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  1. Tracks
  2. Drake
  3. Dark Lane Demo Tapes
  4. War
War by Drake

TRACK

Drake

War

Release date: 30th April 2020

From Dark Lane Demo Tapes
Track 14
3:00
Hip-Hop/RapMusic
Spotify Apple Music More on Drake

About This Track

London producer AXL Beats, known for bringing UK drill sounds to Brooklyn, supplies the beat here, and Drake leans into the genre's stark, menacing rhythms with conviction. Released initially in winter 2020 to support longtime manager Oliver El-Khatib's partnership with a high-end incense brand, the track made its way onto 'Dark Lane Demo Tapes' a few months later. Drake adopts UK slang and cadence throughout, the delivery tight against the skeletal production.

The lyrics catalogue street-level paranoia and old allegiances, Drake name-checking associates and recounting wariness around informants. He raps about distrust, about debts settled, about keeping a low digital footprint. The tone is cold and factual, the boasts matter-of-fact rather than celebratory. There's a brief nod to an OVOXO link-up and a roll call of crew members, but the song stays locked in its drill template, sparse and unyielding.

Drake framed the track as an attempt to uplift Toronto rappers gaining attention, though the song itself plays out as a tense internal monologue. It remains one of his more effective recent exercises in genre adoption, the UK drill framework holding his focus where looser structures might have let him drift.

"War" is a track by Drake, from the album Dark Lane Demo Tapes, released 30th April 2020. The track is 3:00 long. It's filed under Hip-Hop/Rap. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 3 articles about Drake.

About the Artist

Drake

Drake

Lyrics

War

AXL (AXL), AXL (AXL), AXL (AXL)

Woi-oi
Ayy

I don't cop things for resale, don't do iCloud, don't do email
Feds wanna tap up man and wire up man like Chubbs did Detail
Back when Ricky was doin' up Teesdale, I was doin' dinner with Teezy
I didn't trust no one, swore gyal lined me 'cause gyal too greazy

Niko never move neeky, sweatsuit Nike, sweatsuit DG
If man get beaky, ring ring, call up GiGi, do him up neatly
Used to look up to a man from certain ends with tune on repeat
Thought he was a bad boy, then 'til man got pinched and man went PC

Man went PC just like Dell and Windows, some man been those
Before I was ever around Kendall's
I was at ends though, dreamin' up Enzos
The woman I do end up with has to be a bad gyal just like Munchie
Can't have no pretentious ting when I know this road gets bumpy

Word to the broski Jay, he got different names in different countries
Three waps in the whip and we beat that case
Where man live way too comfy
I don't do well with people makin' disses or makin' threats
Woi-oi, man got flown like private jets, for way, way less

I know you tried to get one down on us, ever since then it's been stress
'Cause you know the rest 'dem owe you one and we always pay them debts
Wassa, wassa, just like the codie Pressa, I don't do no passa
Link with Skull and Cuz and Jamie ah yard and we deh pon Gaza
Pasha Sasha pissed, I was way too young at the time for slashings
You n-- spend too much time on captions, not enough time on action
Pick one man with slaps that's rappin', I bet he don't want no clashings
The LV pouch on chest is just for fashion, n-- just actin'

Are you dumb or stupid?
The wheels on the Rolls is Chromazz, headshot domazz
Just checked in at a hotel, floor that we on got potent aromas
OVOXO link up, mandem drink up, me and the drillers
Hawk and Sticks and Cash and Baka, Gucci, P, and Gilla
And the boy that sound like he sang on Thriller
You know that's been my n--
Yeah, we just had to fix things, family, 6ix tings, we can't split up

As for the rest of the game, I'll do man dirty, man'll get two time
To me, that's just our side, I don't really care who rides on whose side
Bring ten shots to the poolside
Never seen none of these grown men outside
4301, won't spare no one, n-- gotta know about Southside
Steppin' outta line, get outlined, and you know I'm tied up stateside
Bringin' man down when they take sides
Tryna get saved by the bell like Bayside

Prince, I carry that last name, that sh-- stays on me like brand names
Jas just lined up brand new hand tings and nice guy on a madting
Everyone I know has codenames, anyone I'm beefin' with is a no-name
N-- can't even win home games
They just gotta fall in line like Soul Train

Ayy
Ya
AXL (AXL), AXL (AXL), AXL (AXL)

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Dark Lane Demo Tapes

3:002020
Listen
Album
Dark Lane Demo Tapes
Dark Lane Demo Tapes
Drake
1st May 2020
Track number
14
Release year
2020
  1. 1Deep Pockets
    3:43
  2. 2When To Say When
    3:43
  3. 3Chicago Freestyle
    3:40
  4. 4Not You Too (feat. Chris Brown)
    4:30

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  • 5Toosie Slide
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  • 7Time Flies
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  • 8Landed
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  • 9D4L
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  • 10Pain 1993 (feat. Playboi Carti)
    2:29
  • 11Losses
    4:31
  • 12From Florida With Love
    3:55
  • 13Demons (feat. Fivio Foreign & Sosa Geek)
    3:25
  • 14War
    3:00
  • —Time Flies
    3:13
  • —Deep Pockets
    3:43
  • —Toosie Slide
    4:07
  • —Pain 1993 (with Playboi Carti)
    2:29
  • —Not You Too (feat. Chris Brown)
    4:30
  • —Desires (with Future)
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  • —Losses
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  • —From Florida With Love
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  • —D4L
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  • —Landed
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  • Credits

    Production & Engineering

    Writer
    AXL Beats, Drake, Malik Yusef
    Writer
    AXL Beats
    Producer
    AXL Beats
    Producer
    AXL Beats
    Engineer
    Noel Cadastre
    Mastering Engineer
    Chris Athens
    Mixing Engineer
    Noel Cadastre
    Recording Engineer
    Noel Cadastre
    READ MORE ABOUT DRAKEREAD MORE ABOUT DRAKEREAD MORE ABOUT DRAKEREAD MORE ABOUT DRAKE
    READ MORE ABOUT DRAKEREAD MORE ABOUT DRAKEREAD MORE ABOUT DRAKEREAD MORE ABOUT DRAKE
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