Drake’s “Hotline Bling” was a hit after its release in 2015. The 6 God gave fans a behind-the-scenes look with his 100-gig content drop on Tuesday (August 6), featuring clips of him in the studio explaining how the diamond-certified hit came about.
According to the artist, an anonymous woman he was dating was the real inspiration for “Hotline Bling,” as he had saved that phrase as her contact name. The reason? She was constantly receiving calls and messages while the two were together.
“We would be in bed together a lot… and her phone would ring. So I saved her name in my phone as ‘Hotline Bling.’ That’s always been her name on my phone,” he said in the drop. “And when I looked at it today, I was like, ‘Hotline Bling’ is a dope name. That should be a stage name.”
Drizzy went on to say that he had forewarned her that he had recorded a song named after her nickname. “I talked to her today. I was like, ‘Yo, your name, your nickname is such a good title for something.’ And then I just told her today, I was like, you know, I made a song called ‘Hotline Bling,’ that’s crazy,” Drake added.
The OVO boss considered inviting Future to join him on “Hotline Bling,” but ultimately decided against it. “It’s a melody, but it’s a mood,” he explained. “When I wrote it, I wrote it as a Shy Glizzy song. That’s why I asked if we should put Future on that shit.” Drake and Future came back a few months later for their What a time to be alive Community project.
“Hotline Bling,” produced by Nineteen85, was released in July 2015, and the moody music video, featuring Drake’s signature dance, sparked a series of viral memes and parodies on social media. While the anthem never topped the Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at number 2 on the chart.
Check out the 100 Gigs clips below.
This article was first published by Billboard US
