‘This has to be a joke’: Drake baffles fans with Plain White Ts cover ‘Wah Gwan Delilah’
Hot off the heels of his beef with Kendrick Lamar, Drake may be taking a softer tone with a new cover of the Plain White T’s 2006 hit song “Hey There Delilah.”
On June 3, social-media personality Snowd4y, dropped a track on Soundcloud titled “Wah Gwan Delilah,” which features Toronto references and slang in place of the original lyrics. Both Drake and Snowd4y are from the Canadian city.
“Wah gwan, Delilah what’s it like in Toronto City?/I’m two thousand kilometres away/But girl, tonight you look so bad, oh yes, you do/Dundas Square don’t shine as bright as you/Top left, top left,” a heavily autotuned Drake sings in an exaggerated Jamaican accent.
Following its release, Drake shared a screenshot of the tune on his Instagram Story, writing: “@snowd4y wake up the city,” alongside a laughing and breathing emoji.
So while it’s unclear whether the song’s legitimate or the work of artificial intelligence (AI), it does have the rapper’s stamp of approval.
The Independent has contacted Drake’s representative for comment.
Several fans have expressed their bewilderment at the recording on X, formerly Twitter, with many questioning what possessed the rapper to cover the classic pop song.
DRAKE & SNOWD4Y
WAH GWAN DELILAH
OUT NOWpic.twitter.com/rNrGBdVJmY— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) June 3, 2024
“This has to be a joke,” one person wrote, while a second said: “I’m crying what is this.”
“Am I battling ghosts or AI?” a third questioned.
Another found it to be a “beautiful tune,” declaring: “Drake never misses.”
“Kendrick [Lamar] sent him back to pop,” someone else joked, referencing the rappers’ longstanding feud, which culminated in the recent release of diss tracks from both parties.
In March, Lamar took aim at both Drake and J Cole, dismissing the idea that they’re comparable artists.
“Motherfuck the big three, n***a, it’s just big me,” Lamar raps on the song “Like That,” which appears on Future and Metro Boomin’s new collaborative album We Don’t Trust You.
“N***a, bum, What? I’m really like that/And your best work is a light pack,” he adds.
Drake responded in his song “Pushups,” making fun of Lamar’s height, calling him a “pipsqueak.” Not long after, he also released “Family Matters,” in which things got more personal, with Drake addressing Lamar’s fiancee Whitney Alford.
“Don’t even go back to your hood and plant no money trees,” Drake states, referring to Lamar’s 2012 song “Money Trees.” “Say you hate the girls I f*** but what you really mean/I been with Black and white and everything in between/You the Black messiah wifing up a mixed queen/And hit vanilla cream to help out with your self-esteem.”
Read a full timeline of Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s feud here.