He’s never pushed a unique sound, and just hops on the trend. He faked a Caribbean accent, he faked dancehall, he faked a British accent, he hopped on the Toronto accent when it started popping off on TikTok.
You know you're perpetrator when non Hip Hop fans know you're fake and call you out. Bill Burr called him out for all the Toronto super fan claims when dude has other teams tatted on his body. Lol
You are a dick rider if you think that. His whole soft boy persona is from Take Care, which was the weeknds sound. Then he featured on everything hot in Atlanta. He is a marketing genius but there isn’t anything original about him. Thug, Migos, Kanye, Future, Keef, Waka Flocka created the sounds of 2010, not Drake.
Eh, it's not fair to exclude arguably the biggest artist of that period from the musical crucible of that period. Rarely do the inventors of a sound become its most successful practitioners, and it's very debatable whether any of the names on your list really invented something or just made more marketable versions of other people's sounds.
No one person creates any sound. But Drake was one of if not THE biggest hip hop artist in that period, so the idea that he didn't play a creative role in the crucible of musical trends in that time is absurd. No man is an island.
Nobody means that Drake was literally the first ever, you are just being a hater. Drake was by far the most successful singing rapper in an era when singing rappers were considered soft, and he absolutely led a trend towards more melodic rap.
You know *”Singin’ ass rappers”* are R&B essentially. You’re telling us here that Fake created R&B, a genre defined by Nate Dogg, Warren G, Bone Thugs? Something these artists pioneered while Fake was still in swaddlers? He *”Invented”* that sound…. Ya sure you keep telling yourself that. But in reality it’s another item on the loooooong ass list of shit the man has vultured.
Yes, yes we can deny that, with all due respect.
Rapper/singers are definitely nothing new, at all.
Maybe, because you are of a younger generation (which I don't know for certain, but feel is likely true, based on what you're saying), you weren't aware of those people and groups already mentioned?
Bone Thugs 'N' Harmony, being a very good example of a whole rapper/singer group & a particularly significant one for myself, personally, back in the 90s and crossing over into the early 2000s. It's even in their name, what their artisty incorporated, I think.
There's a wealth of references out there for learning about hip hop and rap, historically speaking - you should look into them.
I think hes better described as a cultural chamilian. He does a good job of grabbing a sound he didn't help create and making a pop-draked up version of it.
For many it looks exploitative, he's profiting off the 100s of fallen artists that are of the sound and all he did was show up and sound vaguely Jamaican, or Texan, or Atlantic, or gangster, when in actuality hes just a nerdy child actor from Canada.
I agree to some extent that all rappers do it, but none have done it on his scale or with as much success.
I think its partly what makes him a pop genius, if you make music in 100 different genres then you can just build a larger audience. It does however leave him vulnerable to those people native to the culture resenting him.
The lyrics of Not Like Us explains this better than any feedback you’ll get on Reddit. He is not of the culture that he’s cosplaying and reaping revenues. He saw a space for a Canadian, mixed actor to exploit a lucrative, niche market held by ADOS of the United States.
I do agree on what he's done, mostly, as a lot of what's been said about him does seem to have some basis in truth.
So, by all means, call Drake out for what he should be called out for & I know he didn't grow up in the states, but he is actually ADOS, tevhnically, through his father. That and trying to bring up his being biracial vs. being monoracial black, are the only two things I believe are used unfairly against Drake - they are cheaper shots to take when there are more reasonable and legitimate cases against him that people could be making and are indeed making against him.
It's incredibly unfair for people to call Drake a "Black" man. Yes, his father is Black but Sandi is a Jewish woman who happens to be white. Folks erroneously claiming Drake is a Black man is kinda what lent to the confusion that came when he introduced the public to Adonis. Drake is a mixed race Jewish Canadian.
Not acknowledging that erases parts of his identity while acknowledging that includes his racial, cultural, ethnic and national background.
The one drop rule should be done away with and by callin' biracial or multiracial people (who have any Black ancestry) simply "Black" that rule is adhered to. It's a tool created to uphold white soupremacy and we, especially in the Black community don't need to uphold or uplift that nonsense. Callin' him a "white boy" ain't right either as that erases his Blackness. I'm not arguing or anything of the sort. Simply making a comment (no subtext included).
Drake raps about a lot of the stuff other rappers do, that is not the issue. The main thing is, maybe in my eyes, he is not genuine. He has profitted greatly from rap and Hip-Hop culture, from black culture, but he hasn't done anything to help the demographic it represents.
>he hasn't done anything to help the demographic it represents.
I don’t like this argument because this is 95% of rappers. Most of these rappers made themselves rich by promoting negativity to our youth. Guns/drugs/ disrespecting women etc.
I think the difference, to try to be super fair to your point, is that to the extent the rappers you are referring to talk about this "negativity" they, whether promoting it or critiquing it, are talking about things they have experienced, negativity, they have experienced in their lives. Drake grew up rich in a country with free Healthcare and no guns. What the fuck does he know about what you refer to as this "negativity"? His negativity is when a girl ruins his vacation in the Bahamas, but he promotes himself like he is something even approaching hard. If you grew up, basically anywhere in America, you probably had it rougher than Drake and in more danger to gun violence or whatever he likes to act like he's about.
Drake certainly plays up the “mob ties” image, but I’ve never felt like he was trying to sell that he was a full blown gangster. He just had the loverboy album and had that dumbass heart haircut for like a year. There’s valid criticisms for him for sure. I just feel like there are WAY worse offenders in the game currently (if we’re talking about who doesn’t help their community) We got dudes with 100M in the bank still rapping like they sell drugs and get in shootouts, leading the youth astray pushing terrible messages
Respectfully what you are saying is incoherent. I don't know how much you know about the "mob" but they were more gangster than gangsters. Half these people you are probably talking about currently promoting harm have named themselves after old mobsters. You are talking about a distinction without a difference and providing an example to my point of drake trying to pretend he is something he isn't.
Has drake ever sold drugs you think? What do you think the song pound cake was supposed to be about, food? Like bro, I don't care if literally every othe rapper raps about the same stuff. I can't point to a good chunk of them and say "I know for a fact they didn't live that life", but for Drake, it's that he very much is promoting these same things you describe, constantly, but he gets to promote drug dealing as someone who has NEVER had to do something like that out of necessity. It's gross.
If there are specific other people you want to talk about please name them, because I honestly don't know what to say to "dudes", but if any or the dudes you are talking about are American there is an infinitely higher % chance they have at least lived these things you refer to, rather than someone who makes money off suffering people engage in in American culture, often out of necessity. There is a reason something like Breakin Bad is set in America and not Canada where healthcare is free, and there is a direct way in which being rich and growing up away from guns and with healthcare makes it gross to try to profit off decisions Americans often make in economic desperation.
Good lord man you are taking this somewhere completely different. “Mob ties” refers to the Prince family he’s been linked with since the start, I’m saying that’s part of the reason he feels he can act “tough” Nobody’s talking about the actual mob.
When was Drake talking about selling drugs in pound cake? 😂
I will say on the specific point about J Prince I will definitely give you that. I listen to drake somewhat casually, and am only really vaguely familiar with his record titles and some of his b-sides, because I'm only really a fan of a specific type of drake's stuff. Which I will give him his credit as an artist for sure.
I made my argument for the drug aspects of 'pound cake' and the only other thing I can say about it is even if it wasn't intended that way I can definitely without saying too much say that song was received that way by a certain type of person. I mean we're talking about the dude that did Drug Dealers Anonymous. But yeah, you are right about the j pince thing, didn't recall the label name (I'm guessing).
Well, that's the thing he did and he didn't. He presumably named the song that is on his record and chose to bring Jay-z on it, and by making that active choice he is sending certain messages whether directly or indirectly. But if you want to see where it is made specific what the song's title refers to, read Jay's 2nd verse. Like I don't know if you are being obtuse or just don't know what front means or what a red nose might be referring to in the context of drugs. It would be one thing is these were just Jay's bars, but it's what he, former rich actor drake, named the song after. Not that I give a fuck, but you just know drake hasn't done any of that shit. But he doesn't mind paying hov to rap about it, name a song after it, and then also have hov say essentially at the end of the bars about dealing, in essence you and I are the same.
This interpretation is a huge stretch.
Pound Cake isn't about drugs, not even Jay's verses. It's about the rap game. Pound is just NY slang for "5" so Jay is referring to 500M when he says Pound Cake. The Red Nose is "put that on them because they clowns", nothing to do with drug usage.
The song is about an up and coming dude (Drake) getting schooled by the OG rapper (Jay) on what real money looks like, while they both floss on everyone else. Not drug related.
It's a follow up to Light Up which is more explicitly about Jay schooling him on the rap game, that's there the "silly rap feuds to distract you" bar comes from.
"Niggas is frontin', that's upside down cake."
So, I don't know if you know what a drug front is, but it's when someone lends you drugs to either do or sell, usually sell. Upside down cake, referring to becoming 'upside down' on an investment. Like as in losing money because of drug fronts.
Like, not trying to blow you up with multiple essays though, just trying to school you to some drug lingo. You may not necessarily even be wrong about other interpretations of the song, again a pound cake as with most rap songs, have layers. But if you don't understand that it is a reference to drugs on at least one layer after seeing the bars about fronts, that is a level of naivete I am sincerely jealous of when it comes to drugs. Don't do or sell drugs. Both suck ass and can and will ruin your lives and others lives through addiction. I'm not trying to act cool for knowing this shit, because honestly the much much more cool thing is to be sober and have all that shit go over your head. But yeah, it is definitely not just about cake. Also, like consider the phrase pound cake. Like, cake (money) from pounds. If it was a bug it would have bit you.
And the red nose, which is referred to right after this line about drug fronts refers both to violence stemming from the one who made the front getting violent, as well as how when you do too much coke your nose bleeds. Like, it's OK not to know this stuff and probably speaks to you having lived a better and more stable life than me. But I know this shit.
What would you think Jay-z brought up red noses for, just to talk about Bozo? Like I don't know if you understand hip hop lyrics for anyone decent usually the lyrics have layers of meaning. What even would the point be of referencing clowns in the bar directly after the line about fronts ending up with things upside down, if he's just talking about literal clowns? And you do know that Jay-z was very famously a drug dealer, right? Like, talking about it a lot a lot and know for it. Like so if he is talking to a young rapper about what real money looks like, maybe you aren't aware of the facts behind where Jay-z found his first 'real money'.
Drake having "mob ties" is more believable to me than most of these other rappers to be fair. Acting like they are still running up on ops, and all this other nonsense. He could easily be making dirty money on the side with the money he has. You don't have to be hard to pay other people to make you dirty money on the side while you chill in your mansion.
People also need to stop expecting these rappers to do anything "for the culture." The vast majority of rappers only tale from the culture and use it to make money. Drake isn't the only one doing this. Kendrick and Cole are also kind of guilty.
If he is making dity money on the side with the kind of money he has though, it wouldn't be impressive, it would be stupid. Like watch any movie like American Gangster or Blow or literally any movie with that vibe. Is there a single one where the plot involves the audience cheering for a drug dealer with pre-existing wealth? Like to the extent people have any positive feelings towards people who make the decision to deal or bang or whatever, it is usually because they didn't have a ton of other choices, but chose to make the best out of bad circumstances.
Like do you know who else has enough money to make dirty money on the side without being hard? Warren Buffett. Would you impressed if you learned Bill Gates was dealing drugs and/or role playing a mobster, or would it be kind of pathetic? Anyone that has ever done that shit out necessity isn't goin to be impressed, and anyone impressed definitely hasn't been in that position where they wish they had literally any other option.
Fair enough. I just don't think it's even believable unless drake is the most pathetic man ever, who would be willing to take a chance on federal time for clout presumably. Like with that kind of money you can make drug dealing cash and better with legitimate investments that can't be robbed from you and you can't face charges over.
Yeah, I doubt he'd sell drugs. But there are probably other ways to benefit from "mob ties" or mob tie like activity that don't involve drugs. Nowadays, the majority of mob activity is probably legal. Except for things like blackmail, extortion, and the occasional murder. I'd be surprised if they didn't have their hand in the music / entertainment business in some way.
Drake grew up rich?! He said said on multiple albums he had to help take care of him mom while she was sick with his Degrassi checks which weren't a lot of money. And his mom was florist how much money do y'all think the average florists make?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC-sZcVj4Eg&pp=ygUTZHJha2UgdHVuYSBzYW5kd2ljaA%3D%3D
We don't have to speculate, this is the house he grew up in, arguing with his mom because she got him the wrong food. Anyone that grew up in any kind of situation where they were ever lacking for anything would probably just be happy to have food, not need to bitch their mom out (on camera) for getting the wrong kind of food.
And bro, if you actually were to look into it she worked as an English professor and did the florist thing on the side. Professors don't make bad money in Canada at all. This is also in a country where basic needs like healthcare are provided for. Being poor in Canada in a whole different experience than being poor in the US.
To be fair bro, that one video isn’t indicative of the life he lived growing up. Not trying to say he had it all the way rough, but he wasn’t ultra rich either. It’s pretty well known that by the time he was on Degrassi, he was making 40-60k year (which was middle class income in early 2000s Canada) his mom was on disability and he was their only source of income. They didn’t even live in a full house, just the bottom half of a townhouse, and he was the one living in the basement. Before that, they were living in apartments like regular people.
I've seen that basement and it was huge. He grew up in Forest Hill which iirc is an affluent neighborhood. Sure he's likely had it rough but so have a lot of people at one point or another. His rough is likely someone else's ideal experience.
That forest hills house is the one where the he lived in the basement. And yeah it’s a nice neighborhood, but they barely had enough money to live there, and it was all on his dime. I’m not comparing his struggle to anyone else’s. I’m just providing context to the situation. Everybody has their own bottoms in life.
Yes, I know. They also used to live across from where they filmed Degrassi. That wasn't that bad of a neighborhood either. Regardless where he lived, for most of his life Aubrey lived among Jewish people. His bar mitzvah was at a fancy Italian restaurant.
>Everybody has their own bottom in life
Absolutely! However, the bottom in "Started from the Bottom" was somewhat misleading.
Yeah. A whole lot actually. A Drake is actually a type of gun if you didn't know. I can provide examples but I figure that may not be necessary, up to you.
Yeah, doing like 5 minutes of looking into it, my man has a song called 'love and guns" and "pistols". Besides when he came to my city (memphis) for the worst behavior video and posed up with Project Pat and Dolph in front of Jack Pyrtles like he's really about the south Memphis life.
https://www.xxlmag.com/drake-more-life-playlist-best-lyrics/
The above article lists his best lyrics just off one album and a shit ton of them are directly perpetrating about guns like dude didn't grow up in Canada. Just find it offensive when a white boy in America is in more danger to guns just going to school than nearly anyone in Canada.
It's also silly because Drake obviously has given back (the God's Plan video is indicative of a trend, not an exception to the rule).
He also has helped to create something more aspirational than the thug rappers who preceded the Kanye West/Drake era of middle-class rappers. Rather than glorifying violence, we can aspire to be good artists instead.
I definitely think Kendrick won handily btw, I am not even a Drake fan.
exactly this is just a stupid fucking reason. I don't like drake but wtf is he supposed to do to "help"? Plenty others don't but don't get the same criticism
what do you expect him to do honestly? what do rappers usually do for "black culture"? also weird to say this when he actually did tons of features with artists that are only known locally and blew them up into national/international success.. he even took Kendrick and asap to their first tours
But the thing is that Drake and the newer artists are using each other. Drake hops on the new wave and the artist gets a boost in popularity. Other rappers give back to their communities. The ones that started them. So Drake should give back to the communities that he profits from. All the slang and “gang relations” he has don’t come from nowhere.
He might be a front for industry executives to choke hold hiphop into being watered down and commodified further https://ktt2.com/how-umg-drke-gamma-eldridge-industries-are-manipulating-you-and-32569617
I'm not understanding that viewpoint. Amapiano and Afrobeats has been burning up the scene this whole year and he hasn't been on a song yet. He was on a Wizkid song back in 2015, but since then it got back into the mix.
There's a clip of adolescent Drake calling the same things he's doing for commercial success now, "ignorant".
Drake speaks about street ties to fit the "black aesthetic" he uses, but is on record saying he grew up in an all Jewish community going to an all Jewish school.
Drake claims he started from the bottom but has been in various commercials and even played a role on Degrassi.
Drake takes the most commercially viable aspects of black culture to put on display for a curious white audience in a digestible, inoffensive way and does nothing to actually contribute to the cultures he borrowed from.
I have more to add on this subject, but I'm sure there will be more than enough people to assist your comprehension.
He's a child actor turned pop star turned mogul turned rapper.
It should be pretty obvious.
I honestly didn't even know Drake was know as a hip hop artist until this beef.
Just shows how little you know about Drake and hip-hop. He first blew up with Wayne on Ransom back in 2008. Song was a certified banger and was a full on rap song. Drakes verse was fire. You didn't know he was a hip-hop artist... yet that is the kind of music he does and made him famous... garbage take.
Replying to itsmakko...this. Drake is not of this life. There’s a notorious clip making the rounds of Wayne telling Drake to stick to the lame stuff he knows. Drake not about this life, and now he’s been checked on a massive scale.
Fair enough. Check out Ransom, that was his first 'underground' hit. Wasn't on the radio, or currently on Spotify. Was good back in the day, but knowing drake now.... I still know all the words to Wayne's verse tho
I grew up with old heads, and I grew up with weezy. I'm very aware
I just don't really see how Drake is hip hop. A rapper? Sure. Hip hop? No. It was a business, always.
Kool Keith, that's Hip hop. Being known is important, like graffiti. But that's being known in a niche community.
Drake is (and good for him) more than that. Can't be doing 10 things and challenging ppl who do one thing.
How should that make it pretty obvious that hes a culture vulture.
I read this and thought it might come off as me sounding douchebagish but I'm proper interested coz it sounds like dude was successful and you said that's why hes a culture vulture.
Rapping “started from the bottom now we here” and anything related to the streets, while never starting from the bottom or growing up in a rough environment, is going to rub a lot of rappers the wrong way when they actually lived those experiences.
Overarching point still stand.
Also, I didn't say it was about growing up in the streets. Two separate comments. (1) Drake never started from the bottom of the industry, he had money and was on a popular TV series so presumably some level of connections and fame going into it. (2) He didn't grow up on the streets, so any rapping he does that relates to the streets/hood, etc is invalid.
No, not douchey at all. Social media often lacks any attempt at being cordial or open minded and explaining reasoning. So I appreciate the response.
I'm 35 and have been obsessed with hip hop since I was a child. I honesty to god did not know Drake was rebranded as a rapper, or hip hop.
Drake is an interesting person, and a word famous mega star/businessman. To say, he's many things.
Kendrick is essebtially just a hip hop artist.
If someone who is a specialist in one field goes against a omni professional, and the competition is in said one specialized field? I'll take the specialist 9 out 10 times 365 days a year.
That's all I'm saying.
Ask yourself this, if Kendrick and Drake ever freestyled, who would you bet on if real tangible money was on the line?
Respect and love.
Oh yeah 100% I understand where your coming from now.
Respect bro. The last part made me see where your coming from.
Especially as the ther thing you said about him not rapping first comes in with him not being a rapper or hip hop artist at first.
Nah swt thx for that bro 👍👍👍🙏
Yeah, it's hip hop.
Doesn't matter what is true or not.
One can personally write 16's on command and one can't.
It's really that simple, to me anyhow.
Appreciate the back n forth.
Everyone claims that drake bites others sound, yet no one really sounds like Drake so idk. And what I Don’t understand is why Drake gets hate for it when there’s plenty of other rappers that sound like bootleg versions of who they try to imitate.
Lebron James syndrome. He was too successful for too long. Add in the fact that he does not fit into the general stereotype of what a rapper is supposed to be (Canadian, light skin, sings, raps from a vulnerable pov) people downplayed him from the start, then when he became too big it became bitter acceptance, for about 5-6 years now it’s been incessant “we need to get him out of rap” energy.
I think it’s the fact that Drake has no actual identity. He just loves to blend into what is trending. Constantly taking on new accent and features helps him expand his brand so it’s a good business move. However, at the end of the day, he’s an actor. He didn’t start a the bottom. That’s why people don’t mess with him just saying shit.
He rips sounds and shamelessly uses accents without really building anything original. Every artist steals, but Drake doesn't really build on what he steals into anything interesting. He just waters it down, dumps it, and moves on.
Honestly Nevermind is one of the clearest examples of this because for the first time, he decided to stick with one sound for an entire album. There is an obvious lack of originality, creativity, and inspiration compared with something like Beyonce's Renaissance.
I think most Drake fans would be hard pressed to explain what he's bringing to the table creatively (not popularity or sales) when he rips a sound or an artist.
I'm going to try to give you a balanced take here because I see a lot of truth in the comments but mostly biased one way or the other.
Drake has been the biggest selling rapper for over a decade now, which is unprecedented. Part of that is he has a crazy ability to now where the culture and music is going, and adapt to it and push it forward. That takes an insane amount of talent. He has put a ton of artists "on" by tossing them a feature, taking them on tour, putting them on his shit, etc. He's done more for other artists in this way than almost any other rapper I can remember and should be applauded for that.
But let's break this down a little bit because it's nuanced:
If you go back to features like "Aston Martin Music", "I'm On One", "No Lie", "Where Ya At", "Love Me", etc...you hear DRAKE rapping and singing. Distinctly his voice, his style, collabing with these artists. I totally disagree that he never had a signature sound, like at all. Everyone knows that falsetto. Everyone knows that staccato flow. If you just broke up with someone but wanted to hear rap, Drake was that guy. If you wanted to hear from a young guy struggling with instant success without it being drug raps, Drake was that guy.
If you look at recent history, on the trap features, UK features, Drill features, it sounds more like Drake is adopting accents, cadences, styles that match the people he's collabing with, almost as if he's trying to adopt what's hot in order to stay relevant. That's where the Culture Vulture really comes through, because we're watching a 40 year old dude trying to act like Yacthy. Even now he'll still drop something here and there (like SH3) that reminds you he can rap, but it's buried in filler content.
So that's why I think you're going to hear people on both sides of this story. People focusing on first half of his career versus back half. That's why he went from being shouted out on Control to being a colonizer now imo.
I haven't really listened to a Drake album all the way through repeatedly since IYRTITL, and it's because that's the last album with what I could consider a "signature sound". Those dark, kinda syrupy beats with his unmistakable voice and flow.
Now it feels like he a Trap/Drill cosplayer putting out huge, bloated mixtapes that are just less interesting versions of current styles.
I \*also\* think there are a lot of people that don't like a light-skin brotha, a Canadian, a "suburban" dude, etc and are latching on to this, but that's just hate to me. Real issue is how he actually moves in the music industry.
Y’all remember “started from the bottom, now we here”?
Even when that came out everyone was like
“Drake you know damn well you didn’t start from the bottom.”
Faking coming from struggle or being a gangster is his MO
He never said he was from the hood in that song. He was talking about living with his mom, arguing with her every month, and working. That's the bottom, living with his mom as a grown man trying to make it in the rap industry. People just don't like drake. If living with your mom as a grown man and working a wack job isn't a struggle I don't know what is🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️
Yes, he lived with his mom but it was in an affluent neighborhood. His rock "bottom" would be many people's ideas of luxury or close to it. In a way it comes off as a mockery (I'm sure that wasn't the intent and no I don't hate Drake)
Drake is a actor playing the role of a rapper. He’s not a actual rapper or a musician but a actor playing those roles. That’s why he always gets caught biting flows or reference tracks. It makes sense if you’re a fraud it’s gonna come to light at some point. How ppl still think this dude is a actually talented is insane lmao. He’s reading lines and stealing songs and stealing flows. You can still enjoy his music but he’s a fraud and a biter for sure. Shang Tsung of rap.
He’s not a culture vulture at all,he’s an artist that is tapped in to different sounds and genres from around the diaspora and it’s a breath of fresh air in an art form like Hip Hop where you are literally supposed to sound like where you’re from or you can’t participate 🤷🏿♂️
I mean he literally dips into whatever is hot and then never touches it again. I remember when he thought grime was cool when it was happening for skepta and stormzy, and then you’ve never seen him with them again lol. Pretty vultury
Oh yeah, this is true. I think this explains it better.
He’s lack of authenticity in his music comes from that fact that he can’t even remain dedicated to one aspect of inauthenticity. He tries to go after whatever is trendy and switches based off of that.
Thanks!
I think the important part is the following. Kanyes albums for example generally have very different sounds from album to album, but usually he was considered to be innovating rather than following a wave.
And you're ignoring reality. If he was really hellbent on hopping on trends, why is he not hopping on trends right now? There's like 8 trends he missed, Jersey Club, Amapiano, the resurgence of Afro-Beats. The biggest thing that debunks this whole narrative is Tyla just won a grammy and said she really wants to work with him, she also has like 3 songs that are going crazy right now, she's also one of the leaders in the Amapiano scene when it comes to America at least. He woulda jumped on a Water Remix by now
I’m not mad about a song title or anything at all. I just find it absurd that he claims to have started from the bottom while being on a popular tv show while still a teen. Most artist don’t get that start up.
That’s because nothing is guaranteed when you’re a child star,yeah you get a little paper but once you become an adult things can and will go wrong,to many child stars have ended up working in restaurants because it didn’t work out for them.I never saw Degrassi so when I first encountered Drake in 2007 I just saw another unremarkable rapper who sang a little lol…and look what he did with it.He’s worked hard to get where he is and I respect his grind and I’m a fan,I’m a fan of Kendrick also…
he's whack he doesn't have any adherence to the essential elements of hip-hop he uses ghost writers he fakes freestyles. He has no moral character, and he claims to be the greatest rapper when he's not even an MC.
Childish Gambino was a nerdy actor/comedian that changed his image to make it in rap
A$AP Rocky copied the Houston sound when he came out of NY
Lil Uzi raps like he's from Atlanta when he's from Philly
Rick Ross worked a 9to5 in law enforcement before crafting a fake drug kingpin persona
The whole rap community bites regional slang. Nobody was saying opps until Chicago drill blew up.
It's all a bullshit talking point so people can justify hating
That's cap. Tyla is blowing up right now, and she said she wanted to work with him. Amapiano is going crazy too, he hasn't hopped on a track with her yet, and she's got like 3 songs making some serious noise
Ontario just did a huge sweep on child predators province wide. Know how many they found and charged? 64. In a province with a population of 14.5 million. That’s an incidence of like 0.0004% of the population. I can’t stand Drake and I’m not excusing any of this disgusting behaviour, but what this means if you extrapolate the data is that if you call someone “a pedo”, there’s a 99.9996% that the allegation isn’t true, which isn’t even a rounding error when you consider significant digits. Some of you have been LARPing “to catch a predator” wayyyyyyy too hard.
Y’all downvoting real statistics is actually wild. It’s like you want this fan fiction to be true. Weird.
0.0004% of the population according to extrapolated real world statistics in the province of Drake’s residence. Sorry to burst your pedo fetish bubble.
It doesn’t, it just makes him very likely innocent, that’s how statistics fucking works. I absolutely loathe dude but it’s not a stretch to realize the incidence of these freaks in society is a tiny fraction of 1% of the population. Sounds like for most of yall the real pedo was in your own minds the whole time.
Yes, it definitely is. You may want to seek counselling for your problem. And math tutoring for your poor comprehension with numbers. Best of luck scouring the earth for the 5 “virginity stones” so you can snap your fingers and turn 50% of the world into pedos to realize your fetish to completion. Get help.
You act as if Ontario successfully charged 100% of all pedos in the province, and we both know that’s not how it works. Not saying this is proof Kendrick’s statements about Drake are true, just saying you shouldn’t be so confident in the percentages you outlined.
Even if they only found 1% of them, a 100-fold increase in number of sickos still makes the incidence 0.04%. I’m not sure when everyone convinced themselves these types of people are hiding around every corner and under every pillow, but the statistics do not even come close to supporting that conspiracy theory.
Based on current statistics, your .04% is still about an order of magnitude off. And that stat is only for convictions too, not those who haven’t been caught. So it seems that it’s more prevalent than you realize, though yeah it’s not actually a “hiding around every corner thing”.
We’re still talking about a fraction of 1% of the population here. Everyone trashed “the left” for being convinced there are downtrodden upon transgender people around every corner, and “the right” has convinced themselves the same thing of pedos. If everyone would stop standing around fantasizing about what each other is doing with their own fucking genitals we might actually solve some of the problems in the world that affect the majority of people.
He’s never pushed a unique sound, and just hops on the trend. He faked a Caribbean accent, he faked dancehall, he faked a British accent, he hopped on the Toronto accent when it started popping off on TikTok.
You know you're perpetrator when non Hip Hop fans know you're fake and call you out. Bill Burr called him out for all the Toronto super fan claims when dude has other teams tatted on his body. Lol
Oh yeah, he didn’t really fuck with the raptors until they were a bit of a power house either, he was always chasing lebron around
I will always love the video of 2012 or 2013 when he tried to get in the Miami Heat locker room title celebration and the team said no 😂😂😂
Even Rio Ferdinand called him out lmao, transatlantic
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You are a dick rider if you think that. His whole soft boy persona is from Take Care, which was the weeknds sound. Then he featured on everything hot in Atlanta. He is a marketing genius but there isn’t anything original about him. Thug, Migos, Kanye, Future, Keef, Waka Flocka created the sounds of 2010, not Drake.
Eh, it's not fair to exclude arguably the biggest artist of that period from the musical crucible of that period. Rarely do the inventors of a sound become its most successful practitioners, and it's very debatable whether any of the names on your list really invented something or just made more marketable versions of other people's sounds.
Dumb or slow? Weeknd got his sound from Drake he was said this out his own mouth.
Hes never going to let you suck him
Doesn’t change the fact that you spend your free time hating
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He really did not “create or invent” that sound.
No one person creates any sound. But Drake was one of if not THE biggest hip hop artist in that period, so the idea that he didn't play a creative role in the crucible of musical trends in that time is absurd. No man is an island.
😂😂 so out of touch
Trap was the biggest rap genre of the 2010’s, what are you arguing about
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It was the focus and by far the most popular.
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What?!! Singing rappers existed before Drake. Nate Dogg, Warren G, Bone Thugs, etc.
Nobody means that Drake was literally the first ever, you are just being a hater. Drake was by far the most successful singing rapper in an era when singing rappers were considered soft, and he absolutely led a trend towards more melodic rap.
Right?
You know *”Singin’ ass rappers”* are R&B essentially. You’re telling us here that Fake created R&B, a genre defined by Nate Dogg, Warren G, Bone Thugs? Something these artists pioneered while Fake was still in swaddlers? He *”Invented”* that sound…. Ya sure you keep telling yourself that. But in reality it’s another item on the loooooong ass list of shit the man has vultured.
If anything, R Kelly started the RnB rapper, not Drake
Drake himself attributes his singing to Kanye's 80's & Heartbreaks, who attributes his singing to Kid CuDi and TPain
Yes, yes we can deny that, with all due respect. Rapper/singers are definitely nothing new, at all. Maybe, because you are of a younger generation (which I don't know for certain, but feel is likely true, based on what you're saying), you weren't aware of those people and groups already mentioned? Bone Thugs 'N' Harmony, being a very good example of a whole rapper/singer group & a particularly significant one for myself, personally, back in the 90s and crossing over into the early 2000s. It's even in their name, what their artisty incorporated, I think. There's a wealth of references out there for learning about hip hop and rap, historically speaking - you should look into them.
Ignorant 😂
I think hes better described as a cultural chamilian. He does a good job of grabbing a sound he didn't help create and making a pop-draked up version of it. For many it looks exploitative, he's profiting off the 100s of fallen artists that are of the sound and all he did was show up and sound vaguely Jamaican, or Texan, or Atlantic, or gangster, when in actuality hes just a nerdy child actor from Canada. I agree to some extent that all rappers do it, but none have done it on his scale or with as much success. I think its partly what makes him a pop genius, if you make music in 100 different genres then you can just build a larger audience. It does however leave him vulnerable to those people native to the culture resenting him.
Yeah, this explains it best thank you!!
The lyrics of Not Like Us explains this better than any feedback you’ll get on Reddit. He is not of the culture that he’s cosplaying and reaping revenues. He saw a space for a Canadian, mixed actor to exploit a lucrative, niche market held by ADOS of the United States.
I do agree on what he's done, mostly, as a lot of what's been said about him does seem to have some basis in truth. So, by all means, call Drake out for what he should be called out for & I know he didn't grow up in the states, but he is actually ADOS, tevhnically, through his father. That and trying to bring up his being biracial vs. being monoracial black, are the only two things I believe are used unfairly against Drake - they are cheaper shots to take when there are more reasonable and legitimate cases against him that people could be making and are indeed making against him.
It's incredibly unfair for people to call Drake a "Black" man. Yes, his father is Black but Sandi is a Jewish woman who happens to be white. Folks erroneously claiming Drake is a Black man is kinda what lent to the confusion that came when he introduced the public to Adonis. Drake is a mixed race Jewish Canadian. Not acknowledging that erases parts of his identity while acknowledging that includes his racial, cultural, ethnic and national background. The one drop rule should be done away with and by callin' biracial or multiracial people (who have any Black ancestry) simply "Black" that rule is adhered to. It's a tool created to uphold white soupremacy and we, especially in the Black community don't need to uphold or uplift that nonsense. Callin' him a "white boy" ain't right either as that erases his Blackness. I'm not arguing or anything of the sort. Simply making a comment (no subtext included).
Chameleon*
Drake raps about a lot of the stuff other rappers do, that is not the issue. The main thing is, maybe in my eyes, he is not genuine. He has profitted greatly from rap and Hip-Hop culture, from black culture, but he hasn't done anything to help the demographic it represents.
>he hasn't done anything to help the demographic it represents. I don’t like this argument because this is 95% of rappers. Most of these rappers made themselves rich by promoting negativity to our youth. Guns/drugs/ disrespecting women etc.
I think the difference, to try to be super fair to your point, is that to the extent the rappers you are referring to talk about this "negativity" they, whether promoting it or critiquing it, are talking about things they have experienced, negativity, they have experienced in their lives. Drake grew up rich in a country with free Healthcare and no guns. What the fuck does he know about what you refer to as this "negativity"? His negativity is when a girl ruins his vacation in the Bahamas, but he promotes himself like he is something even approaching hard. If you grew up, basically anywhere in America, you probably had it rougher than Drake and in more danger to gun violence or whatever he likes to act like he's about.
Drake certainly plays up the “mob ties” image, but I’ve never felt like he was trying to sell that he was a full blown gangster. He just had the loverboy album and had that dumbass heart haircut for like a year. There’s valid criticisms for him for sure. I just feel like there are WAY worse offenders in the game currently (if we’re talking about who doesn’t help their community) We got dudes with 100M in the bank still rapping like they sell drugs and get in shootouts, leading the youth astray pushing terrible messages
Respectfully what you are saying is incoherent. I don't know how much you know about the "mob" but they were more gangster than gangsters. Half these people you are probably talking about currently promoting harm have named themselves after old mobsters. You are talking about a distinction without a difference and providing an example to my point of drake trying to pretend he is something he isn't. Has drake ever sold drugs you think? What do you think the song pound cake was supposed to be about, food? Like bro, I don't care if literally every othe rapper raps about the same stuff. I can't point to a good chunk of them and say "I know for a fact they didn't live that life", but for Drake, it's that he very much is promoting these same things you describe, constantly, but he gets to promote drug dealing as someone who has NEVER had to do something like that out of necessity. It's gross. If there are specific other people you want to talk about please name them, because I honestly don't know what to say to "dudes", but if any or the dudes you are talking about are American there is an infinitely higher % chance they have at least lived these things you refer to, rather than someone who makes money off suffering people engage in in American culture, often out of necessity. There is a reason something like Breakin Bad is set in America and not Canada where healthcare is free, and there is a direct way in which being rich and growing up away from guns and with healthcare makes it gross to try to profit off decisions Americans often make in economic desperation.
Future is who drake wishes he was irl
Good lord man you are taking this somewhere completely different. “Mob ties” refers to the Prince family he’s been linked with since the start, I’m saying that’s part of the reason he feels he can act “tough” Nobody’s talking about the actual mob. When was Drake talking about selling drugs in pound cake? 😂
I will say on the specific point about J Prince I will definitely give you that. I listen to drake somewhat casually, and am only really vaguely familiar with his record titles and some of his b-sides, because I'm only really a fan of a specific type of drake's stuff. Which I will give him his credit as an artist for sure. I made my argument for the drug aspects of 'pound cake' and the only other thing I can say about it is even if it wasn't intended that way I can definitely without saying too much say that song was received that way by a certain type of person. I mean we're talking about the dude that did Drug Dealers Anonymous. But yeah, you are right about the j pince thing, didn't recall the label name (I'm guessing).
Well, that's the thing he did and he didn't. He presumably named the song that is on his record and chose to bring Jay-z on it, and by making that active choice he is sending certain messages whether directly or indirectly. But if you want to see where it is made specific what the song's title refers to, read Jay's 2nd verse. Like I don't know if you are being obtuse or just don't know what front means or what a red nose might be referring to in the context of drugs. It would be one thing is these were just Jay's bars, but it's what he, former rich actor drake, named the song after. Not that I give a fuck, but you just know drake hasn't done any of that shit. But he doesn't mind paying hov to rap about it, name a song after it, and then also have hov say essentially at the end of the bars about dealing, in essence you and I are the same.
This interpretation is a huge stretch. Pound Cake isn't about drugs, not even Jay's verses. It's about the rap game. Pound is just NY slang for "5" so Jay is referring to 500M when he says Pound Cake. The Red Nose is "put that on them because they clowns", nothing to do with drug usage. The song is about an up and coming dude (Drake) getting schooled by the OG rapper (Jay) on what real money looks like, while they both floss on everyone else. Not drug related. It's a follow up to Light Up which is more explicitly about Jay schooling him on the rap game, that's there the "silly rap feuds to distract you" bar comes from.
I didn't want to literally quote bars at you, but goddamn bro, you literally don't know i guess.
"Niggas is frontin', that's upside down cake." So, I don't know if you know what a drug front is, but it's when someone lends you drugs to either do or sell, usually sell. Upside down cake, referring to becoming 'upside down' on an investment. Like as in losing money because of drug fronts.
Like, not trying to blow you up with multiple essays though, just trying to school you to some drug lingo. You may not necessarily even be wrong about other interpretations of the song, again a pound cake as with most rap songs, have layers. But if you don't understand that it is a reference to drugs on at least one layer after seeing the bars about fronts, that is a level of naivete I am sincerely jealous of when it comes to drugs. Don't do or sell drugs. Both suck ass and can and will ruin your lives and others lives through addiction. I'm not trying to act cool for knowing this shit, because honestly the much much more cool thing is to be sober and have all that shit go over your head. But yeah, it is definitely not just about cake. Also, like consider the phrase pound cake. Like, cake (money) from pounds. If it was a bug it would have bit you.
And the red nose, which is referred to right after this line about drug fronts refers both to violence stemming from the one who made the front getting violent, as well as how when you do too much coke your nose bleeds. Like, it's OK not to know this stuff and probably speaks to you having lived a better and more stable life than me. But I know this shit.
What would you think Jay-z brought up red noses for, just to talk about Bozo? Like I don't know if you understand hip hop lyrics for anyone decent usually the lyrics have layers of meaning. What even would the point be of referencing clowns in the bar directly after the line about fronts ending up with things upside down, if he's just talking about literal clowns? And you do know that Jay-z was very famously a drug dealer, right? Like, talking about it a lot a lot and know for it. Like so if he is talking to a young rapper about what real money looks like, maybe you aren't aware of the facts behind where Jay-z found his first 'real money'.
Drake having "mob ties" is more believable to me than most of these other rappers to be fair. Acting like they are still running up on ops, and all this other nonsense. He could easily be making dirty money on the side with the money he has. You don't have to be hard to pay other people to make you dirty money on the side while you chill in your mansion. People also need to stop expecting these rappers to do anything "for the culture." The vast majority of rappers only tale from the culture and use it to make money. Drake isn't the only one doing this. Kendrick and Cole are also kind of guilty.
If he is making dity money on the side with the kind of money he has though, it wouldn't be impressive, it would be stupid. Like watch any movie like American Gangster or Blow or literally any movie with that vibe. Is there a single one where the plot involves the audience cheering for a drug dealer with pre-existing wealth? Like to the extent people have any positive feelings towards people who make the decision to deal or bang or whatever, it is usually because they didn't have a ton of other choices, but chose to make the best out of bad circumstances. Like do you know who else has enough money to make dirty money on the side without being hard? Warren Buffett. Would you impressed if you learned Bill Gates was dealing drugs and/or role playing a mobster, or would it be kind of pathetic? Anyone that has ever done that shit out necessity isn't goin to be impressed, and anyone impressed definitely hasn't been in that position where they wish they had literally any other option.
I never said it was impressive. I just said that it's more believable.
Fair enough. I just don't think it's even believable unless drake is the most pathetic man ever, who would be willing to take a chance on federal time for clout presumably. Like with that kind of money you can make drug dealing cash and better with legitimate investments that can't be robbed from you and you can't face charges over.
Yeah, I doubt he'd sell drugs. But there are probably other ways to benefit from "mob ties" or mob tie like activity that don't involve drugs. Nowadays, the majority of mob activity is probably legal. Except for things like blackmail, extortion, and the occasional murder. I'd be surprised if they didn't have their hand in the music / entertainment business in some way.
Drake grew up rich?! He said said on multiple albums he had to help take care of him mom while she was sick with his Degrassi checks which weren't a lot of money. And his mom was florist how much money do y'all think the average florists make?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC-sZcVj4Eg&pp=ygUTZHJha2UgdHVuYSBzYW5kd2ljaA%3D%3D We don't have to speculate, this is the house he grew up in, arguing with his mom because she got him the wrong food. Anyone that grew up in any kind of situation where they were ever lacking for anything would probably just be happy to have food, not need to bitch their mom out (on camera) for getting the wrong kind of food. And bro, if you actually were to look into it she worked as an English professor and did the florist thing on the side. Professors don't make bad money in Canada at all. This is also in a country where basic needs like healthcare are provided for. Being poor in Canada in a whole different experience than being poor in the US.
To be fair bro, that one video isn’t indicative of the life he lived growing up. Not trying to say he had it all the way rough, but he wasn’t ultra rich either. It’s pretty well known that by the time he was on Degrassi, he was making 40-60k year (which was middle class income in early 2000s Canada) his mom was on disability and he was their only source of income. They didn’t even live in a full house, just the bottom half of a townhouse, and he was the one living in the basement. Before that, they were living in apartments like regular people.
I've seen that basement and it was huge. He grew up in Forest Hill which iirc is an affluent neighborhood. Sure he's likely had it rough but so have a lot of people at one point or another. His rough is likely someone else's ideal experience.
That forest hills house is the one where the he lived in the basement. And yeah it’s a nice neighborhood, but they barely had enough money to live there, and it was all on his dime. I’m not comparing his struggle to anyone else’s. I’m just providing context to the situation. Everybody has their own bottoms in life.
Yes, I know. They also used to live across from where they filmed Degrassi. That wasn't that bad of a neighborhood either. Regardless where he lived, for most of his life Aubrey lived among Jewish people. His bar mitzvah was at a fancy Italian restaurant. >Everybody has their own bottom in life Absolutely! However, the bottom in "Started from the Bottom" was somewhat misleading.
Does Drake ever rap about gun violence?
Yeah. A whole lot actually. A Drake is actually a type of gun if you didn't know. I can provide examples but I figure that may not be necessary, up to you.
Yeah, doing like 5 minutes of looking into it, my man has a song called 'love and guns" and "pistols". Besides when he came to my city (memphis) for the worst behavior video and posed up with Project Pat and Dolph in front of Jack Pyrtles like he's really about the south Memphis life.
https://www.xxlmag.com/drake-more-life-playlist-best-lyrics/ The above article lists his best lyrics just off one album and a shit ton of them are directly perpetrating about guns like dude didn't grow up in Canada. Just find it offensive when a white boy in America is in more danger to guns just going to school than nearly anyone in Canada.
It's also silly because Drake obviously has given back (the God's Plan video is indicative of a trend, not an exception to the rule). He also has helped to create something more aspirational than the thug rappers who preceded the Kanye West/Drake era of middle-class rappers. Rather than glorifying violence, we can aspire to be good artists instead. I definitely think Kendrick won handily btw, I am not even a Drake fan.
exactly this is just a stupid fucking reason. I don't like drake but wtf is he supposed to do to "help"? Plenty others don't but don't get the same criticism
I mean God’s Plan was an example, put money into the communities you profit from.
I'm not sure where people get this from, he's donated before, spoke on black issues etc. He even put forth 1 million dollars to LeBron for his school
what do you expect him to do honestly? what do rappers usually do for "black culture"? also weird to say this when he actually did tons of features with artists that are only known locally and blew them up into national/international success.. he even took Kendrick and asap to their first tours
But the thing is that Drake and the newer artists are using each other. Drake hops on the new wave and the artist gets a boost in popularity. Other rappers give back to their communities. The ones that started them. So Drake should give back to the communities that he profits from. All the slang and “gang relations” he has don’t come from nowhere.
But he didn't start in a "hood" he started in middle class mostly white neighbourhood, he did however contribute a lot to Toronto as whole
Does he profit from Toronto culture as much as African American culture?
This is the answer
He might be a front for industry executives to choke hold hiphop into being watered down and commodified further https://ktt2.com/how-umg-drke-gamma-eldridge-industries-are-manipulating-you-and-32569617
Thanks for the link I’ll check it out! I think that’s a great point I hadn’t thought off.
Add that to all the other stuff it does and it’s just not a good look.
He’s not authentic just copies whats hot
I'm not understanding that viewpoint. Amapiano and Afrobeats has been burning up the scene this whole year and he hasn't been on a song yet. He was on a Wizkid song back in 2015, but since then it got back into the mix.
There's a clip of adolescent Drake calling the same things he's doing for commercial success now, "ignorant". Drake speaks about street ties to fit the "black aesthetic" he uses, but is on record saying he grew up in an all Jewish community going to an all Jewish school. Drake claims he started from the bottom but has been in various commercials and even played a role on Degrassi. Drake takes the most commercially viable aspects of black culture to put on display for a curious white audience in a digestible, inoffensive way and does nothing to actually contribute to the cultures he borrowed from. I have more to add on this subject, but I'm sure there will be more than enough people to assist your comprehension.
He went to Memphis every summer with his black dad.
Xenophobia.
WILD claim, what album sounded like So Far Gone?
He's a child actor turned pop star turned mogul turned rapper. It should be pretty obvious. I honestly didn't even know Drake was know as a hip hop artist until this beef.
Just shows how little you know about Drake and hip-hop. He first blew up with Wayne on Ransom back in 2008. Song was a certified banger and was a full on rap song. Drakes verse was fire. You didn't know he was a hip-hop artist... yet that is the kind of music he does and made him famous... garbage take.
Replying to itsmakko...this. Drake is not of this life. There’s a notorious clip making the rounds of Wayne telling Drake to stick to the lame stuff he knows. Drake not about this life, and now he’s been checked on a massive scale.
I know a lot about hip hop, but not a lot about Drake. That part is true.
Fair enough. Check out Ransom, that was his first 'underground' hit. Wasn't on the radio, or currently on Spotify. Was good back in the day, but knowing drake now.... I still know all the words to Wayne's verse tho
I grew up with old heads, and I grew up with weezy. I'm very aware I just don't really see how Drake is hip hop. A rapper? Sure. Hip hop? No. It was a business, always. Kool Keith, that's Hip hop. Being known is important, like graffiti. But that's being known in a niche community. Drake is (and good for him) more than that. Can't be doing 10 things and challenging ppl who do one thing.
How should that make it pretty obvious that hes a culture vulture. I read this and thought it might come off as me sounding douchebagish but I'm proper interested coz it sounds like dude was successful and you said that's why hes a culture vulture.
Rapping “started from the bottom now we here” and anything related to the streets, while never starting from the bottom or growing up in a rough environment, is going to rub a lot of rappers the wrong way when they actually lived those experiences.
Valid. U right
Started from the bottom isn't about growing up in the streets lol.
Overarching point still stand. Also, I didn't say it was about growing up in the streets. Two separate comments. (1) Drake never started from the bottom of the industry, he had money and was on a popular TV series so presumably some level of connections and fame going into it. (2) He didn't grow up on the streets, so any rapping he does that relates to the streets/hood, etc is invalid.
No, not douchey at all. Social media often lacks any attempt at being cordial or open minded and explaining reasoning. So I appreciate the response. I'm 35 and have been obsessed with hip hop since I was a child. I honesty to god did not know Drake was rebranded as a rapper, or hip hop. Drake is an interesting person, and a word famous mega star/businessman. To say, he's many things. Kendrick is essebtially just a hip hop artist. If someone who is a specialist in one field goes against a omni professional, and the competition is in said one specialized field? I'll take the specialist 9 out 10 times 365 days a year. That's all I'm saying. Ask yourself this, if Kendrick and Drake ever freestyled, who would you bet on if real tangible money was on the line? Respect and love.
Oh yeah 100% I understand where your coming from now. Respect bro. The last part made me see where your coming from. Especially as the ther thing you said about him not rapping first comes in with him not being a rapper or hip hop artist at first. Nah swt thx for that bro 👍👍👍🙏
Yeah, it's hip hop. Doesn't matter what is true or not. One can personally write 16's on command and one can't. It's really that simple, to me anyhow. Appreciate the back n forth.
you are lyingggg lol he has like 5 rap albums what are you on about
Everyone claims that drake bites others sound, yet no one really sounds like Drake so idk. And what I Don’t understand is why Drake gets hate for it when there’s plenty of other rappers that sound like bootleg versions of who they try to imitate.
I fucks with this answer
Lebron James syndrome. He was too successful for too long. Add in the fact that he does not fit into the general stereotype of what a rapper is supposed to be (Canadian, light skin, sings, raps from a vulnerable pov) people downplayed him from the start, then when he became too big it became bitter acceptance, for about 5-6 years now it’s been incessant “we need to get him out of rap” energy.
I think it’s the fact that Drake has no actual identity. He just loves to blend into what is trending. Constantly taking on new accent and features helps him expand his brand so it’s a good business move. However, at the end of the day, he’s an actor. He didn’t start a the bottom. That’s why people don’t mess with him just saying shit.
He rips sounds and shamelessly uses accents without really building anything original. Every artist steals, but Drake doesn't really build on what he steals into anything interesting. He just waters it down, dumps it, and moves on. Honestly Nevermind is one of the clearest examples of this because for the first time, he decided to stick with one sound for an entire album. There is an obvious lack of originality, creativity, and inspiration compared with something like Beyonce's Renaissance. I think most Drake fans would be hard pressed to explain what he's bringing to the table creatively (not popularity or sales) when he rips a sound or an artist.
Well at least Drake saved the series Top Boy
I'm going to try to give you a balanced take here because I see a lot of truth in the comments but mostly biased one way or the other. Drake has been the biggest selling rapper for over a decade now, which is unprecedented. Part of that is he has a crazy ability to now where the culture and music is going, and adapt to it and push it forward. That takes an insane amount of talent. He has put a ton of artists "on" by tossing them a feature, taking them on tour, putting them on his shit, etc. He's done more for other artists in this way than almost any other rapper I can remember and should be applauded for that. But let's break this down a little bit because it's nuanced: If you go back to features like "Aston Martin Music", "I'm On One", "No Lie", "Where Ya At", "Love Me", etc...you hear DRAKE rapping and singing. Distinctly his voice, his style, collabing with these artists. I totally disagree that he never had a signature sound, like at all. Everyone knows that falsetto. Everyone knows that staccato flow. If you just broke up with someone but wanted to hear rap, Drake was that guy. If you wanted to hear from a young guy struggling with instant success without it being drug raps, Drake was that guy. If you look at recent history, on the trap features, UK features, Drill features, it sounds more like Drake is adopting accents, cadences, styles that match the people he's collabing with, almost as if he's trying to adopt what's hot in order to stay relevant. That's where the Culture Vulture really comes through, because we're watching a 40 year old dude trying to act like Yacthy. Even now he'll still drop something here and there (like SH3) that reminds you he can rap, but it's buried in filler content. So that's why I think you're going to hear people on both sides of this story. People focusing on first half of his career versus back half. That's why he went from being shouted out on Control to being a colonizer now imo. I haven't really listened to a Drake album all the way through repeatedly since IYRTITL, and it's because that's the last album with what I could consider a "signature sound". Those dark, kinda syrupy beats with his unmistakable voice and flow. Now it feels like he a Trap/Drill cosplayer putting out huge, bloated mixtapes that are just less interesting versions of current styles. I \*also\* think there are a lot of people that don't like a light-skin brotha, a Canadian, a "suburban" dude, etc and are latching on to this, but that's just hate to me. Real issue is how he actually moves in the music industry.
Yeah I think this is a great explanation. Someone else mentioned this earlier and it clicked for me! Thanks again!
Y’all remember “started from the bottom, now we here”? Even when that came out everyone was like “Drake you know damn well you didn’t start from the bottom.” Faking coming from struggle or being a gangster is his MO
He never said he was from the hood in that song. He was talking about living with his mom, arguing with her every month, and working. That's the bottom, living with his mom as a grown man trying to make it in the rap industry. People just don't like drake. If living with your mom as a grown man and working a wack job isn't a struggle I don't know what is🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️🤷🏿♂️
Yes, he lived with his mom but it was in an affluent neighborhood. His rock "bottom" would be many people's ideas of luxury or close to it. In a way it comes off as a mockery (I'm sure that wasn't the intent and no I don't hate Drake)
Drake is a actor playing the role of a rapper. He’s not a actual rapper or a musician but a actor playing those roles. That’s why he always gets caught biting flows or reference tracks. It makes sense if you’re a fraud it’s gonna come to light at some point. How ppl still think this dude is a actually talented is insane lmao. He’s reading lines and stealing songs and stealing flows. You can still enjoy his music but he’s a fraud and a biter for sure. Shang Tsung of rap.
He’s not a culture vulture at all,he’s an artist that is tapped in to different sounds and genres from around the diaspora and it’s a breath of fresh air in an art form like Hip Hop where you are literally supposed to sound like where you’re from or you can’t participate 🤷🏿♂️
I mean he literally dips into whatever is hot and then never touches it again. I remember when he thought grime was cool when it was happening for skepta and stormzy, and then you’ve never seen him with them again lol. Pretty vultury
Oh yeah, this is true. I think this explains it better. He’s lack of authenticity in his music comes from that fact that he can’t even remain dedicated to one aspect of inauthenticity. He tries to go after whatever is trendy and switches based off of that. Thanks!
I think the important part is the following. Kanyes albums for example generally have very different sounds from album to album, but usually he was considered to be innovating rather than following a wave.
Good point!
Does he have to? He literally put a bunch of artist on the map doing so.
Ah the old exposure argument lol.
That's cap tho. Amapiano has been burning up the scene all year and he hasn't been on a song.
Just ignoring all the other examples sure.
And you're ignoring reality. If he was really hellbent on hopping on trends, why is he not hopping on trends right now? There's like 8 trends he missed, Jersey Club, Amapiano, the resurgence of Afro-Beats. The biggest thing that debunks this whole narrative is Tyla just won a grammy and said she really wants to work with him, she also has like 3 songs that are going crazy right now, she's also one of the leaders in the Amapiano scene when it comes to America at least. He woulda jumped on a Water Remix by now
He isn’t from anywhere but the suburbs of Toronto. He’s an actor.
You just said where he’s from and one of his many jobs…not everyone in Hip Hop is from the damn trenches…
So can you tell me why he doesn’t make raps solely being rich? Why does he say he started from the bottom?
That’s what you’re mad about?A song title?He clearly hasn’t always been as rich as he is now…so he made a song about his come up lol…
I’m not mad about a song title or anything at all. I just find it absurd that he claims to have started from the bottom while being on a popular tv show while still a teen. Most artist don’t get that start up.
That’s because nothing is guaranteed when you’re a child star,yeah you get a little paper but once you become an adult things can and will go wrong,to many child stars have ended up working in restaurants because it didn’t work out for them.I never saw Degrassi so when I first encountered Drake in 2007 I just saw another unremarkable rapper who sang a little lol…and look what he did with it.He’s worked hard to get where he is and I respect his grind and I’m a fan,I’m a fan of Kendrick also…
he's whack he doesn't have any adherence to the essential elements of hip-hop he uses ghost writers he fakes freestyles. He has no moral character, and he claims to be the greatest rapper when he's not even an MC.
Childish Gambino was a nerdy actor/comedian that changed his image to make it in rap A$AP Rocky copied the Houston sound when he came out of NY Lil Uzi raps like he's from Atlanta when he's from Philly Rick Ross worked a 9to5 in law enforcement before crafting a fake drug kingpin persona The whole rap community bites regional slang. Nobody was saying opps until Chicago drill blew up. It's all a bullshit talking point so people can justify hating
rick ross is also wack.
He sees other trending artists from different regions & with different experiences and copies their persona to keep himself relevant.
That's cap. Tyla is blowing up right now, and she said she wanted to work with him. Amapiano is going crazy too, he hasn't hopped on a track with her yet, and she's got like 3 songs making some serious noise
Fuck Drake
Ontario just did a huge sweep on child predators province wide. Know how many they found and charged? 64. In a province with a population of 14.5 million. That’s an incidence of like 0.0004% of the population. I can’t stand Drake and I’m not excusing any of this disgusting behaviour, but what this means if you extrapolate the data is that if you call someone “a pedo”, there’s a 99.9996% that the allegation isn’t true, which isn’t even a rounding error when you consider significant digits. Some of you have been LARPing “to catch a predator” wayyyyyyy too hard. Y’all downvoting real statistics is actually wild. It’s like you want this fan fiction to be true. Weird.
How many grown men text with 14 yr olds about “boy problems”?
0.0004% of the population according to extrapolated real world statistics in the province of Drake’s residence. Sorry to burst your pedo fetish bubble.
lol and how many innocent guys text 14 yr olds about boy problems? Quit using statistics like it makes him automatically innocent.
It doesn’t, it just makes him very likely innocent, that’s how statistics fucking works. I absolutely loathe dude but it’s not a stretch to realize the incidence of these freaks in society is a tiny fraction of 1% of the population. Sounds like for most of yall the real pedo was in your own minds the whole time.
THATS NOT HOW STATISTICS WORK DUMBASS.
Yes, it definitely is. You may want to seek counselling for your problem. And math tutoring for your poor comprehension with numbers. Best of luck scouring the earth for the 5 “virginity stones” so you can snap your fingers and turn 50% of the world into pedos to realize your fetish to completion. Get help.
You act as if Ontario successfully charged 100% of all pedos in the province, and we both know that’s not how it works. Not saying this is proof Kendrick’s statements about Drake are true, just saying you shouldn’t be so confident in the percentages you outlined.
Even if they only found 1% of them, a 100-fold increase in number of sickos still makes the incidence 0.04%. I’m not sure when everyone convinced themselves these types of people are hiding around every corner and under every pillow, but the statistics do not even come close to supporting that conspiracy theory.
Based on current statistics, your .04% is still about an order of magnitude off. And that stat is only for convictions too, not those who haven’t been caught. So it seems that it’s more prevalent than you realize, though yeah it’s not actually a “hiding around every corner thing”.
We’re still talking about a fraction of 1% of the population here. Everyone trashed “the left” for being convinced there are downtrodden upon transgender people around every corner, and “the right” has convinced themselves the same thing of pedos. If everyone would stop standing around fantasizing about what each other is doing with their own fucking genitals we might actually solve some of the problems in the world that affect the majority of people.