Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR delivered collaborative album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U today, but John River and Freddie Gibbs aren't feeling the love this Valentine's Day, respectively claiming that pieces of the release crib from work of their own.
Yesterday (February 13), PARTYNEXTDOOR shared a tracklist graphic for $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, featuring a trio of cartoon rabbits and alliterative dollar sign usage in its title — elements present in the title and artwork of Gibbs' 2022 album $oul $old $eperately.
The Indiana-born MC has peppered his lyrics with rabbit references since deeming himself "big lord bunny rabbit" on 2018's "Automatic," and has also featured the creature in merch designs and other cover artwork.
The artist's catalogue also includes songs titled "Space Rabbit," "Rabbit Vision," "Rabbit Island" and "Big Boss Rabbit." The animal — specifically the Playboy logo — is also a common symbol of the Almighty Vice Lord Nation, a street gang Gibbs has referenced in his material.
"Damn they even stole the rabbits too. I'm flattered," Gibbs wrote on X, also dredging some $oul $old $eperately promo in which he sings some $exy $ongs of his own.
Closer to home, Mississauga's John River alleges he had met with PARTYNEXTDOOR to discuss the music video for his 2015 track "Hope City 2." Both River's visual and the $exy $ongs album cover prominently feature the city's Absolute World condominiums — locally nicknamed the "Marilyn Monroe" towers due to their striking figure.
In a message shared via Instagram, River recalled, "PartyNextDoor wanted to get on a call after my video went viral in the country. On this call that lasted around 2 hours, he told me he watched the video 20x & me in front of the Monroe Towers was labelled new innovative & iconic. 'Why are you getting this attention instead of me' is exactly what he said."
River alleges that PARTYNEXTDOOR "then told me (& tweeted then deleted) that I needed to always pay him homage" for over an hour, reportedly telling the artist, "'You're young & you don't want to get black balled.'" River adds that during the rest of the call, "he was fixated on every aspect & detail of my video, the towers & my vision for the city. Multiple people were present. I told him I respect his music but homage was strange."
River also claims that in a separate sit-down, an unnamed OVO artist "began asking in depth about me, the Monroe towers, my thought process & all of my future music plans surrounding them." The unnamed artist then asked if he'd write for them, an offer which River declined.
"This started when I was a teen & has been happening up to as recently as 6 months ago under the guise of admiration," River wrote of the OVO camp's interest. "I got 12 texts on Tuesday around noon & then I saw the [PARTYNEXTDOOR] cover & I instantly knew what had happened (& been happening)."
"I would never ever claim a free standing building as my own," he continued. "Telling someone after obsessing over their work you want to be involved, dissecting it, being rejected & then stealing their identity & reselling it as your own is insane."
Find River's statement below. Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR have yet to address the claims publicly.