I think OP is looking at 808’s too literally

The concept of a male rapper being able put out full fledged R&B bodies of work and not lose their credibility and stance as a rapper was simply not there prior to 808’s.

Drake was singing and writing before 808’s so it’s definitely exaggerated, and I do think drake would have interpolated R&B into rap regardless, but the aesthetic and credibility that drake has been able to maintain as a dual act can be correlated to 808’s.

808s isnt rnb

drake most definitely is greatly influenced by 808s that album changed alot of peoples outlook on music at the time

Like, Let’s call it off / A Little Bit / Say what’s real (literally) /Bria’s interlude / Find Your Love

If I told you those were like 808s records that were left on the cutting room floor I don’t think anyone bats an eye.

the influence while exaggerated, is clearly there.

Okay

i know you can read buddy i believe in you

Okay

Brand New

B**** is crazy

Like he was making and writing R&B records before 808’s was a thing. Factually. The idea that drake wouldn’t exist without 808’s and heartbreak or Kanye is dumb man lol

drake is way more inspired by people like aaliyah and other traditional rnb artists than kanye. 808s was Electropop, art pop‎, ‎synth-pop or whatever u wanna call it. it has 0 rnb

It's not just the singing bro

drake gotta be one of the worst singers of all time too never heard that man hit one good note

if this released after 808s people would say it was 808s influenced. but it released before

No but okay

Influence is an arbitrary term typically only used for argumentative purposes on ktt.

Influence isn’t a tangible thing.

what records on 808s are rnb to you?

Yeah ur right in that, cause some think it's just the singing that 808s did. But brand new is more traditional rnb to me, never saw it as that.

But the package of a rapper/singer over that production and subject matter. Cmon

R&B is inherently subjective.

At its core, 808’s is melodic rhythm and blues. It’s literally R&B. R&B comes in a variety of forms so because of that, I do categorize it as R&B, or an offspring of r&b.

I’ve been a drake guy since 07, the 808’s album influence on him is exaggerated, but it’s there. Certain “chances” he took on SFG probably don’t happen without that album.

Yeah I mentioned this.

Let’s call it off / A little Bit /Lust for life etc probably don’t happen without 808’s. Even the cover probably doesn’t happen without 808’s.

It’s definitely exaggerated though. I think it’s pretty clear he’d do the R&B / Hip-Hop think independent of Ye, it would have simply looked and sounded a bit more traditional.

Drake super talented, I'm sure he would of made it without the 808s influence but I'm not sure he would be as big as he is without that signature sound that was derived from 808s

Ehh, I think he does but we won’t ever know lol

808’s showed that that style can win big in the marketplace, but it’s not like it wasn’t in Drake’s skill set. That style was in his wheelhouse before 808’s even dropped:

Drake’s greatest attribute (like it or not) is that he can be really good at just about anything hip-hop related because he’s so good at writing, rapping, and incorporating melody.

So IMO he probably pops regardless because he could simply morph into whatever would have been hot and been great at it

Nah I'm not saying he wouldn't pop at all, just not the biggest artist in the world. That signature sound of his is key. 2009-2013 was too perfect. Any changes and his trajectory would probably look different.

It's more than just being good at doing anything, his sound was different at the time and was a huge draw

So then the argument would shift to “808s paved the way for Drake to be successful”

But that’s not the same as influence, and a lot of people online have claimed influence