Drake Calls Out Macys & Walgreens For Selling 'YOLO' Products; He Wants Profits
Drake snubbed retailers Macys and Walgreens on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, for selling items with the "YOLO" motto, which the rapper called his own after he popularized it in his song "The Motto."
"Walgreens....you gotta either chill or cut the cheque," Drake captioned a photo of fitted hats selling for $6 each with the abbreviation printed on the front.
"Macy's...same goes for you," Drake wrote right after, alongside a photo of Peanuts characters Charlie Brown and Snoopy on a T-shirt with the printed words, "Yolo is my motto."
"YOLO" stands for "You Only Live Once." Drake first mentioned the phrase in November of 2011 when he announced the release of a collaborative mixtape with Rick Ross with the same name. Then in the track "The Motto," he rapped "You only live once that's the motto n**ga YOLO."
Whether the Toronto rapper was joking or not, online users that commented on Drake's images, and the captions about him owning the rights to "YOLO" and therefore entitled to a check when it is used in merchandise, voiced their opinions on the matter. One user wrote on Wednesday, "You didn't invent that. You don't deserve a goddamn penny! Just because you put a word in a song doesn't mean you own the rights to it."
Others simply joked about the matter, with one user posting on Thursday "YOLO is the new Carpe Diem."
Drake might have a difficult time trying to copyright YOLO since there are over 100 U.S. trademark applications to use the acronym on different products.
The 26-year-old, whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham, is signed as a solo artist to Young Money/Cash Money Records. Earlier in December he signed his OVO (October's Very Own) imprint, the signature black and gold owl, to Warner Bros. Records for distribution.
