‘Charged Up’ Drake hits back at ghostwriter claim

Meek Mills has accused the hip-hop star of not writing his own lyrics.

Drake performs at the 2015 Coachella Music and Arts Festival in April. Photo by Rich Fury / Invision / AP

Hip-hop star Drake has hit back at claims that he doesn’t write his own lyrics and uses ghostwriters, by releasing a new song slamming his accuser that quickly went viral online.

Fellow rapper Meek Mill recently posted a message on Twitter accusing Drake of not writing his own songs.

Drake – whose latest mix tape topped the US album chart and who recently headlined major music festivals including Coachella – broke his silence on Saturday to respond in verse with a song titled Charged Up.

The song hit No 1 on Billboard’s Trending 140 chart, which tracks social-media impact in the United States.

“Wow, I’m honoured that you think this is staged,” Drake raps over a minimalist beat. “I seen it all coming ... ’cause it ain’t like I need the money I make off a feature,” Drake adds, presumably explaining why he did not promote Mill’s album.

Referring to recent police killings of African Americans that have provoked outrage, Drake raps: “Cops are killing people with their arms up / And your main focus is trying to harm us?”

Drake released the song on Apple Music, the tech giant’s new streaming and radio service for which he has been a prominent spokesman.

He referred to his Apple collaboration in Charged Up as a way to tell Mill that he has been successful. Drake appeared to confirm in the song that the company paid him US$20 million (Dh73.46m).

Mill, while not taking back his accusations, wrote on Twitter about the new song: “I can tell he wrote that one, though.”