Drake has finally released another single off his upcoming album For All the Dogs — and he’s joined by a very special guest.
The rapper, 36, got an assist from SZA on, “Slime You Out,” the second single off his eighth studio album, which is due out Sept. 22 via OVO Sound and Republic Records. It marks the first-ever collaboration between the hip-hop artist (whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham) and the R&B singer (whose real name Solána Imani Rowe), 33.
On the five-minute track, Drake and SZA both criticize childish behavior of ex-lovers and the opposite gender, using Nickelodeon’s “slime” as a metaphor for juvenile habits they’ve seen in past relationships. Drizzy switches between emotional crooning and delivering fierce bars throughout the song, while SZA’s soulful voice soars over the atmospheric track.
“Slimin’ you out, I’m slimin’ you out, I’m slimin’ you out,” they each sing on the chorus.
Both stars began teasing the song on Wednesday. Although neither shared the name of the song at the time, they tagged each other on a post of the promotional single artwork on Instagram, which features a shot of actress Halle Berry covered in green “slime” at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.
“😳💚,” Drake wrote in the caption of his Instagram. SZA, too, shared a series of emojis on her post: “🤮🤭👀.”
As Billboard pointed out, fan footage captured the “God’s Plan” artist announcing the song’s Friday release date during his It’s All a Blur Tour stop in Austin on Monday.
On stage at the Moody Center, the Grammy winner said, “I’m even going to say something tonight in Austin, Texas I haven’t said yet.”
“I know y’all excited to hear the album,” the rapper continued. “I know it’s like two weeks out. I’m a drop a song for y’all this week.”
After the crowd cheered, he added, “Yeah, yeah. What a time, what a time. I appreciate y’all. Deeply, by the way, I do. It’s a lot of love in Texas.”
JERRITT CLARK/GETTY; DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY
Although “Slime You Out” sees the first collaboration from Drake and SZA, it’s not the first time they’ve ever linked up. The two actually dated each other for a period in 2009.
Their relationship became public years later in 2020 when Drake teamed up with 21 Savage and Metro Boomin on the song “Mr. Right Now,” on which he rapped the verse, “Yeah, said she wanna f— to some SZA, wait / ‘Cause I used to date SZA back in ’08.”
Shortly after the track dropped, the “Kill Bill” singer confirmed Drizzy’s claim with a post on X (formerly known on Twitter). “So It was actually 2009 lol … in this case a year of poetic rap license mattered lol,” the Grammy winner tweeted. “I think he jus innocently rhymed 08 w wait. Anybody who really knows me and was around during this time can confirm … it’s all love all peace.”
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The “Good Days” artist also opened up about their relationship and current friendship in a 2022 interview with Audacy. “We’re cool, we’ve always been cool. It’s never been weird,” she said. “Anytime he’s ever mentioned me, it’s always been positive. He never said anything negative about me, and I’m grateful for that. I think really highly of him … I’m an artist now, I wasn’t then, and he’s King Drake!”
“Slime You Out” follows “Search & Rescue,” the first single off For All the Dogs that dropped back in April.
The “Hotline Bling” artist officially announced the album title and cover art, designed by his 5-year-old son Adonis, in August, followed by the official release date in September.