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Rb Hip Hop

Drake Was Working on New Music During ‘Nokia’ Video Shoot

Smiley, one of his OVO signees, says the Toronto rapper is hard at work.

Drake attends the Toronto Raptors and the Sacramento Kings basketball game at the Scotiabank Arena on Nov. 2, 2024 in Toronto, Canada.
Drake attends the Toronto Raptors and the Sacramento Kings basketball game at the Scotiabank Arena on Nov. 2, 2024 in Toronto, Canada.
Mark Blinch/Getty Images

Seems like Drake is making good on his statement that he’s working on new material that will address this past year.

A clip has surfaced on social media of OVO artist Smiley speaking on Drake being locked in and concentrating on making new music, saying that the Toronto rapper has been working on new material during parties and even on the set of the “Nokia” video.


“Brother, I’m telling you, I seen him the other day,” he said. “We’re at a party and he was in the other room by himself eating pasta with wired headphones writing music while we have a whole f—ing party going on. He’s on a different mode right now.”

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He added, “Even at the ‘Nokia’ video shoot, during breaks, he had a bunch of producers and he was just recording. So he’s in that crazy mode, right now.”

Back in February, during his Anita Max Win tour in Australia and New Zealand, he told the crowd that he was “gonna have a one-on-one talk” with them “when the time is right.” Then in April, he thanked fans for streaming $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PartyNextDoor and said that he was working on a new album and that “it’s a slap” while streaming with Adin Ross.

Drake reposted the clip of Smiley talking about him being in the lab on his Instagram Story, so there must be some credence to what he’s saying.

The Take Care rapper hasn’t released a solo album since For All the Dogs in 2023.

This article first appeared on Billboard U.S.

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The Spotify logo in shown on a tablet on Feb. 10, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Spotifiy's stock price spiked after the company reported a 11% jump in monthly users from a year ago to 751 million, beating analysts expectations of 744.7 million.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

The Spotify logo in shown on a tablet on Feb. 10, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Spotifiy's stock price spiked after the company reported a 11% jump in monthly users from a year ago to 751 million, beating analysts expectations of 744.7 million.

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Spotify to Label AI Artists on the Platform With New ‘AI Persona’ Badge

The music of artists tagged with the label will be excluded from personalized recommendations on the service.

Spotify has announced the creation of a new label that will be applied to AI-generated artists and begin rolling out in mid-September. Music from artists bearing the label, called “AI Persona,” will not be included in personalized recommendations on the platform.

Creators can begin disclosing that an artist profile is AI-generated starting Tuesday (Aug. 11). Spotify won’t solely rely on voluntary disclosures, however, as the streaming platform will also review accounts. For accounts that Spotify labels as AI, artists will have the opportunity to either self-disclose or appeal.

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