The prophecy came by way of a guest verse. The year was 2019, and Meek Mill’s “Going Bad”, a reunion of friends turned foes turned friends again, played host to a quick boast that would become legacy: “Back home, smoking legal,” Drake’s verse begins. “I got more slaps than The Beatles.” Three years later, we’d understand his word to be bond. It was in August of 2022, following the release of the DJ Khaled collaboration “STAYING ALIVE”, when Billboard announced Drake to have officially surpassed The Beatles as the artist with the most top five hits in Hot 100 history. Listen to him now, believe him later. Drake would have plenty to say in 2022. Releasing two very different yet equally beloved albums—the dance-music-inclined Honestly, Nevermind and the full-length collab with his “treacherous twin” 21 Savage Her Loss—The Boy was never far from anyone’s favourites playlist. Feature verses like DJ Khaled’s “STAYING ALIVE”, Future’s “WAIT FOR U” and Brent Faiyaz’s “Wasting Time” have for some time turned friendly link-ups into statement songs for their principal artists, but 2022 was the year veteran MC The Game did the most with the absolute least, turning a Drake voicemail into an interlude for DRILLMATIC: Heart Vs Mind on “DRAKE With the BRAIDS.” The Boy needn’t even be complicit to turn your situation up. Listen to Drake on Rap Life, the playlist at the forefront of hip-hop culture today, and if you hear something you like, add it to your library.