Local sentiments against Drake plummet after Malaysia Airlines diss in new track

Malaysian sentiments against Canadian rapper Drake have dropped after the release of his new diss track, The Heart Part 6. According to media intelligence firm CARMA, online sentiments about Drake in Malaysia after the diss track were 6% positive and 39.6% negative.

Prior to the release of the track on 6 May, sentiments for Drake were 10.8% positive and 24.4% negative, according to CARMA. 

In the track, Drake says:

I'll slit your throat with the razor and do Rick Ross Air like that one flight from Malaysia.

Don't miss: Singapore-born comedian draws furore for insensitive joke on MH370, SG apologises 

Users suspected initially that he was referencing the MH370 tragedy, where an aircraft that left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing in March of 2014, went missing and has remained so till today. 

However, some users have also since speculated that he might be referencing the MH17 plane that was shot down by Russian forces on July 17, 2014, while flying over the Ukraine. The tragedy killed 283 passengers and 15 crew members onboard.

The line was also a likely jab at American rapper, Rick Ross, whose private jet reportedly crashed in Dallas, US, earlier this month on 2 May. 

In comments after the incident, Ross reportedly claimed that he saw a fighter jet shooting at his plane which he later joked belonged to Drake. 

Netizens quickly took to X to talk about how Malaysia was mentioned in the track but not in a good way. 

The word cloud around Drake in the country also shifted from words such as 'album', 'love' and 'artist' to words such as ' slit', 'flight' and 'Malaysia'.

The MH370 tragedy is a sore spot for Malaysians who, last year, went after Singapore-born comedian, Jocelyn Chia after she made a joke about the MH370 crash in a comedy routine of hers.

She said that while Singapore has since gained the status of a ‘first world country’, Malaysia remains a ‘developing’ one. She then went to have a dialogue with the crowd before saying:

Why, Malaysian Airlines going missing not funny huh? Some jokes don’t land.

Undoubtedly, this joke infuriated many Malaysians who took offence to the insensitivities in Chia’s comedy routine.

Singaporean politician Vivian Balakrishnan then joined an X thread to express his disapproval of Chia’s joke.

“I am appalled by her horrendous statements. She certainly does not speak for Singaporeans. We treasure our ties with family and friends in Malaysia and are sorry for the offence and hurt caused to all Malaysians,” he said in the tweet.

This is also not the first time that Drake has upset countries in the region with his lyrics. Last year, Drake released his highly anticipated new album, For All the Dogs. Unfortunately, the thirteenth song on his new album, Drew a Picasso, saw him insulting the country.

In Drew a Picasso, at the 3.33-minute mark, Drake unexpectedly sings, "Since you know I got a soft spot for you, this has turned into a civil war. Artists hittin’ on you broke as f**k, I swear them n****s probably live in Singapore.” The line alludes to his romantic interest’s suitors, saying that they are so poor that they probably live in Singapore.

Photo courtesy Drake Instagram

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