Drake has this uncanny ability to make a single word trend for months. This time, it’s a brick of a phone from 2002. If you’ve been scrolling through TikTok lately and heard those high-energy, nostalgic 80s R&B synths, you’ve definitely encountered the track. But because of how Drake rollouts work these days—with surprise drops, Instagram Story teasers, and sudden deletions—people are still asking: when did Nokia by Drake come out exactly?
The short answer? February 14, 2025. It wasn't a solo drop. Drake actually tucked it into the middle of his massive collaborative album with PARTYNEXTDOOR, titled $ome $exy $ongs 4 U (often stylized as $$$4U). Dropping a project titled like that on Valentine’s Day is classic Drizzy. But while the album was a joint effort, "NOKIA" (yes, it's stylized in all caps) quickly became the solo standout that basically hijacked the entire rollout.
The Timeline of the Nokia Release
It wasn't just a "drop and forget" situation. The song had a secondary life as a single that kept it in the headlines for months. Honestly, the rollout was kinda messy, but in that way that keeps everyone talking.
- February 14, 2025: The song officially arrives as the 14th track on $ome $exy $ongs 4 U.
- March 11, 2025: After seeing the streaming numbers go nuclear, the label officially pushed "NOKIA" to US contemporary hit radio as a standalone single.
- March 31, 2025: The music video premiered, caused a meltdown, and was briefly deleted before being re-uploaded.
Produced by Elkan (Paul Omar Agyei), the track hit the Billboard Hot 100 at number eight almost immediately. It’s a weird song, for sure. One critic called it "Hotline Bling's 80s-obsessed big uncle," and that’s honestly the most accurate description I've heard. It feels like a playground of absurd synths and retro-futurism.
Why the Nokia Music Video Caused Such a Stir
If you haven't seen the video, you’re missing out on some high-tier trolling. Directed by Theo Skudra and shot entirely in IMAX black-and-white, the visual for "NOKIA" came out on March 31, 2025.
The timing was interesting. Drake was right in the thick of a very public, very heated rivalry with Kendrick Lamar. When the video dropped, fans lost their minds because it felt like a direct response to Kendrick’s "Not Like Us" aesthetic.
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Think about it: Kendrick used a black-and-white filter; Drake used a black-and-white filter. Kendrick ended his video with an owl in a cage; Drake ended "NOKIA" with six owls perched on equipment, looking completely fine. The message was pretty clear: you can’t cage the 6ix God. He even threw in a cameo from Canadian NBA star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just for good measure.
There was also this whole "Snake" game motif. Remember the game on the old Nokia 3310? The video had massive projections of the game on the walls while Drake wandered through a maze. It was a visual metaphor for the rap beef—a game of chasing tails and trying not to crash.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Lyrics
A lot of people think this is just another "who's calling my phone" club anthem. And yeah, it sort of is. The hook literally repeats "Who's callin' my phone?" like a mantra.
But if you actually listen, the song is deeply rooted in the concept of indestructibility. Drake isn't just talking about a phone; he’s talking about himself. He uses the Nokia brand because those phones were famously impossible to break. Dropped it from a balcony? It's fine. Ran it over with a car? Still works.
In the context of the 2025 rap landscape, he was essentially saying that no matter how many diss tracks or lawsuits (like the one against UMG) were thrown his way, he was still standing.
"F*** a rap beef, I'm tryna get the party started."
That line from the song became a massive talking point. It was a dismissal of the drama, even while the music video was busy referencing it. It’s that classic Drake duality—pretending not to care while being incredibly calculated about every frame of the visual.
The Commercial Impact and Cultural Longevity
As of early 2026, "NOKIA" is still hovering in the charts. It wasn't just a flash in the pan. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and held the #1 spot on Apple Music Global for weeks.
Part of the reason it stayed relevant was the TikTok effect. The "Nokia Dance" became a thing almost overnight. People were obsessed with the transition between the 80s R&B vibe and the modern trap drums. It’s one of those rare tracks that works in a sweaty club but also sounds great in a car at 2 AM.
If you're trying to find the song now, make sure you're looking for the version on $ome $exy $ongs 4 U. There were some "leaked" reference tracks that hit YouTube in April 2025, but the official version is the one produced by Elkan.
Actionable Next Steps
If you want to dive deeper into the world of this release, here is what you should do:
- Watch the IMAX version: If you can find the high-bitrate version of the Theo Skudra video, do it. The black-and-white cinematography is actually impressive for a music video.
- Listen to the full PND collab: While "NOKIA" is the hit, tracks like "Gimme a Hug" and "Somebody Loves Me" from the same album provide the full context for the sound Drake was chasing in 2025.
- Check the "Snake" projections: Watch the music video again and look at the patterns of the Snake game on the walls; many fans believe the movements of the snake actually spell out specific dates or messages.
The song basically defined the first half of 2025. Whether you love the "cringey" 80s synths or think it's a masterpiece of R&B, there's no denying that when Nokia by Drake came out, it changed the conversation.