Money in the Grave
by Drake (featuring Rick Ross)

Album: The Best in the World Pack (2019)
Charted: 13 7
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Drake is a lifelong fan of The Toronto Raptors and became a global ambassador for them in 2013. He released The Best in the World EP on June 15, 2019 after his beloved Raptors became the first Canadian team ever to win the NBA Championship.
  • This track finds Drake and Rick Ross celebrating their accomplishments in the rap game and talking about how people will try to feed off their successes after they die.

    When I die, put my money in the grave

    Drake wants his money buried with him in his coffin so others can't take it.
  • Drake and Ross have a long collaborative history, most notably on Ross' 2010 cut "Aston Martin Music" and DJ Khaled's 2011 track "I'm On One."
  • The song was produced by Cydney "Lil CC" Christine. It served as the debut mainstream beat for the former model.

    Lil CC started learning to produce songs in high school and first told Drake about her ambitions as a producer in 2017. A couple of years later, she ran into Drake at a post-Grammys party. She recalled to Complex the Toronto MC asked her, "CC, are you still making beats?" Lil CC replied she was mainly modeling but was still playing with producing. Drake responded: "Man, you got to send me something."

    Lil CC quickly linked up with her friends Ljay Currie and Asoteric to help her put together a beat pack. "I sent Drake a pack of probably like 10 beats. He picked the one I named 'Money in the Grave,'" she said.

    Drake then told the young producer a couple of days before Game 5 of the NBA Finals, about his plan to drop the song as a celebration of the Raptors' victory.
  • According to Lil CC, Rick Ross' verse was added at the last minute.
  • The black-and-white video opens with Drake rapping at a construction site as an excavator digs up a grave. The scene then cuts to Drizzy on his 767 private plane, then to a basketball court. From there, he meets up with Ross at an upmarket Italian restaurant where the two perform the cut in a church full of coffins. There's also footage from Drake's OVO Festival in Toronto, where he performed in a Raptors jersey.

    The clip was directed by Drake's photographer Theo Skudra, who previously filmed the OVO rapper's "Nonstop" visual.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)Songwriter Interviews

The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.

History Of Rock

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

British Invasion

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.