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Gonzaga Named Dropped in New Song Release from Drake and Smiley

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Andy Patton | Last updated Jun 14, 2025 3:42 PM ET

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have once again been referenced in a prominent piece of pop culture, this time getting name dropped on a new single from Canadian rapper Smiley called " 2 Mazza" which was released on Friday and features Drake.

Drake and Smiley are two of the most popular musical artists from Toronto, and Drake helped get Smiley's career off the ground prior to this collaboration.

The lyric, which is part of the chorus and repeated twice during the song, goes "I'm with Smiggalino, I'm with Smiggalachi, Mr. Don't Mix the Gucci and Prada. Me, I'm the 6 God, Bob is a Bulldog, both could have been at Gonzaga."

2 MAZZA @smiley61st @Drake Video Out Nowhttps://t.co/ijn8cDNyPH pic.twitter.com/6IrFBqFHpv
— OVO Sound (@OVOSound) June 13, 2025

Drake is a known basketball fan and considering Gonzaga's extensive history with Canadian basketball stars - including Andrew Nembhard, Kelly Olynyk, Kyle Wiltjer, Rob Sacre, and Kevin Pangos - it would not be a surprise at all if he and Smiley follow the program more closely than most.

Gonzaga's rise from complete unknown school, to plucky college basketball underdog, to powerhouse program has come with elevated notoriety across multiple disciplines, including tv shows, movies, commercials, and song lyrics.

Examples of Gonzaga references in pop culture include the 2022 Adam Sandler movie Hustle, the 2023 movie remake of White Men Can't Jump, Season 12, Episode 15 of the animated TV show American Dad!, and the 2019 Hoodie Allen song Whatever USA.

Gonzaga's mascot Spike has also been featured in multiple commercials during recent NCAA Tournaments, and former Zag Chet Holmgren has been a handful of T-Mobile commercials with his Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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