Drake comes to Miami to get nostalgic on his new song ‘From Florida With Love’
Drake loves Miami.
He filmed an inspiring music video in which he gifts thousands of dollars to various Miami residents. He’s recorded several songs in Miami. He even used to live here.
So obviously Drake’s new track “From Florida With Love,” released Friday on his project “Dark Lane Demo Tapes,” is not a shoutout to Tallahassee (no disrespect, T-Pain). The song, which Genius reports was recorded in Miami, finds the Toronto-born artist fondly reminiscing on both the positive and negative experiences during his early career. Though none of the events happened in Miami, the city seemingly acts as catalyst for his recollections.
The song’s most notable story refers to Drake’s 2009 robbery in Toronto, a tale which he revealed the following year in an interview with GQ.
“One night I took a girl out and got robbed at gunpoint – two guns, in fact,” Drake told the magazine. “I knew it was a setup, because I had on a sweater and a jacket, but when they banged on the car window with a gun and opened the door, the first thing he said was, ‘Yo, run that chain.’ They didn’t rob her, and her purse was sitting right there.”
The thieves apparently made off with $4,000 and a chain courtesy of his new mentor Lil Wayne. Drake alludes to receiving the chain as he recalls meeting Kobe Bryant, an intriguing story recounted in his 2019 interview with Rap Radar.
“Weezy played that s--- for me and Kobe on the bus,” Drake rapped. “Went and got a chain for me, I had to give it up.”
The robbery taught the then 24 year old to “steer clear of the negative energy that can sometimes surround the rap world,” according to MTV News’ synopsis of the interview (GQ’s original version is not online). Nearly a decade later, Drake’s perspective remains unchanged.
“From that day I never saw the point in talkin’ tough,” he rapped.
Drake later addresses the subtle slights often directed his way, but he seems less phased than in the past, rapping “I let that s--- slide, I got everything.”
Maybe his newfound zen is courtesy of the ethos of Miami. For someone that’s probably experienced nearly everything South Beach, Brickell and Downtown has to offer, Miami likely represents one of the few safe places he can reflect. Can’t you just imagine the 6God sitting on the balcony of some pricey hotel, surveying the skyline while sipping a glass of Virginia Black?
Drake, like many of us, misses being able to enjoy Miami. Being cooped up in his ridiculous Toronto mansion probably isn’t half bad but nothing beats the sunshine, the activities and the people of South Florida. He doesn’t even have to say it — we understand. And for what it’s worth, Miami misses him too.
