First Person Shooter

Featuring J. Cole

First Person Shooter is the song that, in retrospect, started one of the most consequential rap arcs of the 2020s. Released as the second single from For All the Dogs in October 2023, the song pairs Drake with longtime peer J. Cole over production from Conductor Williams and Boi-1da. Cole's verse is the song's center of gravity: he leans into a fast, syllable-stacked flow and openly proclaims that he, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar constitute rap's 'big three' — a framing that, six months later, would become one of the most-debated lines in modern rap when Kendrick used 'Like That' to publicly reject it. Drake's verses are widely read as victory-lap material, with several lines pointing at his commercial dominance and longevity. The track debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Drake yet another chart-topper. It was also the song that effectively triggered the 2024 Drake-Kendrick confrontation that escalated through 'Like That,' 'Push Ups,' 'Euphoria,' '6:16 in LA,' 'Family Matters,' 'meet the grahams,' and 'Not Like Us.'