SZA had her suspicions about Drake regarding “Slime You Out.”
Though the collab between SZA, 33, and Drake, 37, went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the “Kill Bill” singer was initially apprehensive about the song, particularly Drake’s decision to use the first take of her vocals. “If you accept my first draft, I won’t trust you,” SZA told WSJ. Magazine when discussing collaborations and feedback in an interview published on Monday, October 30. Yet, that’s exactly what Drake did when it came to “Slime You Out.”
“I just handed in the first draft to Drake, and he’s putting it on his album,” she told the publication. “I’m scared because I handed in second vocals and he didn’t use that. And now I’m like, ‘Are you trying to sabotage me?’ I know that’s not true. I literally know that’s not true, but that’s how bad I feel about my first draft. When things come from an effortless space, I almost can’t enjoy it.”
However, Drake’s judgment proved sound. “Slime You Out” debuted atop the Hot 100, giving SZA her second No. 1 hit (after “Kill Bill,” which topped the Billboard chart in April). The track gave Drake his 12th No. 1 song. He earned his 13th when For All the Dogs, the album from which “Slime You Out” came, dropped on October 6. The song “First Person Shooter,” featuring J. Cole, also went to No. 1.
“Slime You Out” marked Drake and SZA’s first musical collaboration since he revealed in October 2020 that they previously dated. “Yeah, said she wanna f–k to some SZA, wait / ‘Cause I used to date SZA back in ’08,” he rapped on “Mr. Right Now,” a song from 21 Savage‘s Savage Mode 2 album. “If you cool with it, baby, she can still play.”
SZA then unfollowed Drake on Instagram, later clarifying in a tweet that they actually dated in 2009. “In this case, a year of poetic rap license mattered. LOL. I think he jus [sic] innocently rhymed 08 [with] wait,” she wrote. “Anybody who really knows me and was around during this time can confirm. It’s all love, all peace.” She also stated that she was 18 and he was 21, in case anyone thought their brief fling was inappropriate. “Completely innocent. Lifetimes ago,” she added.
“We were really young,” she said of the fling with Drake in an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this month. “It wasn’t hot and heavy or anything. It was like youth vibes. It was so childish.”
SZA is about to wrap up her tour supporting her 2022 album, SOS. Her final dates of the year are at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on December 8 and Boston’s TD Garden on December 10. Drake wrapped his It’s All a Blur Tour in early October and hinted after dropping For All the Dogs that he may soon take a break from music to deal with health issues.
