Should Drake Just Take a Year Off and Disappear?
Drake has been on a bullet train to the top since the dawn of the last decade. The unsuspecting child actor from Toronto has morphed into a habitual hit-making rap star, with the clout, numbers and accolades to prove it. Even after taking an L during the 2024 battle with Kendrick Lamar in many people’s eyes, The Boy continues to thrive. With that being said, should Drake take a break from music?
In 2023, Drake appeared to be at a crossroads in his career. During an interview with Lil Yachty that February, Drizzy talked about making a graceful exit from music.
“I think I’m at the point now where I just wanna, like, I feel like maybe we talked about this the other day,” Drake told Boat. “But I feel like I’m kind of introducing the concept in my mind of a graceful exit.”
Eight months later, the day he released his most recent solo album, For All the Dogs, Drake stated that he would take a break from music to focus on his health.
“I probably won’t make music for a little bit,” Drake explained. “I’m going to be real with you. I need to focus on my health, first and foremost, and I’ll talk about that soon enough. Nothing crazy, but just like, you know, I want people to be healthy in life.”
“I’ve been having the craziest problems for years with my stomach. I’m just saying what it is,” He continued. “So, I need to focus on my health and I need to get right, and I’m going to that. I have a lot of other things that I would love to focus on. So, I’ma lock the door in the studio for a little bit. I don’t even know what a little bit is. Maybe a year or so, maybe a little longer.”
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Then, five months later, the 6 God was goaded into a lyrical squabble with K-Dot and nothing was the same. Whether he wants to admit it or not, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” put a chink in Drizzy’s seemingly adamantium armor. Kendrick capitalizing off of the battle with five Grammy wins, a Super Bowl halftime show performance and the biggest year of his career also has to sting. In January of 2025, Drake sued UMG for defamation over “Not Like Us” in a startling move that has polarized fans and his rap peers.
Nevertheless, it’s been business as usual for Drake, who has continued to drop music at a steady pace, with some hits and misses in between. It all seems to be an attempt to prove that Kendrick’s record-breaking diss was a small thing to a giant.
At this point, disappearing and reappearing without a viola, like he said he would in 2023, might not be a bad idea. Drake has dropped a project every year for the last seven years and remains ever-present on social media, never allowing the mystique of his absence to build for too long. Giving fans a chance to miss him and put the whole beef in the rearview could bode well.
Instead, it’s full steam ahead. Drake has been teasing a new album called Iceman. Over the Fourth of July weekend, he released the new single “What Did I Miss?” where he addresses the drama of the past year. The song debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, proving that rumors of Drake’s demise were greatly exaggerated and fans are still fiending for new chune. So, it’s hard to blame the OVO head honcho for going hard in the paint.
Will Drake ever take his foot off the pedal and give himself the opportunity for a comeback season? If you’re reading this, it’s too late.