Drake’s new “not so short film” FOMO had plenty of surprises, from goth baddies to new neighbors to a visit from his mom. But one timely thing that close watchers noticed was a song snippet that had the superstar asking listeners to “Pray for Gaza.”
You can hear it at the 17:47 mark here, or check out the excerpt below.
Given the context, it’s unclear whether Drake meant Gaza in the Middle East, or whether in the dancehall-inflected tune, he was paying homage to Vybz Kartel, who frequently refers to his home region of Jamaica, Portmore, as “Gaza City,” and to his fans as “Gaza nation.” (Or both).
Both meanings are possible. Drake is a big enough Vybz fan that he made a surprise performance during the dancehall legend’s first-ever show in Canada. As for the more literal sense of “Gaza,” while The Boy tends to stay quiet about politics generally, he was a very early signatory of an open letter from Artists4Ceasefire demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. The Canadian superstar signed the letter before the end of October, 2023.
“We ask that, as President of the United States, you and the US Congress call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost,” the letter reads.
Drizzy’s longtime producer Noah “40” Shebib told Rolling Stone last year how Drake signing the letter came to be.
“A friend came to me and asked me if I want to sign and I said, of course. He asked if Drake would and I went to talk to him and the team,” he said. “That simple really.”
40 told the magazine that Israel’s war on Gaza, which Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam, and the International Association of Genocide Scholars, among others, have called a genocide, was devastating for him to watch.
“I was so distraught, the images, the videos from Gaza. I started watching it with my father then he died on November 5th [2023],” he said. “I spent that first month with him watching it then he left us. My world crumbled in a lot of ways, I couldn’t do anything. I had a lot to work through to understand how to move forward comfortably and ethically.”
