Here’s What Young Thug Attorney Brian Steel Has to Say About Drake & PartyNextDoor Naming a Song After Him
The attorney called Drake “a true leader and great model for our community.”
By Angel Diaz
Drake and PartyNextDoor are dropping their joint album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U on Thursday night, and one song title on the recently revealed track list stuck out: The duo named the project’s ninth track “Brian Steel” after the attorney who represented Young Thug during his much-publicized RICO trial.
New York Times reporter Joe Coscarelli reached out and posted a screenshot of Steel’s response on his X account, and while the lawyer said he was “unaware” of the song, he had nothing but nice things to say about Drake.
“I have had the honor and pleasure of meeting with Mr. Graham,” Steel wrote. “He is so kind, considerate, generous, inspirational, intelligent—a true leader and great model for our community.”
Brian Steel’s name was originally misspelled when the track list first surfaced, but it looks like that mistake was fixed, as per the updated list Drake posted on his Instagram.
Before Young Thug was released from Fulton County Jail in the fall, he tried to settle things between Drake, Metro Boomin and Future after the latter duo helped set off the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle that popped off last year. “@Drake @1future @MetroBoomin we all bruddas. Music aint the same without us collabin,” Thugger posted on X in October.
According to Akademiks, Drake apparently went to see Thug after his release and hit him with a bag of money. “When Thug gets let out of jail, the talk is this: They say two hours afterward, Drake flew to Thug and allegedly gave him a [million dollars],” the streamer said.
Billboard reached out to Brian Steel’s law office for additional comment.
Drake’s new album, “$ome $exy $ongs 4 U,” has a song called “Brian Steele,” presumably for Young Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel
despite the misspelling, Steel says Drake is “so kind, considerate, generous, inspirational, intelligent – a true leader and great model for our community” pic.twitter.com/qe0DEBB8jy
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Young Thug’s Atlanta lawyer gets an unexpected shoutout on Drake and PartyNextDoor’s new album
ATLANTA — Editor’s note: As of 2:25 p.m. ET, Drake has since corrected the song’s title to the correct spelling of Brian Steel’s name.
Drake and PartyNextDoor are making waves with their upcoming album, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, set to drop on February 14. But it’s not just the music that has people talking—it’s the tracklist.
Among the 21 songs, one title stands out: “Brian Steel,” an apparent nod to Young Thug’s attorney in the YSL RICO trial. In a now-deleted post on Instagram, Drake initially had the song titled “Brian Steele,” which misspelled the attorney’s name by adding an extra ‘e.’ That mistake has now been corrected.
The spelling snafu however, hasn’t stopped fans from speculating about the song’s meaning, or if we can expect Young Thug himself to appear on the track.
“There’s a song called “Brian Steele” on PND x Drake’s new album, does that mean a new Thug feature?” X user @trwlsh asked.
Drake has long been vocal about his support for Young Thug throughout his legal troubles. While Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, spent over a year behind bars during his lengthy trial, Drake made his support clear on It’s Up, rapping, “I can’t sleep at night with Thug at Cobb County Corrections. I think he did enough reflecting, I think my brother learned his lesson.”
Drake’s connection to Young Thug also goes beyond just lyrics. Reports surfaced that Drake allegedly flew to Atlanta and gifted Thug $1 million in cash following his release.
Whether “Brian Steel” is a tribute, an inside joke, or something else entirely, the song’s title is already stirring conversation.
BRIAN STEELE—first track to hit #1? I think so. We all know what happens when Thug and Drake collab. pic.twitter.com/ubM2VnVK9g
Steel, the real-life attorney, has made headlines for his relentless defense of Young Thug, frequently clashing with the judge and prosecutors throughout the high-profile case. His dedication even led to his own arrest during the trial when he was held in contempt of court.
Steel himself took notice of the unexpected (and slightly misspelled) tribute, acknowledging the track to New York Times music reporter Joe Coscarelli and describing Drake as “so kind, considerate, generous, inspirational, intelligent – a true leader and great model for our community.”
With $ome $exy $ongs 4 U dropping on Valentine’s Day, fans won’t have to wait long to hear what Drake and PartyNextDoor have cooked up. And as for Brian Steel(e)—he might just have one of the most unexpected rap references of the year.
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Young Thug’s Attorney Calls Drake a ‘True Leader’ After “Brian Steele” Song Title Reveal
Brian Steel represented Young Thug in the lengthy YSL trial.
Attorney Brian Steel, who represented Young Thug in his lengthy but now resolved racketeering case in Georgia, appears to have inspired the name of a new song on Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR’s new album.
The album, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, is due on Valentine’s Day and is slated to feature a song titled “Brian Steele.”
Steel spells his last name without the extra “e,” but the inspiration seems likely. New York Times music reporter Joe Coscarelli reached out to Steel’s office about the apparent shoutout, with the lawyer replying that he was initially “unaware” of the track.
“I have had the honor and pleasure of meeting with Mr. Graham,” Steel wrote in response, per a screenshot shared by Coscarelli on Thursday. (Aubrey Drake Graham is the rapper’s given name.)
“He is so kind, considerate, generous, inspirational, intelligent—a true leader and great model for our community,” Steel continued.
Complex also reached out to Steel’s office for additional comment, and this story may be updated.
Last November, Steel included Thug in a talk to Emory Law School students by FaceTiming the Business Is Business artist during the lesson. At the time, Thug was mere days out of custody after taking a plea deal in the RICO case.
Drake’s surprise-released 2022 solo album Honestly, Nevermind saw the 6 God calling for Thug’s freedom on “Sticky,” with its release coming just over a month after he was initially arrested and others were indicted in the larger case.
“Free Big Slime out the cage,” Drake rapped on the song.
Drizzy publicly expressed support for Thug throughout the case, at one point seemingly suggesting that he had helped out on a financial level. Akademiks later alleged that Drake had given Thug $1 million following his release.
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