Drake Is a Right to Repair Advocate

Noted drunk dialer and Cheesecake Factory fanboy Drake begins "Portland," the best song on his new mixtape (IMHO) with a brave statement calling into question the business practices of his longtime partner Apple (IMHO).

Drake begins the song with this missive: Yeah, my side girl got a 5S with the screen cracked // Still hit me back right away, better not never hesitate.

Let's break down these lyrics real quick. First off, Drake has not bought a new phone for his side girl, maybe because iPhones are expensive but also maybe because an iPhone 5S is a perfectly fine phone that doesn't need to get upgraded. This raises an important question: Why hasn't said side girl gotten her cracked screen fixed?

The third line of this musical number clues us in: " Don't come around thinking' you gettin' saved." The folks at Genius say this line suggests the anonymous side girl doesn't have a lot of money, which—given the old model iPhone and the cracked screen—is a fair assumption. What Drake is doing here, then, is calling attention to the plight of people who can't afford to get their phones fixed by Apple because the company has attempted to monopolize the iPhone repair business.

Right to repair legislation making its way through eight state legislatures would make replacement parts—including screens—easier to buy and would likely bring down the price of screen replacements. Some advice for side girl: If you ever try to replace an iPhone 5S screen by yourself, be careful that you don't rip off the flimsy Touch ID cable that connects the home button to the logic board; if you do, your fingerprint sensor will never work again!

The only question now is whether Apple will drop staunch right to repair advocate Drake for his disloyalty.