Drake and 21 Savage were rewarded with the Billboard Music Award for Top Rap Song for their November 2022 hit “Rich Flex” on Sunday night (November 19). The song beat out other notable contenders like “Players” by Coi Leray, “All My Life” by Lil Durk & J. Cole, “fukumean” by Gunna, and “Favorite Song” by Toosii. However, this is just the latest of several achievements by “Rich Flex” since its release, as it has dominated on several different platforms in the last year.
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“Rich Flex” serves as the intro for Drake and 21 Savage’s first collaborative album Her Loss, which christened them as an official duo after several successful joint singles like “Sneakin’” (2016), “Mr. Right Now” (2020), “Knife Talk” (2021), and “Jimmy Cooks” (2022). But, instead of starting off the LP by leaning into Drake’s frequent, melodic R&B sound or 21 Savage’s grimy, cutthroat approach, the tandem decided to just have fun.
After an intimidating, spoken word skit from 21 Savage and his Atlanta rapper friend Young Nudy to open the song, Drake kicked the doors down on “Rich Flex” with a playful, whimsical chorus.
21, can you do somethin’ for me?
Can you hit a lil’ rich flex for me?
And 21, can you do somethin’ for me?
Drop some bars to my pussy ex for me
Then 21, can you do somethin’ for me?
Can you talk to the opps necks for me?
21, do your thing 21, do your thing
Do your thing, 21, do your thing
This flamboyantly sung delivery by Drake immediately captured every listener’s full attention and would be the reason the song would take off like a rocket. Upon release, “Rich Flex” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the aforementioned hook became a significantly viral sound on TikTok. As it stands now, the official version of the song has been used in over 93,000 individual videos on the platform.
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As the song continued, though, 21 Savage would unleash a ferocious verse, indeed doing somethin’ for Drake. Then, similar to a few other Her Loss songs, the instrumental would switch halfway through to another trap-rap beat, which Drake felt inspired a more serious tone.
Capping off the song with an equally ruthless verse, Drake bounced back and forth between a somewhat crooned flow and an assertive rapping voice, mostly employing acronyms to get his point across.
Nan’ n***a seein’ me, I’m Young Money CMB
I used to roll with CMG, the house is not a BNB
The bad bitches waitin’ on a n***a like I’m PND
I’m steady pushin’ P, you n****s pushing PTSD
I told her ass to kiss me in the club, fuck a TMZ
Along with the chart and TikTok success discussed earlier, “Rich Flex” would go on to earn two nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards, in the Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance categories. On top of this, Drake and 21 Savage also earned two other nominations for Her Loss, one for Best Rap Album and another for Best Melodic Rap Performance for the song “Spin Bout U.” They are seeking their second and sixth Grammy Awards respectively.
(Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
