“A lot of people have been criticizing me. I want to thank Kevin Durant, we are friends, we get the same attention,” Rapper Drake shared.
Responding to his friend’s compliment, Kevin Durant said: “When your favorite rapper puts your name on his song, it proves that you’ve done something, no matter how big or small.”
Seven years after the above story, both Drake and Kevin Durant are still the top names in their respective fields. Their relationship has also gone from strength to strength. Now, in Drake’s songs, Kevin Durant doesn’t just appear in the lyrics, instead, the former Golden State Warriors star also contributes his name to the album production.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KEVIN DURANT AND DRAKE
The two have been friends for over a decade. Long before Drake shared his thoughts about Durant, the two interacted on Twitter. In 2012, after winning the All-Star MVP award, Kevin Durant also thanked his rapper friend.
(NBAE via Getty Images)
In the years that followed, Drake repeatedly mentioned his close friend in songs like “Weston Road Flows” and “Free Smoke.” The two friends also occasionally “confronted” each other when Durant’s team faced the Raptors, a Canadian team that had appointed Drake as its brand ambassador since 2013.
In 2016, the Toronto Raptors hosted “Drake Night” when Durant’s Golden State Warriors visited the city. Fans immediately caught a glimpse of Drake with his “rivals.”
The two also had some banter in the 2019 finals, but unfortunately that year Kevin Durant suffered an Achilles tendon injury and missed the entire season.
After recovering from his injury, Kevin Durant also appeared in Drake’s music video “Laugh Now, Cry Later”. In it, the Phoenix Suns player had a confrontation with the male rapper.
In recent years, the relationship has gone beyond friendship to become business partners, both in sports and music.
In July 2023, it was announced that Drake was among a group of investors in the Brooklyn Aces, a Major League Pickleball franchise co-owned by Durant, Rich Kleiman, Michael B. Jordan, and Steve Stoute.
Last September, Durant also joined Drake on tour in Texas, which is considered the first sign that the basketball star will be pouring money into the music market.
Prior to the release of his eighth album, Drake also announced that Durant would be taking on the role of A&R, which is defined as a position that includes talent discovery, creative work, marketing, and promotion. Durant was later appointed as an executive producer on another of Drake’s albums.
Most recently, Durant was announced as the model for the latest basketball collection from NOCTA, a collaboration between Drake and Nike.
With Durant’s involvement in the music and fashion markets as well as the partnership between the two, fans are eagerly waiting for the day when the two invest in the basketball field.