Drake Brings Bitcoin to Mainstream Music in New Track "What Did I Miss"

Drake unexpectedly dropped a new track over the weekend that directly references Bitcoin's price volatility, representing a landmark moment for cryptocurrency's integration into mainstream pop culture through one of music's most influential artists.

The Canadian superstar released "What Did I Miss" on Saturday during a July 4 YouTube stream titled "ICEMAN EPISODE ONE," where he portrayed a worker on break. The song addresses betrayal and shifting relationships following his 2024 public feud with Kendrick Lamar, using Bitcoin's notorious price swings as a metaphor for unreliable allies.

"I look at this sh*t like BTC, could be down this week, then I'm up next week," Drake raps, directly invoking the leading cryptocurrency's volatility to describe his perspective on fickle relationships. The track potentially signals material from an upcoming project named "Iceman," though no additional details have been confirmed.

The Bitcoin reference represents one of the most prominent mentions of the cryptocurrency in mainstream music since its creation 16 years ago, coming from an artist whose global reach extends to over 100 million monthly Spotify listeners.

His familiarity with Bitcoin stems from extensive involvement in cryptocurrency gambling, including wagers totalling $1.25 million in Bitcoin on the Super Bowl LVI in 2022, yielding him a $2.2 million profit, and a $500,000 Bitcoin bet on Dallas Mavericks winning the 2024 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics (he lost that), and $500,000 in Bitcoin on the Edmonton Oilers beating the Florida Panthers in the 2023/24 NHL playoffs (another loss).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi)

The timing of "What Did I Miss" follows Drake's highly publicized 2024 dispute with Kendrick Lamar, which produced several diss tracks from both artists and dominated hip-hop discourse throughout the year. The feud centered on competing claims about authenticity, commercial success, and artistic credibility, with Lamar's "Not Like Us" achieving particular cultural resonance.

Drake's use of Bitcoin as a metaphor for volatility in relationships reflects a broader cultural shift where cryptocurrency terminology has become commonplace enough to serve as accessible analogies. The lyric resonated across social media platforms, with crypto enthusiasts celebrating the mainstream recognition while music fans appreciated the clever wordplay.

Hip-hop has historically served as a cultural barometer, with artists often among the first to reference emerging technologies, fashion trends, and financial instruments. Mainstream cultural references like Drake's Bitcoin lyric certainly contribute to further cryptocurrency's normalization and adoption.