In the couple weeks since Meek Mill accused Drake of employing a ghostwriter, Quentin Miller, to write the Toronto superstar's rap verses, Miller and OVO producer Noah "40" Shebib have publicly insisted that Miller is a co-writer, not a ghostwriter, since Miller is officially credited for his songwriting contributions in the liner notes of Drake's If You're Reading This It's Too Late. In a Tumblr post dated July 24, Miller claimed, "I am not and never will be a 'ghostwriter' for drake."
Much of the news coverage that's advanced this narrative cites Genius and Wikipedia as corroboration of Miller and 40's claims. Both Genius and Wikipedia are user-edited platforms, however, and are not official, definitive sources of information. The inattention to actual liner notes of Meek Mill's Dreams Worth More Than Money, published by Atlantic Records, has sowed popular confusion regarding Quentin Miller's involvement in Drake's songwriting.
In the interest of clarification, below is a screenshot of the official liner notes that are included in the physical CD release of Meek Mill's Dreams Worth More Than Money. Despite having laid a reference track for Drake's verse on Meek's "R.I.C.O."—over the very same beat, no less—Quentin Miller is not credited for a co-writing contribution to the song. This evidence suggests that the description of Quentin Miller as a "ghostwriter" is, indeed, accurate, despite OVO's claims to the contrary. It also seems to corroborate Meek's claim that he was misled regarding the authorship of Drake's verse on "R.I.C.O."
It's now unclear whether Quentin Miller has written other Drake verses for which he is uncredited.
We've yet to learn why, after years of friendship and collaboration, Meek Mill suddenly decided to expose Drake's use of ghostwriters. Even in a field as competitive as hip-hop, and even with a deformed love triangle at the heart of the matter, it's tough to believe that this specific, incendiary claim is one that Meek would've just tossed out in the heat of the moment.
Drake has so far managed to suffocate Meek Mill's ghostwriting claims with a series of diss records,Instagram captions,interview quotes, and OVO festival promotion. Still, Drake hasn't really answered Meek's initial complaint on its own merits. He appears to be ducking the fade.
Additional reporting from Brandon Jenkins and Insanul Ahmed.
