In the late 2000s, Drake was a rising rapper from Toronto riding the success of his role on “Degrassi: The Next Generation.” While he was on the come-up, he caught the eye of Young Money Entertainment founder Lil Wayne, who eventually signed Drizzy to the record label. But, before Wayne brought him into the YMCMB family, the two linked up on a few collabs, one of which contained a lyrical mistake on Weezy’s part.
The duo’s first time working together was on the track “Man of the Year” from Drake’s 2007 sophomore mixtape Comeback Season. The following year, they joined forces on the loosie “Ransom.” One of Wayne’s lines in the song led Drake to raise an eyebrow, but he ultimately didn’t address it given the opportunity to work with a hip hop icon. “And I just sold a lot of property to a buyer,” Wayne rapped. “And I think his name was kinda like ‘Drake Drizzy Rogers,’ or ‘Drizzy Drake Rogers,’ I’m too busy to play father.”
The New Orleans-bred MC hadn’t just made up a new nickname for the former “Degrassi” star. He actually thought that Rogers was his friend’s government (which in reality is Graham). But, it was nothing more than a simple mix-up.
“My email was [email protected] Rogers was the service provider in Canada and [Wayne] didn’t realize the ‘at’ in the email was like a middle interference,” the “Rich Flex” rapper explained in a Feb. 24 interview with Lil Yachty. “He just thought my name was Drizzy Drake Rogers. I mean he rapped it once, I just didn’t have the heart to correct him.”
With their mode of communication at the time, seemingly anyone could make the same gaffe. They exchanged songs via email and didn’t speak with each other over the phone or otherwise. Though “Ransom” has yet to see an official release on streaming platforms, it remains a foundational piece of Champagne Papi and Tunechi’s working relationship, as they went on to collaborate on a number of hit songs throughout the years.