The ‘AM/PM’ song series continues with “8am in Charlotte” by Drake, as the Toronto rapper flexes all his riches and his seemingly undeniable grip of success in the music game. The song comes out as the second single in Drake’s brand new album ‘For All The Dogs.’
Drake released his eighth studio album ‘For All The Dogs’ on October 6, 2023. The album contained one single, “Slime You Out” prior to the release, and the tracklist has 23 tracks featuring artists such as 21 Savage, J. Cole, SZA, Bad Bunny, and Lil Yachty. The album artwork is inspired by Drake’s son’s drawings.
“8am in Charlotte” is a massive flex by the rapper as he talks about raking in money every time he releases music. All prior albums by Drake have landed #1 in both US and Canadian music charts and is one of the most streamed artists ever. Most claims in this track are factual and others are not far from reality.
One day before the album release, Drake released the full song and music video for “8am in Charlotte” on Instagram, which features his son Adonis.
Listen to “8am in Charlotte” by Drake
Drake “8am in Charlotte” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
In the first verse of the song, Drake comes in hard. The money speaks for itself and it shows very well all around Drake–Chinchilla furs and ushanka hats–such high-end fashion brands that most common folk are not even aware of. For Drake, Chanel’s clothing is streetwear, his everyday dress. He boasts so much money, that no one is even close.
Things get kinky after fifteen years of dominance
A clever double-talking about the sexual niche of domination and also about Drake’s dominance over the hip-hop game. He has been on top of the game for so long at this point.
While he makes all these massive strides continuously, he has seen both his friends succeed along with him and also his opponents doing not so well. Central Cee and 21 Savage are such close collaborators of Drake and gets shoutouts in the track.
I feel like if Mike switched out the glove for the pen, like
At this point in his career, Drake is just too big to fail. He knows this. He says that this is child’s play now. It almost feels like Mike Tyson if he was a poet rather than a boxer.
In the second verse of the song, Drake raps about his life in the fast lane. Album-tour-rake in money-spend it.
In the third verse of the song, Drake has life advice for all of us and his enemies who think one big hit is all it takes. Drake reminds us to save a piece of the pie to pay taxes because evading taxes is a crime. While this sounds like common sense, Drake is actually talking about his opponents in the music game who have one good song or an album and burn all the money they make on it trying to live the life Drake is living.
Drake doesn’t mind being petty about his enemies. He confesses that he will hold a grudge until he is 75 years old. Those who dissed him long ago, we only read about them on Wikipedia now about the careers that were. Towards the end of the third verse, Drake also says that he has a lot of industry secrets that he keeps locked in safes. He only hopes that he doesn’t have to take them out.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Read the complete lyrics to the song on Genius.