru warned him that the move was corny and that it has the potential to age very poorly. His most recent statement on AI came back in June where he gave a specific example. “When you take Big’s voice and you have him saying things that he would have never said, or it’s your interpretation or some other writer’s interpretation of what you think Big would have said, this kind of violates him and his legacy,” he said.
With the breaking news of an AI song potentially being able to win a Grammy, Guru took to his story. “Hate to say I told y’all but I told y’all. Now this could be up for a Grammy. SMH,” he said over a screenshot of the news. What do you think of Young Guru’s claiming he warned everyone about AI music? Let us know in the comment section below.
Back in April, Universal Music Group issued a takedown notice after an AI-generated song imitating Drake and The Weeknd went viral on YouTube, but that somehow isn’t stopping the song from being considered for a Grammy Award. The song’s creator, an anonymous internet denizen going by “Ghostwriter,” has submitted the song to the Recording Academy, and it sounds like it’ll be taken seriously despite its dubious provenance.
The song, “Heart On My Sleeve,” used approximations of the two performers to sing a mopey breakup ballad supposedly about Selena Gomez (who was previously romantically involved with The Weeknd). It also generated plenty of criticism online from detractors who believed that its popularity undermined the creativity and individuality of the artists invoked. As one Twitter user put it, “The first immediate thing that stands out is that so much of this AI music is going after rap/hip hop and that’s how you can tell the people behind it have contempt for it.”
Apparently, that contempt extends to the Recording Academy (because of course it does). The Academy CEO, Harvey Mason, Jr., told The New York Times, “As far as the creative side, it’s absolutely eligible because it was written by a human.” I’m not so sure that’s the case (one generative AI “writes” Drake songs based on prompts provided by users after scraping existing Drake songs for cues), but Drake himself generally seems to frown on the illegal use of his likeness (or, in this case, his voice) for AI-generated songs, so that would be enough for me to disqualify this thing from contention — but I’m not an Academy member (yet) so, what do I know?
The Academy announced that AI-generated songs would be eligible in June, provided the songs were actually written by people, but despite later clarifications, it’s unclear how exactly the Academy intends to verify authorship.
Earlier this year quite a stir was created in the music industry by the presence of artificial intelligence. In April of this year, an AI-generated song using Drake and The Weeknd‘s vocals began to make waves online. It was called “heart on my sleeve” and was uploaded to YouTube by an artist named Ghostwriter. While fans were impressed by how accurately AI could recreate the voices and writing styles of both artists, it did bring up plenty of questions.
One of those questions was about its copyright status. Universal Music Group responded to the song calling it fraudulent and imploring fans to side with artists over AI. Eventually, they did win out as the original upload of the song was removed from YouTube. But it did open up plenty of debate as many other AI songs popped up in its place. Even artists like Meek Mill took the opportunity to praise the track saying that he had been listening to it a lot since it first dropped. Check out the song below.
Drake And The Weeknd AI Song Could Be Nominated For A Grammy
Now, even more, interesting news has emerged in regard to the song. Apparently, the artist behind it submitted the track for Grammy consideration and the award show deemed it eligible. While that’s no guarantee that it will actually secure any nominations, its acceptance opens the door for more AI music to possibly be submitted in the future.
“heart on my sleeve” even has the potential to be the only representation for The Weeknd at the upcoming Grammys. He hasn’t released a new album since 2022’s Dawn FM. His best bet to score a nomination is likely through either the soundtrack to his HBO show The Idol or his collaboration with Ariana Grande on the “Die For You” remix. Drake is much more likely to score a nomination with his collaborative project with 21 SavageHer Loss serving as a dark horse candidate for Album Of The Year. What do you think of the AI-generated Drake and The Weeknd song being ruled eligible for the Grammys? Let us know in the comment section below.
(@nojumper)
