It was February 2013 when Drake dropped the lead single for Nothing Was the Same. The video featured him as a Shoppers Drug Mart employee in Canada. People laughed. They memed it. But then the hook kicked in. Those six words—started from the bottom now we here lyrics—morphed from a song title into a permanent fixture of the global lexicon. It’s been over a decade, and you still can’t walk into a gym, a graduation ceremony, or a corporate "win" meeting without hearing someone mutter that line.
Drake didn't just write a song; he engineered a mantra.
Honestly, the track is deceptively simple. Mike Zombie produced the beat, and it’s basically just a haunting, repetitive piano loop over some sharp drums. But the brilliance isn't in the complexity. It’s in the relatability. Most people forget that when Drake says "the bottom," he isn't claiming he grew up in extreme poverty like some of his peers. He’s talking about the grind of being an outsider in an industry that didn't want to take a Canadian child actor seriously.
The Cultural Weight of Started From the Bottom Now We Here Lyrics
The genius of the started from the bottom now we here lyrics lies in their ambiguity. What is "the bottom"? For Drake, it was the "forest" (Forest Hill, Toronto). It was staying up late in his mom’s basement trying to figure out how to make a melody stick. For the listener, the "bottom" is whatever struggle they're currently navigating. This is why the song exploded. It gave a voice to the universal human desire to prove people wrong.
The song’s structure is fascinating because it lacks a traditional verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge layout. It feels like one long, ascending victory lap. When he says, "Boys tellin' stories about the man," he’s addressing the gossip and the doubt that follows success. He’s talking about the friends who stayed and the ones who drifted.
He mentions "we." That’s huge.
It’s not "I started from the bottom." It’s "we." He’s shouting out the OVO crew—Noah "40" Shebib, Oliver El-Khatib, and the rest of the Toronto collective that built an empire from scratch. This collective success is what makes the lyrics feel authentic rather than just another rapper bragging about a watch. It’s about loyalty. If you look at the credits, Mike Zombie was a relatively unknown producer at the time. Drake literally brought someone from "the bottom" with him on the track.
Why the Simplicity is the Secret Sauce
If you analyze the rhyme scheme, it's not going to win a Pulitzer. It’s repetitive. It’s catchy. It’s what we call an "earworm." But look closer at the second verse. Drake gets specific. He talks about his mother, Sandi Graham, and the tension of trying to make it while living under her roof. "Livin' at my mama's house we'd argue every month," he raps. That’s a real detail. It grounds the superstar in a reality everyone understands: the frustration of being an adult with big dreams but no money.
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Most rappers at the time were trying to out-rap each other with complex metaphors. Drake went the other way. He chose a chant.
By the time the second hook hits, you aren't just listening to a song. You're participating in a ritual. You've probably shouted these lyrics at a bar at 2:00 AM. You’ve probably used the hashtag on an Instagram post after getting a promotion. The started from the bottom now we here lyrics became a tool for self-mythologizing. We all want to be the hero of our own story, and Drake provided the soundtrack.
The Controversy of "The Bottom"
We have to talk about the pushback. Hip-hop purists hated this song when it came out. Why? Because Aubrey Graham was on Degrassi. He wasn't selling drugs on a corner; he was playing Jimmy Brooks in a wheelchair.
Critics like Common and various Twitter pundits at the time argued that Drake’s "bottom" was actually a very comfortable middle-class life. They felt he was co-opting a struggle he didn't endure. But that’s a narrow view of what struggle looks like. Drake’s battle was for legitimacy. He was a biracial, Jewish, Canadian actor trying to enter a genre that, at the time, was still very much defined by "street cred."
The lyrics address this indirectly. "No new friends," he says (which became its own song later, but the sentiment starts here). He knew the industry was full of people who would only embrace him once he was at the top. The "bottom" wasn't just about money; it was about being at the bottom of the social hierarchy in the rap world. He was the underdog who everyone expected to fail.
Breaking Down the Viral Impact
Think about the timing. 2013 was the peak of the Vine era and the beginning of the "hustle culture" boom on social media. The started from the bottom now we here lyrics were perfect for 6-second loops. The song went Platinum almost instantly. It reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
But its impact wasn't just on the charts. It changed how songs were written for the internet.
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After this, we saw a massive influx of "caption-heavy" rap. Artists started writing lyrics specifically designed to be used as social media captions. Drake didn't invent this, but he perfected it. He understood that a song lives twice: once in your headphones and once on your profile.
How the Song Changed Drake’s Career Trajectory
Before this track, Drake was the "sensitive" guy. He was the Take Care artist—emotional, melodic, soft. "Started From the Bottom" was a pivot. It was aggressive. It was a middle finger to the skeptics. It established him as a heavyweight who could dominate the club and the radio simultaneously without losing his edge.
The music video, directed by Director X, is a masterpiece of branding. It shows Drake in Toronto, in the snow, in the grocery store, and then on a private jet and in a villa in the Dominican Republic. It’s a visual representation of the lyrics. It’s the "before and after" photo of a rap career.
When he says, "I'm the man of my city because I never left it," he’s planting a flag. He turned Toronto—a city often ignored by the US hip-hop scene—into "The 6." He made his origins part of his power.
Technical Insights into the Lyrics
If you’re looking at the started from the bottom now we here lyrics from a technical writing perspective, notice the use of anaphora. The repetition of "Started from the bottom" at the beginning of sentences creates a rhythmic driving force. It builds tension.
- It’s hypnotic.
- It’s easy to remember.
- It’s impossible to ignore.
He also uses "we" 32 times in the song. That is an insane amount of pluralization for a solo rap track. It reinforces the idea of the "crew." It’s not just Drake’s victory; it’s a victory for everyone who supported him. That’s how you build a loyal fanbase. You make them feel like they’re part of the win.
The Legacy: Why We Still Care in 2026
It’s been over a decade. Why are we still talking about this?
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Because the sentiment is timeless. As long as people have ambitions, they will need an anthem for their progress. The started from the bottom now we here lyrics have transcended hip-hop. They’ve been used by Olympic athletes, tech founders, and everyday people just trying to get through a tough week.
We live in a "progress" culture. We are obsessed with the journey from nothing to something. Drake captured that obsession in a bottle. Even if you don't like his music, you can't deny the cultural utility of those specific words.
There's also the "meme-ability" factor. In 2026, we see this song pop up in ironic TikToks and AI-generated parodies. It has survived the shift from Web 2.0 to whatever we're calling the current digital landscape. It’s foundational.
Actionable Takeaways for Your Own Journey
If you’re looking at these lyrics for inspiration or just trying to understand their grip on the world, here is how you can actually apply the "Started From the Bottom" mindset:
- Define Your "Bottom" Honestly: Don't compare your starting point to someone else's. Drake's bottom was different from Jay-Z's, which was different from yours. Authenticity matters more than the severity of the struggle.
- Build Your "We": Success is lonely if you do it alone. The song isn't just about Drake; it's about OVO. Find your team and make sure they're there for the "now we here" part.
- Keep the Message Simple: Whether you’re branding a business or writing a caption, the most powerful messages are the ones people can chant. Complexity often hides a lack of clarity.
- Ignore the Legitimacy Police: People will always tell you that you don't belong or that your "struggle" isn't real enough. Use that doubt as fuel for your second verse.
To truly understand the impact of the started from the bottom now we here lyrics, you have to listen to the song not as a piece of music, but as a historical marker. It was the moment Drake stopped being a "rapper from Canada" and started being the biggest force in music. It’s a reminder that where you start is just the prologue. The "here" is whatever you make of it.
Next time you're facing a massive hurdle, put the track on. Listen to the piano. Feel the repetition. Then go get it.