First Person Shooter

Featuring J. Cole

First Person Shooter is the song that, in hindsight, started one of the most consequential rap arcs of the 2020s. Track 6 of For All the Dogs (2023) and later the album's fourth single (US rhythmic radio, October 24, 2023), it pairs Drake with longtime peer J. Cole over production from Boi-1da, Vinylz, Tay Keith, FnZ, Oz and Coleman, built on a warped sample of Joe Washington's 'Look Me in the Eyes' that gives way to a down-pitched loop of Snorre Tidemand's orchestral 'Redemption' (Wikipedia). Drake confirmed on a Table for One special, hours before release, that Cole's appearance was 'fourth-quarter magic' recorded just before deadline — the final song cut for the album. Cole's verse is the center of gravity: he likens himself to Muhammad Ali, plays on the two-Spider-Men-pointing meme, references wanting a YoungBoy Never Broke Again collaboration, confirms The Fall Off, and frames himself, Drake and Kendrick Lamar as rap's 'big three.' Drake's verses are widely read as victory-lap material, including a Michael Jackson shout-out tied to him being one #1 from tying MJ's solo-male record. The track debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Drake's 13th, Cole's first), tying Jackson's record for most solo-male #1s; six months later Kendrick rejected the 'big three' on Future and Metro Boomin's 'Like That' ('Motherfuck the big three, it's just big me'), opening the 2024 confrontation that escalated through 'Push Ups,' 'Family Matters,' 'meet the grahams' and 'Not Like Us.'