‘We Couldn’t be More Excited’: Drake Set to Curate ‘Monday Night Football’ Music for ESPN

It’s no secret that along with being a talented rapper Drake is also a huge sports fan, and now the “In My Feelings” artist is combining his two loves in a collaboration with ESPN.

The rapper has partnered with the sports network to curate playlists for ten “Monday Night Football” games throughout the 2021-2022 NFL season and will incorporate a mixture of his own tracks and those of artists of his choosing.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 23: Drake, winner of the Artist of the Decade Award, poses backstage for the 2021 Billboard Music Awards, broadcast on May 23, 2021 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for dcp)

“Now we are here…the kickoff of the football season. And who better to curate music for Monday Night Football than Drake who sits firmly at the intersection of music and sports. We couldn’t be more excited for this upcoming collaboration,” said ESPN Vice President of Sports Marketing Emeka Ofodile said in a statement on Sept. 7. “The music curator role has been a big hit with our fans with Diplo and DJ Khaled in previous years….and this season, we will be living inside the moment with Drake as our NFL on ESPN soundtrack.”

Starting this week, fans can look forward to hearing Drake’s picks that will “encapsulate both the energy and mood” of the games during promotional spots, live telecasts and pre-game shows.

The “God’s Plan” rapper previously teased the network’s “SportsCenter” fans with his Sept. 3 “Certified Lover Boy” album release date, which popped up in the form of “technical difficulties” during an Aug. 27 broadcast. A tweet from the show’s social media account confirmed that viewers may have experienced an “interruption” during the broadcast.

“We want to apologize for any interruptions viewers might have experienced during SportsCenter this morning,” reads the post. “We had some technical difficulties that have since been resolved.”

Certified Lover Boy” debuted to record-breaking numbers, landing the spot for Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day, and breaking Apple Music’s record for most-streamed song in 24 hours with not just one, but three songs: ” Girls Want Girls,” “Champagne Poetry,” and “Fair Trade.” 

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