Songfacts®:

• "Sandra's Rose" finds Drake reflecting on the way his fame has impacted his personal life. The song is titled after his mother, Sandra "Sandi" Graham, who once worked as a florist, hence the rose.
  
  Sandra knows I pulled us out of a living hell
  I'm the chosen one, flowers never pick themselves
  
  After divorcing Dennis when Drake was 5, Sandra became a single mom. However her son's successful career, initially as an actor on Degrassi and later as a rapper has enabled him to pull his mom out of poverty.
• Drake previously paid tribute to Sandra on his 2015 maternal ode "You & The 6" during which he recounts various conversations between him and his mom.
• Drake pokes fun during the song at brash radio personality Charlamagne tha God, who has often been accused of undergoing a skin-lightening procedure.
  
  Like Charlemagne, I see the light and see the darkest patches
  
  Drake compares his positive ("light") and negative ("dark") experiences to Charlamagne's literal light and dark patches. The radio presenter had previously received a shout-out on the OVO rapper's Meek Mill diss track "Back to Back" when he rapped:
  
  You gon' make me step out of my f---in' frame
  You gon' make me buy bottles for Charlamagne
• The soulful production is courtesy of DJ Premier. The hip-hop great was the producer half of the influential East Coast duo Gang Starr alongside the emcee Guru. This is the first time that Drake has teamed up with the beat maestro.
  
  The hook-up came about after DJ Premier texted long-time Drake collaborator Noah "40" Shebib asking to be a part of the OVO rapper's record. According to a Rolling Stone interview, 40 replied by sending him a pair of tracks started by Maneesh and specific instructions: "Drake likes the way you bounce your beats; would you be down to put some drums to this, do it the Preemo way?"