Made Men

Album: single release only (2011)
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Songfacts®:

  • This single was premiered on January 4, 2011 on New York station Power 105.1's morning show, The Breakfast Club. The Miami MC explained during his interview on the show that the tune was originally earmarked for his 2010 mixtape, Ashes To Ashes, but he decided to leave it out to "put final touches" on it.
  • Drake features on the track swapping bragging rhymes with Ross about fast cars and beautiful women. The Canadian rapper previously contributed to "Aston Martin Music," Ross's third single from Teflon Don.
  • Drake references Barbadian singer Rihanna in one of his rhymes: He spits: "Off the rack just ain't my style, I call a designer/ One of my baddest women ever, I call her Rihanna/ But that's because her name is Rihanna." The Canadian MC and the Bajun beauty had a short-lived fling a year or so before this was recorded. Drake addressed their affair on his track "Fireworks" and the two stars later collaborated on Rihanna's hit single, "What's My Name?."
  • The title is a Mafia reference - a "made man" is someone who has been officially inducted into a Mafia family, which offers certain status and protections. Ross named his 2010 album "Teflon Don," which was the nickname of the famous Mafioso John Gotti.

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