You used to call me on my
You used to, you used to
Yeah
[Chorus]
You used to call me on my cell phone
Late-night when you need my love
Call me on my cell phone
Late-night when you need my love
And I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
[Verse 1]
Ever since I left the city, you
Got a reputation for yourself now
Everybody knows and I feel left out
Girl, you got me down, you got me stressed out
'Cause ever since I left the city, you
Started wearin' less and goin' out more
Glasses of champagne out on the dance floor
Hangin' with some girls I never seen before
[Chorus]
You used to call me on my cell phone
Late-night when you need my love
Call me on my cell phone
Late-night when you need, my love
I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
Ever since I left the city, you, you, you
You and me, we just don't get along
You make me feel like I did you wrong
Goin' places where you don't belong
Ever since I left the city, you
You got exactly what you asked for
Runnin' out of pages in your passport
Hangin' with some girls I've never seen before
[Chorus]
You used to call me on my cell phone
Late-night when you need my love
Call me on my cell phone
Late-night when you need, my love
And I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
[Bridge]
These days, all I do is
Wonder if you're bendin' over backwards for someone else
Wonder if you're rollin' up a Backwoods for someone else
Doing things I taught you, gettin' nasty for someone else
You don't need no one else
You don't need nobody else, no
Why you never alone?
Why you always touchin' road?
Used to always stay at home
Be a good girl, you was in the zone
Yeah, you should just be yourself
Right now, you're someone else
You used to call me on my cell phone
Late-night when you need my love
Call me on my cell phone
Late-night when you need my love
And I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
[Outro]
Ever since I left the city—
[Produced by Nineteen85]
About
“Hotline Bling” is most likely about Drake’s old flame from Toronto, Nebby. She’s had an on and off relationship with the 6 God a few times, and her Instagram account is a constant reminder that she’s never home – always traveling to exotic places, and out wearing almost nothing. Based on the lyrics, it’s as if Drake wrote this song while scrolling through her Instagram page.
This song premiered alongside “Charged Up,” “Right Hand,” and material from other OVO artists on OVO Sound Radio Episode 2.
It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Drake’s then highest peaking single as a lead artist, only to be replaced by the Views single “One Dance” which peaked at #1.
The song heavily samples the song “Why Can’t We Live Together” by Timmy Thomas and has been remixed/covered by a seemingly ever-growing number of Drake’s peers, including Justin Bieber, Erykah Badu, Disclosure/Sam Smith, and Sufjan Stevens.
The official music video was released on October 19th via Apple Music, and was immediately made into a source of various memes involving Drake’s dancing. The song and choreography received much attention that Drake got to perform a segment of the infamous dance in a T-Mobile commercial that aired during Super Bowl 50.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Drake said in an interview with The FADER:
You know, like in Jamaica, you’ll have a riddim and it’s like, everyone has to do a song on that. Imagine that in rap, or imagine that in R&B. Imagine if we got one beat and every single person—me, this guy, this guy, all these guys—had to do a song on that one beat. So sometimes I’ll pick a beat that’s a bit, like, sunnier, I guess is the word you used, than usual, and I just try my hand at it. And that’s kind of what ‘Hotline Bling’ was. And I loved it. It’s cool. I’ve been excited by that sort of creative process.
In an interview with Billboard magazine, he said:
I was in my car, listening to a satellite station that plays a lot of smooth-rock deep cuts, and the original song [“Why Can’t We Live Together” by Timmy Thomas] came on. By the time I got home, I had basically made the beat in my head. There’s a thing he knows how to do on my beats that connects with the audience so well.
- 2.9
- 3.U With Me?
- 4.Feel No Ways
- 5.Hype
- 7.Redemption
- 8.With You
- 9.Faithful
- 10.Still Here
- 11.Controlla
- 12.One Dance
- 13.Grammys
- 14.Child’s Play
- 15.Pop Style
- 16.Too Good
- 18.Fire & Desire
- 19.Views
- 20.Hotline Bling
