Kiki, do you love me?
If you weren't living under a literal rock in 2018, you heard those five words approximately ten thousand times. It was everywhere. Drake's "In My Feelings" didn't just top the charts; it basically swallowed the internet for a solid three months. But honestly, beneath the Shiggy Challenge and the endless Instagram captions, the in my feelings lyrics are actually a fascinating, messy map of Drake’s personal life and his obsession with regional bounce music. It’s a lot weirder than just a catchy hook.
Most people think it’s just a fun dance track. It’s not. Well, it is, but the DNA of the song is rooted in New Orleans bounce and some very specific, very real women from Drake’s past.
Who is Kiki? The Names Behind the In My Feelings Lyrics
Everyone wanted to know who Kiki was. Was it Kim Kardashian? (Kanye certainly thought so for a minute, which sparked one of the weirdest Twitter rants in history). Was it a random girl?
Nope. It’s Keshia Chanté.
Drake and Keshia go way back to their teenage years in Toronto. She was his first "celebrity" crush and girlfriend long before he was "Drizzy." He’s mentioned her before, but here, she gets the legendary opening line. But she isn't the only one. The in my feelings lyrics also name-drop "KB," who is K'yanna Barber, a woman from Oakland. Drake has this specific habit of immortalizing his exes or "almost-exes" in verse, turning his dating history into a public scavenger hunt. It’s brilliant marketing, sure, but it’s also just how he processes things.
The song moves from Kiki to KB, then pivots to the City Girls. "Resha" and "JT" are Yung Miami (Caresha Brownlee) and JT (Jatavia Johnson). By the time you get to the bridge, the song has shifted from a nostalgic Toronto/Oakland vibe to a full-blown tribute to the Florida rap scene and New Orleans.
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That New Orleans Sound and the Magnolia Shorty Sample
You can't talk about these lyrics without talking about the 504. The song is built on a foundation of New Orleans Bounce. Specifically, it samples "Smoking Gun" by Magnolia Shorty, a legend in the NOLA scene who was tragically murdered in 2010.
Drake also pulls from Lil Wayne’s "Lollipop." It’s a sonic collage. When you hear the "I f*** with you" breakdown, that’s actually a sample of the City Girls. The layers are thick. It’s why the song feels so kinetic. It’s not just a beat; it’s a history lesson in Southern hip-hop textures.
I remember when the track first dropped on Scorpion. People were actually divided. Some thought it was too "meme-y." Then the Shiggy Challenge happened. Comedian Shiggy posted a video dancing to it in the street, and suddenly, everyone from Will Smith to your suburban aunt was doing the "drive the car" hand motion. It changed how we look at the in my feelings lyrics. They stopped being just words and became cues for a global choreography.
The Weird Connection to "The 6" and Emotional Availability
Drake is the king of being "in his feelings." He invented the lane.
The lyrics are classic Drake: "Look, the new me is only lookin' back to pass it to the old me." He’s grappling with fame, his reputation as a "lover boy," and the reality that the women he knew before he was famous might not see him the same way anymore. There’s a distinct insecurity there. "Say you'll never ever leave from beside me." It’s a plea disguised as a club banger.
He’s basically asking for loyalty in a world where he knows he’s a target. It’s interesting because, at the same time this song was peaking, the Pusha T feud was happening. Drake was being called out for being a "deadbeat dad" on "The Story of Adidon." So, while the world was dancing to "Kiki, do you love me?", Drake was actually in one of the most stressful periods of his career. The contrast is wild.
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The Breakdown of the Bridge
The "trap" section of the song—the part where it slows down and gets gritty—is where the influence of Trap-a-Holics and Zaytoven-style production kicks in. He shouts out the City Girls again. This wasn't just a random feature; it was Drake effectively "stamping" the City Girls right before they blew up into superstars. He has a knack for that. He did it with Migos. He did it with BlockBoy JB.
Why the Lyrics Still Hit Different
Usually, "viral" songs die within six months. You can't listen to "Harlem Shake" anymore without cringing. But "In My Feelings" has some legs.
Why? Because the production is actually sophisticated. The way it transitions from the smooth intro into that driving, rhythmic bounce beat is masterclass level. And let’s be real, "In My Feelings" is just a great phrase. We use it in everyday conversation now. He didn't just write a song; he rebranded an emotion.
The in my feelings lyrics work because they are conversational. They feel like a late-night text. "I'm down for you always." It’s simple. It’s relatable. It’s also slightly manipulative, which is the Drake special.
What People Get Wrong About the Song
A lot of listeners think Drake wrote the whole "Kiki" hook. He didn't.
The cadence and the repetitive nature of the hook are heavily inspired by the call-and-response style of New Orleans club sets. If you go to a bounce show in NOLA, this is the vibe. Drake just polished it for a global audience. Some critics call it "culture vulturing." Others call it "curation." The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. He definitely shines a light on regional subgenres, but he also benefits immensely from them.
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Also, the "Are you riding?" line isn't about driving a car. In the context of the song and the culture it comes from, "riding" is about loyalty. Are you down for me? Are you with me? The Shiggy dance made everyone think about steering wheels, but the sentiment is much older than a viral video.
How to Actually Analyze the Song Today
If you're looking at these lyrics in 2026, you have to see them as the peak of the "Streaming Era" songwriting. It was designed to be clipped. It was designed for TikTok before TikTok was even the monster it is today.
Key Takeaways from the Lyrics
- The Power of Names: Using "Kiki" and "KB" created an immediate mystery that drove social media engagement.
- Regional Respect: Sampling Magnolia Shorty gave the song "street cred" in the South that a standard pop-rap song wouldn't have.
- The Emotional Pivot: It starts as a love song but ends as a celebration of a specific rap scene (The City Girls/Quality Control era).
If you want to understand the impact, look at the charts. Scorpion was a massive double album, but this one track basically carried the momentum for the entire second half of the year. It proved that Drake didn't need a traditional music video to start a trend; he just needed a line that felt personal enough to be real, but vague enough for everyone to project their own "Kiki" onto.
To really appreciate what's happening in the track, go back and listen to the "Smoking Gun" original. You’ll hear the raw energy Drake was trying to bottle. He took that chaotic, beautiful energy and turned it into a diamond-certified hit.
Whether you love him or hate him, you can’t deny that the man knows how to write a line that sticks in your brain like glue. Honestly, we’re probably going to be asking Kiki if she loves us for the next twenty years. It’s just one of those songs.
Next Steps for Music Fans
If you want to dive deeper into the sounds that made this song possible, your next move should be exploring the New Orleans Bounce genre beyond the mainstream hits. Check out artists like Big Freedia or the late Magnolia Shorty to hear the unpolished versions of the rhythms Drake used. Also, if you’re interested in the "Drake Effect" on lyrics, compare these verses to his work on "Nice For What"—another track where he uses a heavy sample (Lauryn Hill) to create a completely different emotional landscape. Understanding the samples is the only way to truly understand the lyrics.