Back to Back (song)
| Back to back | |
|---|---|
| Drake | |
| publication | July 29, 2015 |
| length | 2:52 |
| Genre (s) | Hip hop |
| text | Drake |
| music | Noah "40" Shebib, Daxz, Drake (co-producer) |
| Label | Young Money Entertainment , Cash Money Records |
Back to Back is a song by the Canadian rapper Drake and was released on July 29, 2015. The disstrack against rapper Meek Mill reached number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated at the 2016 Grammy Awards in the category " Best Rap Performance ”( Best Rap Performance ).
background
On July 22, 2015, the American rapper Meek Mill published a series of angry tweets in which he accused Drake, among others, of hiring ghostwriters . The tweet that sparked the controversy read:
“Stop comparing drake to me too .... He don't write his own raps! That's why he ain't tweet my album because we found out! "
“Stop comparing me to Drake ... He doesn't write his raps himself. That's why he doesn't tweet about my album, because we found out "
The background was that his new album Dreams Worth More Than Money had received several negative reviews. Many were justified by the fact that Meek Mill and Drake would have a similar style. In addition, Meek Mill was upset that Drake did not participate in the promotion of the album despite the common track RICO on the album. There were other tweets in which he claimed the rapper Quentin Miller of Atlanta was his ghostwriter. After the tweets, rumors circulated on the internet and many fans wondered what was the story. It wasn't until three days later that Drake responded with his first Disstrack Charged Up . When after three more days there was no answer despite Meek Mill's announcement, Drake finally followed up with Back to Back . He published the track on July 29, 2015 on his Soundcloud page.
Music style and text
Drake released Back to Back as freestyle rap , which means the track was created on a ready-made beat in just one take, with the lyrics usually being improvised. To what extent this is the case here, of course, remains unclear due to the form of publication as an audio track. Noah James Shebib, better known as 40, and Daxz were responsible for production. Drake himself appeared as a co-producer. The song title (in German "back to back") is an allusion to the Toronto Blue Jays , who beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1993 World Series in a so-called "Back-To-Back" World Series. These were the hometowns of the two rappers. The allusion was underlined by a picture of Joe Carter from the decisive game of the series as artwork on Soundcloud. The text, in which Meek Mill's name is not mentioned, contains allusions to his relationship with Nicki Minaj , who is much more successful than Meek Mill and in which he was only allowed to do the "opening act". He also commented on the ghostwriting allegations with an allusion to the Midas saga.
Success and reception
Joe Carter himself enjoyed the attention. The beef between Meek Mill and Drake continued after this disstrack. Meek Mill responded with more tracks, but they did not reach the popularity of Drake's title. In fact, Back to Back reached number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100 through download sales. Another surprise came towards the end of the year when the Grammy nominations were announced and Back to Back alongside Alright by Kendrick Lamar , Apparently by J. Cole , Trap Queen of Fetty Wap and Truffle butter Nicki Minaj featuring Drake & Lil Wayne in the category "Best rap performance" ( Best Rap performance was listed). At the actual award ceremony, Alright von Lamar won. It was the first hip-hop disstrack to receive a Grammy nomination, although this form of performance is very popular in hip-hop. It is questionable whether this applies to all genres, because at the 1996 Grammy Awards , You Oughta Know received two Grammys from Alanis Morissette , who can be described as a disstrack because he described a real and wrong relationship with many actual details.
Chart placements
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Chart placements | ||
 Canada (MC)
|
27 (20 weeks) | 20th |
 United States (Billboard)
|
21st (20 weeks) | 20th |
 United Kingdom (OCC)
|
77 (3 weeks) | 3 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Meek Mill: Tweet. Twitter , July 1, 2015, accessed October 4, 2016 .
- ↑ a b Nadeska Alexis: Drake And Meek Mill: A Timeline Of Their ghostwriting Feud. MTV.com , July 27, 2015, accessed October 4, 2016 .
- ↑ a b Mike Dyce: Drake uses Blue Jays' World Series win over Phillies to troll Meek Mill. Fansided, accessed October 4, 2016 .
- ^ Andres Tardio: Drake Disses Meek Mill 'Back To Back' With A New Freestyle. MTV.com, July 29, 2015, accessed October 4, 2016 .
- ^ Zach Frydenlund: Drake's "Back To Back" Is The First Ever Grammy-Nominated Diss Track. Complex, December 7, 2015, accessed October 4, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c Chart sources: UK US & CA