In the summer and fall of 2015, Drake’s “Hotline Bling” completely took over the radio, pop culture, clubs, and the charts. Peaking at. No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October, the same week its iconic music video released, “Hotline Bling” still lives on as one of the most memorable hits in Drake’s all-time great catalog, certified diamond by RIAA in December 2022.
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The Woman Behind the Hit
Much like a great deal of Drake’s smash hits, “Hotline Bling” sees the Canadian pop-rapper call out to an unnamed lover of his. In this particular instance, he reminisces about phone calls he used to get from this significant other, before their eventual break-up. Although he does not specify who the song is about, fans believe it is inspired by a woman named Zineb Samir, or Nebby, who is an ex-girlfriend of Drake’s from his hometown.
You used to call me on my cell phone
Late-night when you need my love
Call me on my cell phone
Late-night when you need my love
And I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
Before “Hotline Bling,” Drake dedicated a few songs to Nebby. The first time came in 2009 on “Best I Ever Had,” the chart-topper from his third mixtape So Far Gone. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100, and Drake later explained in an interview with Toronto’s 93.5 Flow that the track was dedicated to Nebby.
“It was about a wonderful woman from this city by the name of Nebby,” he said on the radio show in November 2011. “She was just the best woman that I had ever had. Period. She represented everything about this city that I loved and we were in a great place at the time. The record just made sense, so shout out to her for giving me one of my biggest hits to date.”
Then for his 2011 sophomore studio album Take Care, Drake referenced Nebby specifically on the fifteenth song “Look What You’ve Done.”
It’s like ’09 in your basement and I’m in love with Nebby
And I still love her, but it fell through because I wasn’t ready
And your back hurt, and your neck hurt and you smokin’ heavy
And I sit next to you, and I lecture you because those are deadly
The Music Video
When Drake put out the music video for “Hotline Bling” in October 2015, over three months removed from its initial July release as a single, his dance moves throughout the visuals created a viral moment. Donning a now-famous grey turtle neck, Drake’s bent-knee choreography became an internet craze.
Eventually, for the NFL Super Bowl 50 four months later in February 2016, Drake used scenes from the “Hotline Bling” music video for a T-Mobile commercial during the game. Particularly picking apart his lyrics about Nebby taking vacations overseas, the commercial teases how other cell phone providers aside from T-Mobile do not have great long-distance coverage.
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