Forever
by Drake (featuring Eminem & Kanye West & Lil Wayne)

Album: More Than a Game Soundtrack (2009)
Charted: 42 8
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Songfacts®:

  • The all star MC gathering features Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem in addition to Drake. It was recorded for Kristopher Belman's documentary about basketball star LeBron James, More Than a Game, and was released as the soundtrack's second single.
  • An early version of the song featuring Lil Wayne, Drake, Nut Da Kidd originally leaked in 2008, but the single version is a remix with new verses by Drake and Wayne and the addition of Kanye West and Eminem.
  • Lil Wayne's participation surprised some as he had previously professed on mixtapes that Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player alive. However he has long expressed a desire to rap alongside Eminem and this was an opportunity to fulfill his ambition.
  • The song was produced by Drake's "Best I Ever Had" and "Uptown" beatmaker Boi-1da.
  • Drake told DJ Drama on his Hot 107.9 Gangsta Grillz Radio Show that his management presented the track to the people responsible for the More Than A Game soundtrack and it evolved into its current version. "Me and Gee [Roberson, Drake's manager] talked about the song," Drake explained. "Melody- and message-wise, we thought it would be dope to put someone on there. Originally we thought Kanye. But then the powers that be started having a lunch or two together and they put it together. With a new Wayne verse, and Interscope stepped in and we had that great look from Eminem. It's like you have the option to make a song or the option to make a moment. And it was one of those calls on that end - let's just make this something for people to remember."
  • Drake told Drama that his favorite rhyme on the track was delivered by Wayne. He said: "Everybody does their thing on that song. My favorite line on the song, though, is when Wayne says, 'Life is such a roller coaster and then it drops/ but what should I scream for, this is my theme park.' That right there, word-play-wise, that's my favorite. But everybody does their thing. Kanye does Kanye. Eminem raps in a way where nobody might have heard him rap in a long time and says some things that are great for his fans to hear. I'm just proud to even be on the record. People are telling me they like my verse. I'm just happy I held my own."
  • Eminem told Complex Magazine: "Everybody approached the beat different. Kanye was crazy, too, and Wayne. I just saw the beat differently than anybody else did; for some reason, I felt like the beat was a double-time beat, so I rapped faster."

Comments: 1

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyIn 1964 a steel guitar musician by the name of Pete Drake released a record titled "Forever"; it peaked at No. 64 on Billboard's Pop chart...
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