Songfacts®:

• This dancehall-infused song finds Drake serenading a woman who has captured his heart. The Toronto MC tells the lady that he is willing to lie, cry and die for her.
• The song features Drake's friend and dancehall star Popcaan who previously appeared in the outro of the If You're Reading This It's Too Late track "Know Yourself."
• "Controlla" acts as a sort of sequel to Rihanna and Drake's hit single "Work," both in terms of beat and melody.
• Drake redid the song forViews. The new interpretation sees Popcaan's part replaced by a sample from a song by another dancehall artist - Beenie Man's "Tear Off Mi Garment." The King of Dancehall also appears at the end of the album freshly recorded album version.
  
  Beenie Man told Billboard magazine about the collaboration: "They reached out to me to clear the sample then he reached out to me to do an intro (sic) for the song It's a big deal. For somebody to take a song that I've been done for 15 years, to release and put it out -- it's a big deal. It's always great. For him to idolize me like that, it's a big deal. [Laughs]"
• Drake discussed his love for dancehall during an interview with Nardwuar. "I am into any dancehall, any reggae, conscious, whatever, it doesn't matter I'll listen to anything," he said. "I feel like the writing, the melodies and the layering of the music in the genre is incredible."