Drake and The Weeknd have been longtime friends and collaborators for a decade now, but things haven’t always been on good terms between the two.
While they’ve since resolved any differences they had with one another, The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye, was said to have been furious upon learning that Drizzy was rumored to be hooking up with model Bella Hadid, who famously dated the “Starboy” hitmaker for three years.
Another feud was said to have erupted when The Weeknd signed his record deal with Republic Records instead of remaining loyal to Drake’s camp and inking a contract with the latter’s OVO Sound imprint.
What Did Drake And The Weeknd Feud About?
In October 2017, during one of The Weeknd’s breakups with Hadid (they frequently called it quits), Drake was said to have aimed his attention at the model, who Page Six claims ended up hooking up with the “Hotline Bling” rapper, which would’ve undoubtedly upset his pal.
According to sources for the publication: “They both hang in the same Toronto crew and now they’re having to pick sides. The Weeknd performed and people on Drake’s side were like, ‘I can’t show up to that . . . Got to have allegiance.’”
It was further added that neither Drake nor The Weeknd was seeing eye-to-eye with one another and that their friendship had taken a drastic toll over Drizzy’s decision to allegedly hook up with Hadid, who he knew had shared a lengthy relationship with his friend prior to their split.
“They aren’t getting along right now . . . The groups are beefing because [Drake] broke the bro code. They 100 percent hooked up.”
To make matters worse, Drake even paid for Hadid’s 21st birthday party, which was held at the Socialista lounge in New York City.
In December 2019, Drake addressed his feud with The Weeknd in a new track, titled “War,” but instead of throwing shots and digs his pal’s way, he noted that they had actually squashed their differences and moved on from the situation.
“If man get beaky, ring ring, call up Gigi, do him up neatly,” he raps. “We just had to fix things, family, six tings, we can’t split up.”
Prior to all of the Hadid drama, The Weeknd had rubbed Drake the wrong way when he decided to sign a record deal with Republic Records instead of his OVO imprint back in 2012.
He had already landed several hits as a solo artist, but having Drizzy’s backing at the time definitely helped his career take off and reach heights it hadn’t seen prior to their collaborations together.
Still, The Weeknd thought it was best to sign his deal elsewhere, but doing so was a decision that was believed to have led the two to stop talking for a while — Drake thought the move was rather shady considering the endless support he’d shown his friend up to that point.
It’s not hard to see why Drake would be upset at The Weeknd signing to a competitor label, especially since the R&B singer has since become one of the biggest artists in the world, with his latest album, After Hours, breaking the record for most on-demand streams in a week (220.7 million).
Every studio album release from The Weeknd has performed exceptionally well on the charts, and leaving Drake out of the deal had ruffled the latter’s feathers — but as mentioned above, the two have ended their feud and are said to be on speaking terms again.
While it’s arguable on whether or not they can ever be as close as they once were (especially after Drake’s ties to Hadid), it would seem as if keeping the peace between them is better than dragging on a feud for years and years.
In a previous interview with Rolling Stone, The Weeknd had opened up about his former close ties with Drake, mentioning how he once “gave up almost half of my album” for Drizzy’s record.
"I gave up almost half of my album. It’s hard. I will always be thankful—if it wasn’t for the light he shined on me, who knows where I’d be. And everything happens for a reason. You never know what I would say if this success wasn’t in front of me now.”
While fans no longer see The Weeknd and Drake hanging out as much as they used to, rest assured that these two are on better terms and anything that’s happened in the past has already been forgotten about. At least so they claim.