A$AP Rocky recently addressed his simmering feud with Drake during an interview with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden, clarifying that despite the icy nature of their relationship, there is no “real smoke” between them. Rocky, who appeared to take shots at Drake on his song “Stole Ya Flow” from ‘Don’t Be Dumb’, explained that their issues began “over females.” He candidly stated, “This thing between us it’s not real smoke, but I just don’t f— with him. We was once friends. I feel like it’s over females. I feel like he wasn’t happy and he expressed that.”

The Harlem rapper further criticized Drake, labeling him as “soft” for repeatedly sending shots at Rihanna in recent years. Rocky believes it is time for Drake to move past whatever transpired between them. “I think at some certain point and everyone getting older and you supposed to be moving on. For you to be picking at a female, that’s soft to me,” Rocky continued. He acknowledged finally responding to the disses through his music, asserting that the animosity is petty given the abundance of fame, money, women, and spotlights available. Rocky reiterated that it could never be “real smoke” because he views it as a trivial matter.

Rocky’s lyrical jabs at Drake have been notable. On “Stole Ya Flow,” he rapped, “Stole my flow, so I stole yo’ bi—/ If you stole my style, I need at least like 10 percent,” and “First you was my bro, pussy n—a switched/ Turned into a opp, f— his block, he a bi—, boy.” In 2024, Rocky also seemed to take additional swipes at Drake on guest appearances, specifically on ‘We Still Don’t Trust You’s’ “Show of Hands” and J. Cole’s “Ruby Rosary.”

These recent disses from Rocky followed Drake’s own shots at the Mob frontman. Drake notably targeted Rocky on his “Family Matters” Kendrick Lamar diss track in May 2024, rapping, “Rakim talkin’ sh– again/ Gassed ’cause you hit my BM first, n—a, do the math, who I was hittin’ then/ I ain’t even know you rapped still ’cause they only talkin’ ’bout your ‘fit again/ Probably gotta have a kid again ‘fore you think of droppin’ any sh– again/ Even when you do drop, they gon’ say you should’ve modeled ’cause it’s mid again.” Drake was also widely believed to have dissed Rihanna on ‘For All the Dogs’’ “Fear of Heights,” singing about a past relationship where “the sex was average.”

The relationship between Drake and Rocky was once closer in the 2010s. Drake featured on Rocky’s 2012 hit “F—in’ Problems” and also brought Rocky along on his Club Paradise Tour in the same year. Currently, A$AP Rocky and Rihanna are dating and have three children together, while Drake was romantically linked to Rihanna throughout the first half of the 2010s, forming the core of the personal history that Rocky claims led to their current animosity.