What's The Real Meaning Of IDGAF By Drake? Here's What We Think
Over the last 15 years, Aubrey Graham, better known as Drake, has released countless bangers that have taken over the pop culture sphere. From "One Dance" and "God's Plan" to "Hotline Bling" and "Best I Ever Had," the Canadian talent is an expert at cracking the viral single code. On October 6, Drake delivered another hit with his track "IDGAF" featuring Yeat, which comes from his eighth studio album "For All the Dogs." Before its aforementioned release, Drake teased the high-energy track in a visual for his new NOCTA Glides. "NOCTA GLIDE 2023. Available tonight on nocta.com. Music by Twizz and The Boy," the Grammy winner wrote on Instagram on September 13.
With buzz at an all-time high, the release of "IDGAF" was an instant success for Drake, with the song debuting at number one on the Billboard Global 200 songs chart, per Billboard. The track has also gone viral on TikTok due to the stark difference between the "Take Care" rapper and Yeat's delivery of the lyric "money for fun." But what is the true meaning behind "IDGAF?" Join us as we take a deep dive into the lyrics to analyze what or who the two rap talents are addressing on the popular record.
Is Yeat talking about his longstanding beef with rapper Autumn?
As the title suggests, Drake and Yeat truly do not give a f*** about the naysayers or haters on "IDGAF." The track starts with a sample from Azimuth's song "The Tunnel" before transitioning to a hard-hitting production and Yeat's cocky lyrics, per Genius. "I put a check on my neck, life check ya in the head / I signed for a couple milli', you only touched a hundred thou,'" he exclaims. In the chorus, the two rap talents reiterate that their rivals have no sway over them. "Yeah, I don't be givin' no f***s (Not one) / I don't know if you caught on / I don't be givin' no f***." While Yeat has refrained from sharing an official meaning behind "IDGAF," the track might be pointing at his beef with fellow rapper Autumn.
Back in 2021, Yeat got into a war of words with the Southern talent on social media, claiming that the latter was ripping off his sound. "MF really tryna sound like me bro go do some else dat s*** suck," the Oregon-based rapper wrote on his Instagram story (via YouTube). Yeat's words didn't bode well with Autumn, who claimed: "I gave you yo voice and yo biggest song before yo distro deal." In June 2023, nearly two years after their social media spat, Autumn implied that they had both moved on. "To this day, I'm still mad that I kind of fed into it," he said in an interview with Boxboyslive.
Drake seems to be targeting all of his haters on IDGAF
One thing about Drake is that he will always use his music to speak out against his haters. This is seemingly the case on "IDGAF," where the Canadian rapper slams his rivals by listing off his own wealth and achievements. "Why I always see your dawgs in the city? / Think you boys left some soldiers behind / Just like the jet you boys tried to buy," Drake teases. As the song continues, the "Take Care" rapper brags about his record label OVO (aka October's Very Own) before dissing an unnamed rapper for being fake. "I hate you boys more than I ever did / You rappin' bout s*** that you never did," he says.
Like Yeat, Drake has remained mum on "IDGAF's" meaning, but his hard-hitting bars about fake rappers could be interpreted as a jabs toward Pusha T and their longstanding rivalry. In his 2019 interview with Rap Radar, Drake claimed that the Clipse rapper lied about his past of selling drugs. "When I was whatever, 16, thinking that [Pusha T] was the biggest dope dealer in the world serving bricks to all," he said. "Now that I'm a grown-up, and I actually know him and the truth, it's ... not as appealing." While Drake has continued throwing shots at Pusha, the latter doesn't seem to be fazed. "Every time I hear a subliminal in one of his songs, it just lets me know how deep it hurt him ... I love it," he told XXL in 2022.