A song on Drake's new album Scorpion contains lyrics that may spell the end of the rapper's longstanding deal with Birdman's Cash Money Records. “Soon as this album drop I’m out of the deal,” Drake raps on the song "Is There More."
Drake signed with Lil Wayne's label Young Money, a division of Birdman's Cash Money Records, in June 2009. The exact terms of his deal are unknown – it's been rumored that Drake signed on to release eight albums on the label, but since the release of 2016's More Life speculation has mounted that Drake has almost fulfilled his obligated number of albums under his deal.
Drake references another deal on Scorpion: his contract with Apple Music. On the song "Mob Ties," Drake raps "I just gave 'em two for forty million like Chappelle (two)," a reference to Dave Chappelle's Netflix deal and his own reported deal with Apple Music, which included two exclusive albums. What A Time To Be Alive, Drake and Future's collaborative project, and Drake's 2016 album Views were both Apple Music and iTunes exclusives for short periods of time. 2017's More Life and Scorpion were available on all streaming platforms immediately upon release.
The FADER has reached out to Drake's representatives for comment.