Yeat Really Spazzes on “MISS MY DAWG”

There’s something funny about “MISS MY DAWG.”

Drake spends the opening of the song sounding genuinely reflective. He's singing about dying, people crying, memories surviving, and putting a light in the sky when you miss somebody. It's probably the closest this song is going to get to being a Drake song.

Then Yeat comes in.

And immediately starts talking about money, women, drugs, guns, rehab, designer clothes, and pretty much everything else that could possibly destroy the mood.

It shouldn't work.

It really does.

“MISS MY DAWG” is the fourth official collaboration between Yeat and Drake, following “IDGAF,” “As We Speak,” and “DOG HOUSE.” It arrived on Yeat's surprise COCOON EP on September 18, after Drake previewed the song in his FOMO film earlier that week.

And honestly, hearing the full thing after that preview makes it even stranger.

Yeat's Verse Is the Whole Point

The best thing about this song is Yeat.

Not because Drake is bad. Drake's hook is actually pretty good. He gives the song its emotional center, and the melody is catchy enough that you'll probably find yourself mumbling it after a couple listens.

But then Yeat gets his verse and absolutely spazzes.

He's barely sitting still on the beat.

The delivery keeps changing, the vocals are stacked all over each other, and he sounds like he's trying to cram three different Yeat songs into one verse. There are moments where the words almost stop mattering because the voice itself becomes the instrument.

That's what I've always liked about Yeat when he's really locked in.

He doesn't need to sound clean.

He doesn't even necessarily need to sound understandable.

He just needs to sound alive.

And on this song, he does.

The Drake Hook Is Almost Too Serious

This is where the song gets interesting.

Drake is singing about death.

Yeat is talking about getting high.

Drake is talking about memories lasting forever.

Yeat is talking about money.

Drake sounds like he's looking backward.

Yeat sounds like he just got shot out of a cannon.

Normally, that kind of mismatch would completely kill a collaboration. Here, it gives the song its personality.

The title MISS MY DAWG makes you expect something sad. And it is sad, technically. But Yeat doesn't let it stay sad for very long.

That's probably the most Yeat thing about it.

He can be talking about something serious without ever completely dropping the larger-than-life persona that makes his music fun.

And Then It Just... Keeps Going

My biggest problem with the song is also one of the funniest things about it.

It doesn't know when to end.

The song is only 3:08, but the outro makes it feel longer. After you've already heard the hook and Yeat's verse, the record keeps circling around itself instead of giving you a clean finish.

A lot of listeners have noticed the same thing. Reactions to COCOON have repeatedly singled out the extended outro as the main issue with the song, with some fans wishing Yeat had another verse instead.

I'm not completely sure I hate it.

There's something very funny about a song that already feels like it has made its point deciding that it still has another minute of life left in it.

It's almost like Yeat refuses to let the song end.

This Isn't “IDGAF” Again

That's probably the most important thing here.

When Yeat and Drake first became one of rap's big unexpected pairings, “IDGAF” was the obvious reference point. That song was built around Yeat's hypnotic repetition and Drake dropping into the record with a verse that instantly became one of the most talked-about parts.

“MISS MY DAWG” is much less straightforward.

Drake isn't trying to steal the song.

He's basically setting the table for Yeat.

And Yeat takes the opportunity and runs straight through it.

That makes the collaboration feel less like a Drake feature on a Yeat song and more like two artists briefly occupying completely different emotional states.

That's why I don't really understand the criticism that the song is “too Drake.”

Yeah, Drake has the hook.

But once Yeat starts rapping, this thing becomes unmistakably his.

The Song Gets Better the More You Play It

The first time I heard “MISS MY DAWG,” I wasn't sure what to make of it.

The Drake hook is so much more conventional than what you'd normally expect from Yeat, and the whole thing felt slightly awkward.

Then Yeat's verse clicked.

Then the weird outro clicked.

Then I played it again.

And that's probably where the song wins.

It's not one of those tracks where everything makes immediate sense. You have to let it sit for a minute.

There are already plenty of listeners who have landed on completely different sides of it. Some have called Yeat's verse the highlight of the entire EP, while others think the song is bloated or that the two artists don't quite match.

I get both sides.

But I'd much rather have a weird Yeat and Drake song that people are arguing about than another perfectly polished collaboration where both artists sound exactly how you expected them to.

Because when Yeat really gets going here, he sounds insane.

And Drake's hook gives him something to crash into.

That's basically the whole song.

Drake lights the candle.

Yeat throws it across the room.