SZA has addressed Drake’s recent claim in a song that the pair dated in the late 2000s.
“So It was actually 2009 lol..” the star tweeted on Sunday (Oct. 4). She also clarifed, “In this case a year of poetic rap license mattered…lol I think he jus innocently rhymed 08 w wait . Anybody who really knows me and was around during this time can confirm.. it’s all love all peace.”
The rumor mill regarding the duo’s past relationship kicked off after Drake first spilled the tea in “Mr. Right Now,” his new collaboration with 21 Savage and Metro Boomin. “Yeah, said she wanna f–k to some SZA, wait/ ‘Cause I used to date SZA back in ’08,” he raps on the track.
In a follow-up tweet, SZA was quick to point out, “I just didn’t want anybody thinking anything underage or creepy was happening. Completely innocent. Lifetimes ago.” (If the relationship did indeed occur in 2009, SZA would have been 18 or 19, while Drake was 22 or 23 at the time.)
Either way, it appears the two artists were together before either had their big break in the music industry. Drake released his smash debut studio album, Thank Me Later, in June 2010, while SZA didn’t break through until 2017 with her debut LP, Ctrl.
Of course, at the turn of the decade, Drake was still well-known as an actor from his long-running role as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation, and was already making the transition to rap thanks to a number of mixtapes and collaborations with the likes of Trey Songz and Lil Wayne (“Successful”), Eminem and Kanye West (“Forever,” also featuring Wayne) and more.
Check out SZA’s clarifying tweets about her relationship with Drake below.
So It was actually 2009 lol 🙃.. in this case a year of poetic rap license mattered 🥴lol I think he jus innocently rhymed 08 w wait . Anybody who really knows me and was around during this time can confirm.. it’s all love all peace 🤝💎💫 .
— SZA (@sza) October 5, 2020