Way back in July 2018, Drake delivered a “freestyle” on the UK rap channel Link Up TV as part of the promotional campaign for his fifth studio album Scorpion. Titled “Behind Barz,” the verse was a “freestyle” in the same way that many of today’s most common radio appearances are—a rapper comes in with a few bars of a song that he’s been working on, performing them over a beat cued up by the DJ. Now, Drake is back with an official recording of his “Behind Barz” freestyle.
The track is featured on the soundtrack for the new Netflix series Top Boy, which follows two drug dealers through their day-to-day struggles hustling on the streets of London. Much like his original radio verse, the track finds Drake putting on a phony grime accent, rapping about “paigon chit-chat” and making reference to Big Shaq’s viral grime parody “Man’s Not Hot.” “Staying in big six-six with woes / Man start dissin’ and doin’ reposts / They do anything except road / Still can’t see them after it snows,” Drake raps in the opening verse.
Drake’s fifth studio album Scorpion dropped in June 2018 featuring the singles “God’s Plan,” “Nice for What,” “I’m Upset,” “Don’t Matter to Me,” “In My Feelings,” “Nonstop,” and “Mob Ties.” Late last month, he released a video for his single “Money in the Grave” featuring Rick Ross. Check out “Behind Barz” below.
