“Laugh Now Cry Later” by Drake (ft. Lil Durk)

This song’s title (“Laugh Now Cry Later”) is possibly inspired by the late rapper 2Pac who had a tattoo of the phrase, “smile now, cry later”. Essentially, the motive of this phrase is to enjoy living in the moment, but deal with one’s pain later where no one else can see.

Some of the lyrics take shots at other rappers who Drake has had long standing beefs with. For instance, in the chorus, he mentions “Ghost Town”, which could be a reference to Kanye West and his 2018 track of the same title. He further mentions being tired of beefing certain people, most likely Kanye and Pusha T. He then cites an incident where someone had to tell a DJ not to play a song at his party, which happened to be a remix of “Don’t Like” by Chief Keef, which features the two aforementioned rappers.

Throughout, the rapper brags about his wealth, affairs, party lifestyle and how he shouldn’t be messed with. Although he puts on a tough outlook, it is possible that he is using all these interesting and pleasurable events as a cover-up for when he is in his lonely moments dealing with pain by himself.

Summary

The track speaks about the rappers’ high-end lifestyle as well as their affairs. Most importantly, the lyrics center on living life in the moment while dealing with life’s troubles later.

“Laugh Now Cry Later” Facts

Writing: Drake and Lil Durk in collaboration with Exclusive, Cardo, Ry, and Chahayed
Production Duties: Exclusive, Ry, Chahayed and Cardo
Track’s Album: Drake’s sixth album “Certified Lover Boy”
Release Date of “Laugh Now Cry Later”: 14th August, 2020

Drake dropped this as Certified Lover Boy‘s official lead single.

The official music video was filmed at the headquarters of Nike, Inc. located in Beaverton, Oregon.  A number of famous American athletes make cameo appearances in the video. They include:

• Odell Beckham (OBJ)
• Marshawn Lynch
• Kevin Durant