Drake hints at J.Lo romance in new songs on 'More Life'

On two new songs, rapper Drake appears to obliquely address his rumored but never-confirmed relationship with singer-actress Jennifer Lopez, which reportedly ended last month.

“I drunk text J-Lo / Old number, so it bounce back / Boi-1da got the bounce back” he sings on “Free Smoke,” the first track on the just-released “More Life,” which Drake has been calling a “playlist” rather than an album. Boi-1da, roughly pronounced “Boy Wonder,” is the album’s co-producer.

Later in the 22-song release, the song “Teenage Fever” uses a remixed sample of Lopez’s 1999 hit single “If You Had My Love.” Because permission must be granted and generally a “clearance” fee paid for use of another artist’s work, Twitter wags had a field day, with one fan joking, “If Drake dated J.Lo for a clearance, he’s EASILY the best rapper of all time lol.” Another cracked, “Drake did what he had to do to get those J. Lo samples cleared.” Others speculated the “romance” was a publicity stunt.

“More Life” — the seventh studio album by 30-year-old Canadian Drake, whose three Grammy Awards include Best Rap Album for 2012’as “Take Care” — debuted Saturday on Ovo Sound Radio, from Drake’s Ovo Sound label. Two hours later it became available on streaming services.

Rumors of a romance with Lopez trace back to at least Dec. 11, when she posted an Instagram close-up of herself and Drake at her Las Vegas residency, “All I Have.” “Look who rolled up to my show tonight to say hi!!” she wrote. Speculation intensified on Dec. 28, when each posted the same uncaptioned gauzy photo of themselves cuddling on a couch, she entwined in his arms with her eyes closed as he looks into the camera, his head pressed against hers. They purportedly broke up by early February.

Lopez, 47, reportedly has begun dating retired New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, 41, with whom she was photographed in The Bahamas earlier this month.