Drake has released 'Only You Freestyle', a drill track in which he raps some lyrics in Arabic. AP
Drake has released 'Only You Freestyle', a drill track in which he raps some lyrics in Arabic. AP
Drake has released 'Only You Freestyle', a drill track in which he raps some lyrics in Arabic. AP
Drake has released 'Only You Freestyle', a drill track in which he raps some lyrics in Arabic. AP

Music

'Habibti, please': Drake raps in Arabic on new single 'Only You Freestyle'

In the drill track with Headie One, the Canadian rapper gives a nod to his Middle Eastern resemblance

Razmig Bedirian
Razmig Bedirian

July 21, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Drake is now peppering his verses with some Arabic.

Having just released two new songs with DJ Khaled, the Canadian rapper has now brought out Only You Freestyle, a drill track in which he raps some lyrics in Arabic.

"Arabic ting told me that I look like Youssef, look like Hamza. Habibti please, ana akeed, enti w ana ahla," Drake raps, alluding to suggestions he looks Arab.

The Arabic line in the verse translates to “My love, please, I’m sure, you and I look better together".

The track, which features British rapper Headie One, also features several shoutouts to other musicians, including Desiigner and Popcaan. In the song, Drake promises to retaliate against an unnamed rival.

Arab social media users were quick to notice Drake's use of the language in the single. "Drake sounds good speaking Arabic," Twitter user Youmna wrote.

However, there was some constructive criticism as well.

One user wrote that she “loved this great effort”, before tagging Drake’s handle and writing, “we need to work on your Haa".

“I just know that DJ Khaled was the one that taught Drake Arabic,” quipped another.

This is not the first time Drake has used Arabic in his lyrics. In his 2017 song Portland, he says "habibi" and on 2018's Diplomatic Immunity, he says "Inshallah" (God willing).

It also is not the first time Drake has recognised his Middle Eastern resemblance. After visiting Dubai in 2015, the Grammy-winning rapper posted a picture on his Instagram with Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed, writing that he was his "long lost brother".

____________________

Read more:

____________________

Palestine and Israel - live updates

The Light of the Moon

Director: Jessica M Thompson

Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, Michael Stahl-David

Three stars

World Cup final

Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region

Monster Hunter: World

Capcom

PlayStation 4, Xbox One

FA Cup quarter-final draw

The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March

Sheffield United v Arsenal

Newcastle v Manchester City

Norwich v Derby/Manchester United

Leicester City v Chelsea

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

While you're here
Multitasking pays off for money goals

Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.

That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.

"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.

Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."

People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.

"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."

The biog

Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives. 

The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast. 

As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau

He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker. 

If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah

 

What are the main cyber security threats?

Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.

Music