The History Of A$AP Rocky, Drake, & Rihanna Before Lines Were Drawn

Don’t Be Dumb had plenty of lyrics to dissect, but a few lines landed louder than the rest. One of them was on “Stole Ya Flow,” when A$AP Rocky rapped: “First you stole my flow, so I stole yo’ b*tch." He also let it be known that his "baby mama is Rihanna, so we unbothered." It was a pointed message, wrapped in confidence, that stirred the pot without hesitation.

Not long after, Rocky said what fans already speculated. In a sit-down with Ebro Darden, he confirmed that he was taking aim at, or at least referencing, his simmering division with Drake. “This thing between us, it’s not real smoke, but I just don’t f*ck with him,” he said, calmly. “We was once friends. I feel like it’s over females. I feel like he wasn’t happy, and he expressed that.”

There weren't any crashouts or raised voices. “At some certain point, everyone getting older, and you supposed to be moving on," Rocky added. "For you to be picking at a female, that’s soft to me. I didn’t put out music for me to say something back, and I finally did say something back to a few people. I do think that sh*t is petty.”

Continuing his Don't Be Dumb press run, Rocky had more to say when he caught up with DJ Akademiks. "The only reason I said something was because I felt like he took a shot at my girl," he explained. "He was just on tour and said something about my girl."

"I thought old boy was my mans," A$AP Rocky expressed concerning Drake. "I think, when I got with my girl, he just started throwing shots out of nowhere... Throwing subs. I think [we're beefing over women] too. I don't know, perhaps [it started before]. [...] For a n*gga like me, bro, I'm not the first n*gga that f*cked my girl, or my baby mother, or my wife. Somebody predates that. Get off that sucker sh*t... He been talking about n*ggas, throwing shots before the Kendrick [Lamar] sh*t and all that."

Drizzy, RihRih, and Rocky were once friends and collaborators, creating some of our favorite hits in sync. Unfortunately, the harmony didn’t last. With Rocky revisiting old tensions, now feels like the right time to trace the unraveling of a Hip Hop trifecta that once moved in rhythm, but slowly drifted apart.

Before any lines were drawn in the sand, they were in the same rooms and often, on the same stages. In 2012, Drake and A$AP Rocky shared one of Rocky’s biggest early moments with the release of “F**kin’ Problems.” The track, produced by Noah “40” Shebib and Drake, featured Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz. It went Top 10, helped define Rocky’s debut, and publicly linked the two artists in the early days of Rocky’s mainstream rise.

Rocky also appeared on the remix of Rihanna’s "Cockiness (Love It)" in 2012. Their chemistry on stage at the VMAs became instant tabloid fodder after Rocky grabbed her during the performance. Later, he joined her on the Diamonds World Tour. The foundation for something more personal was already in place, even if no one could see it yet.

That camaraderie didn’t end there. In 2019, long after the initial wave of collaborations, Drake made a surprise appearance during Rocky’s concert in Los Angeles. They were on stage, smiling together again, performing as if the goodwill was still intact.

Rocky had also been moving closer to Rihanna, though at the time, it wasn’t framed romantically. Rocky told Jimmy Fallon that he was outside of a New York City club, arguing with a bouncer, when he and Rihanna first crossed paths prior to his rise in the Rap game.

“I wasn’t famous at the time, she was obviously Rihanna,” he laughed. “And I couldn’t get in. I was with my friend, the late, great Virgil Abloh, and Matthew Williams. We kind of was getting into it with the bouncers, and she came out, and we locked eyes right away. I was just like, in a daze. And, you know, I was a little embarrassed that she caught me bickering with the guard and stuff like that."

Drake and Rihanna had already been in and out of the public eye. Since 2009, rumors, songs, and shared stage moments kept their relationship in the spotlight. They worked together on hits like “What’s My Name,” “Take Care,” and “Work.” Their chemistry was a constant topic, but it never settled into permanence.

The connection between Drake and Rih has always lived somewhere between public adoration and private tension. Their timeline is long, stretching back to 2005, when they first met on the set of the music video for her single, "Pon de Replay." She filmed the visual in the 6 God's hometown. From there, their chemistry was undeniable in their collabs, but so was the confusion. Neither confirmed a lasting relationship, but they weren’t hiding it either.

In 2009, when her relationship with Chris Brown ended with a shocking domestic violence incident, Page Six reported that Rihanna was allegedly spotted with Drizzy at the Lucky Strike Lanes bowling alley. On his 2010 track "Fireworks," Drake said, "Who could've predicted Lucky Strikes would have you stuck with me / What happened between us that night it always seems to trouble me." Drake would expand his thoughts that same year in an interview with The New York Times.

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"I was a pawn," he said while speaking of the singer. "You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I've done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear. I was like, wow, this feels terrible."

Still, their chart-topping collaboration, "What's My Name," arrived that October, and in 2011, they even performed together at the Grammys. In 2012, the rapper dropped his Rihanna-assisted classic, "Take Care." The next year, he was sitting on Ellen DeGeneres's couch answering questions about the Barbadian star.

In 2016, the gossip continued to spread about the superstars getting closer than close. That year, Drake presented Rihanna with the Video Vanguard Award at the MTV VMAs. He used the stage to tell the global audience, “She’s someone I've been in love with since I was 22 years old... She’s one of my best friends in the world.” It looked as if he leaned in for a kiss, but she turned her head.

Later, in a 2018 Vogue interview, Rihanna addressed that moment directly. “Waiting through that speech was probably the most uncomfortable part. I don’t like too many compliments; I don’t like to be put on blast.” When asked about where they stood, she said, "We don't have a friendship now, but we're not enemies either. It is what it is."

Publicly, Rihanna began to distance herself. She told The New York Times T: Style magazine in 2019 that she didn’t plan to work with Drake in the future. “Not on this album, that’s for sure. Not anytime soon, I don’t see it happening.” In another moment, she appeared to shade artists writing love songs about her. Fans began debating whether she was hinting at Drake.

As his career continued to climb, Drake’s lyrics began to give fans pause and spark conversations that he was referencing Rihanna. On “Fear of Heights,” from his 2023 album For All the Dogs, he raps, “Why they make it sound like I’m still hung up on you? / That could never be.” He also repeats the word “anti” multiple times, a word that many took as a nod to Rihanna’s 2016 album, ANTI. "Gyal can't run me / Better him than me." It didn’t feel subtle.

Also, on "Virginia Beach," Drake raps about someone "drawin’ conclusions like you got a Parsons degree or somethin’." Fans quickly connected the lyric to Rihanna, who received an honorary degree from Parsons School of Design in 2017. It wasn’t confirmed, but the timing and framing felt more like shade than admiration.

Then came “Another Late Night” featuring Lil Yachty in 2023, where Drake includes the line, "I ain't pretty flacko, b*tch, this sh*t get really rocky." Of course, A$AP Rocky's nickname is Pretty Flacko, and he released a song with the same name in 2022. Some listeners read it as a slight jab, but neither Drake nor his representatives confirmed that interpretation.

They didn’t rush, and that’s part of what made their relationship revelation resonate with fans. They moved from friends to lovers around 2020, and the public saw it when Rihanna cast Rocky in a Fenty Skin campaign, and the dynamic started to shift. By the end of the year, they were photographed together more frequently.

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When GQ profiled Rocky in 2021, he didn’t hold back. “The love of my life,” he said plainly. “My lady.” He added, “So much better when you got the One. She amounts to probably, like, a million of the other ones... I think when you know, you know. She's the One.”

Their son RZA was born in 2022. Riot followed in 2023. In 2025, they welcomed their daughter, Rocki. They've battled rumors of a secret marriage and more kids to come. Whatever their future plans may be, their supporters can't get enough of Rocky and Rih.

Drake’s image has long been tied to longing. He’s built a catalog on the language of heartbreak, exes, almosts, and maybes. With Rihanna, that played out publicly and messily. For his part, it doesn't seem that Rocky set out to start a war. However, he also didn’t sidestep the moment. This wasn’t the beginning of a feud. It was the closure of something that had lingered too long without a name. Not quite beef, but not quite peace. Just a final note that the chapter had ended.

Who knows? Now that the dust has settled on his spat with Kendrick Lamar and Iceman's phantom release is right around the corner, we'll see if Drizzy has a few bars to answer A$AP Rocky back. But...should he?