Drake Surprisingly Shouts out Ja Morant in New Song Despite Beef History

While NBA players strive for plenty of accomplishments on the court, getting mentioned in a song is something off the court that basketball players and athletes in general tend to be fond of, as long as it’s for the right reasons. Players like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Michael Jordan have been name-dropped in songs countless times, usually in celebration rather than dissing them.

An artist who’s no stranger to including NBA players in his lyrics is Grammy and Billboard award winner Drake. An avid basketball fan who can be spotted frequently supporting his team, the Toronto Raptors, he decided to mention Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant in his latest song, despite the two having some bad blood in their past.

“Jump like Ja Morant, she ’bout to jump, ’bout to jump,” Drake says in his first verse on his new song, Dog House with Julia Wolf and Yeat. Morant, regarded as one of the most athletic players in the NBA and known for his high-flying highlights, earns the recongntion from Drake here in this lyric.

Drake’s bad blood with Morant was made known to fans during his diss record, “Push Ups“, during Drake’s feud with Southern California rap star Kendrick Lamar. Drake didn’t name-drop Morant exactly, but referenced him as “hout out to the hooper that be bustin’ out the griddy.”

Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s feud was very public, and plenty of artists and figures in the music industry were picking sides on who they supported. In response to famous producer Metro Boomin‘s post, Morant replied by saying “stay on dat side🗣️” in reference to him choosing Drake over Kendrick.

However, what this prior beef with Morant likely stems from is Morant’s prior relationship with Brooklyn Nicole, as Drake allegedly went on a date with her. Given the lines in “Push Ups” it appears that it is true, given that he refers to Morant as heartbroken through his actions on X/Twitter.

There’s no knowledge on whether the two were able to sit down and squash their beef, but given that Drake mentioned Morant in his latest song, it appears as though the two aren’t going head-to-head with one another at this moment.

However, that could all change this upcoming season, especially when the Memphis Grizzlies head up to face the Toronto Raptors on November 2nd, just the seventh game of the season for Memphis.