The lyric is featured on a new track previewed during his hour-long FOMO livestream. Drake has previously signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in 2023 and called out DJ Khaled on Iceman earlier this year for remaining silent on the topic.
Drake has once again voiced his solidarity with Gaza.
Last night (Sept. 15), the rapper premiered his hour-long 'not so short film' FOMO, which includes a new and unreleased song where Drake raps the line "Pray for Gaza." The fast-paced track, which appears around the 18-minute mark, is infused with Caribbean rhythms and finds Drake primarily rapping with a Jamaican accent.
"Inna di worl, we ah pray for Gaza / Worl' Boss home when I pay with cards, my brand new nickname Baby Gaza," he says on the unreleased song.
The lyric is a reference to the Palestinian city, as well as dancehall singer Vybz Kartel, who popularized "Gaza" as a nickname for Waterford, a neighbourhood in the Jamaican city of Portmore.
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The lyrical nod is Drake's most recent display of solidarity with the Palestinian people, after famously singing an open letter on artists4ceasefire.org in 2023 calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, which received signatures from fellow Canadians like his longtime producer and friend Noah "40" Shebib and artist-DJ-producer Kaytranada, plus other international stars like Dua Lipa, Michael Stipe and Killer Mike.
Drake previously made mention of Palestine on his chart-topping album Iceman back in May, taking a jab at DJ Khaled on the track "Make Them Pay" for remaining silent on the topic despite his own Palestinian heritage. The lyrical track reached the top 10 of the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 after its release, entering at No. 10 and becoming one of the 42 songs that helped Drake break the record for the most simultaneous entries on the chart within a single week.
"And Khaled, you know what I mean / The beef was fully live, you went halal and got on your deen / And your people are still waitin' for a free Palestine / But apparently everything isn't black and white and red and green," Drake raps on the track.
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The topic has been the centre of a widespread music controversy over the past week after Macklemore was pulled from Ed Sheeran's Loop tour for his "Free Palestine" comments and imagery during his opening set. After receiving flak from singer Pink and Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft, who called Macklemore's statements "deeply offensive" and reportedly gave Sheeran an ultimatum to remove the rapper from the tour. Sheeran was criticized for Macklemore's removal, which prompted his opening acts Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and his own band Beoga to drop out of the tour.
"Make Them Pay" received a spiritual sequel during the end credits of the FOMO livestream, when Drake premiered another new song that directly reprises the sung refrain of "I just wanna be free" that is frequently repeated on the Iceman album cut. It's one of several new songs that was debuted during the FOMO livestream, along with the Don Toliver-assisted R&B remix of Ella Langley's viral chart-topping single "Choosin' Texas," a new Yeat collaboration titled "Miss My Dawgs" which pays homage to iconic album cover and music video locations from all throughout Drake's career and another Don Toliver collaboration titled "Cold Shoulder," whose video sees Drake having Canada's Wonderland all to himself.
