Drake wants to move on from one of his biggest collaborations.
The rapper kicked off his It’s All a Blur Tour – Big as the What?, with J. Cole on Saturday in Tampa, Florida. Further into the concert, Drake appeared inside of a flying stage lift as the speakers played a remix of his 2016 collaboration with Rihanna, “Work.”
“I don’t sing this song anymore. You can sing it for me,” Drake told the crowd. Per footage of the concert uploaded by CULTCERT on YouTube, Drizzy ultimately sang along to bits of his verse and the last chorus.
Drake told the crowd he doesn’t sing “Work” featuring Rihanna anymore pic.twitter.com/B5qUrwsytw
— Pulse Nigeria (@PulseNigeria247) February 4, 2024
It’s not clear why Drake would include “Work” in his setlist if he doesn’t actually like the song or simply doesn’t want to sing it without Rihanna.
Given their long and complicated dating history, and seeing as Rihanna has long moved on with ASAP Rocky, maybe Drake's motivation for leaving the song behind are more personal.
It’s anyone’s guess what Drake and Rihanna’s relationship looks like today, but fans speculate that the former’s song “Fear of Heights,” taken from his latest album, For All the Dogs, throws shade at the singer.
Fans speculate that Drake is dissing Rihanna on his 'For All The Dogs' cut "Fear of Heights" pic.twitter.com/D9bfVWrDFg
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) October 6, 2023
On the track, Drake asks “Why they make it sound like I’m still hung up on you? That could never be me” before making additional references to Rihanna’s 2016 Anti album and a “man” she’s with that she goes on vacations with.
Something might be in the Young Money water. Nicki Minaj rang in the New Year with a performance at Miami nightclub E11EVEN. However, she stopped the show when the opening chords for her 2012 hit “Starships” began to play over the speakers.
“Psyche, psyche, psyche,” said the Pink Friday 2 rapper as the music stopped. “I don’t perform that song no more, y’all. I don’t like it, what y’all want me to do?”
Nicki Minaj refuses to perform "Starships" at New Year's Eve event: "I don't like it." https://t.co/NPrNJNkO3j
— Complex (@Complex) January 1, 2024
RedOne, the producer behind Starships, gave Minaj his blessing to move on from the song, telling TMZ, “I have the utmost respect for Nicki Minaj and I love her work very much. I will always respect an artist’s wishes…I feel very proud to have made that record with her along with the global success it made.”
As for Drake, it’s more likely that we’ll finally get Rihanna’s highly-anticipated ninth-studio album (nicknamed ‘R9’ by her fans) before she ever comments on the matter.
Drake and J. Cole's tour will continue again tonight in Tampa before moving on to play secondary markets through April. Whether “Work” will stay in the setlist remains to be seen.
This article was originally published on Complex.com.
