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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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Billboard Canadian Hot 100 & Billboard Canadian Albums Charts Undergo Methodology Changes for 2026
Chart Beat

Billboard Canadian Hot 100 & Billboard Canadian Albums Charts Undergo Methodology Changes for 2026

Below is an explainer on the charts’ new streaming weights.

Following the switch of the Billboard Canadian Albums chart to a new weighting methodology to match that of the United States-based Billboard 200, the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 songs chart has shifted to the updated paid to ad-supported 1:2.5 streaming ratio. This is effective with the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart dated Jan. 31, 2026

As previously reported, Billboard’s charts have added more weight to on-demand streaming to better reflect an increase in streaming revenue and changing consumer behaviors. As part of the change, paid/subscription on-demand streams continue to be weighted more favourably compared to ad-supported on-demand streams, with the ratio between the two tiers narrowing from 1:3 to 1:2.5 based on analysis of streaming revenue.

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