Passionfruit

Album: More Life (2017)
Charted: 3 8
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Songfacts®:

  • Over a gentle house beat and mellow vibes, Drake details his struggle to maintain a long-distance relationship.

    Listen
    Hard at buildin' trust from a distance
    I think we should rule out commitment for now
    'Cause we're fallin' apart


    Drake is admitting to the woman that it's hard to maintain trust and faithfulness when they live so far apart. For that reason he thinks its best that they put the relationship on hold.
  • The passionfruit is a vine species of passion flower that is native to South America. It was so named by Spanish missionaries because they thought it symbolized the nails and thorns of the Crucifixion (or the Passion).
  • Though the song title does not feature in the lyrics it ties in with the alliteration that Drake uses in the chorus.

    Passionate from miles away
    Passive with the things you say
    Passin' up on my old ways
  • London producer Nana Rogues supplied the instrumentation for both this and another More Life track "Skepta's Interlude." Before working with Drake, Nana Rogues was best known for laying down the beat for Tinie Tempah's single "Girls Like." He has also worked for various UK grime and trap acts including Section Boyz, Wiley and Skepta.
  • The song opens with the voice of Detroit DJ Moodyman taken from a 2010 set he did in Manchester, England.
  • American actress, singer and model Zoe Kravitz supplies background vocals. She is the daughter of musician Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet.
  • Talking to Genius about the inspiration for his instrumentation, Nana Rogues said: "The vibe is weird. Every time I explain to people, people look at me funny. So basically, when I made the beat I was thinking of clouds. Like clouds in a jungle filled full of love. But not love from a girl. Love from life, and appreciation just a nice fluffy, bouncy."
  • Rogues admitted that he had Drake in mind when creating the instrumentation, but didn't want to get ahead of himself. "I was making the beat, I did think of Drake but it was one of those ones when you're a producer, you make the beat, you think, 'Who am I gonna get on it?' He was one of the guys but I didn't make it for him," he explained. "After the BRIT Awards show last year, Drake came to the Section Boyz show in Shoreditch. And that's where it started. So I was introduced to Drake. I sent music to Drake, but I didn't know it was Passionfruit until close to the release date. It's crazy, because I had no idea. And then bam, it just comes."

Comments: 2

  • André Miotto from São Mateus, Espírito Santo,brazilBest song ever made.
  • Martinez Rocks from MichiganThis song, Passionfruit" was mainly written by producer Nana Rogues, not Drake. He taught out Drake to record the song for him. If Drake contributed, it was a few lyrics. Rogue had the entire production already recorded before Drake stepped in.
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