flizzy

10mo

How does it hurt the newer artists tho? Either they’re good enough to keep their audience or they’re not and Drake gave them the initial boost. Weeknd, Migos, Jhene, Sexxy Redd, Popcaan, PND, Summer Walker, definitely used that boost.

browser

10mo

· edited

Everyone you just named except Pnd and arguably Weeknd were popping before Drake touched them lol

For the people who did kinda get introduced by Drake, Roy Woods, PND, Makonnen it was hard for people to care about them outside of Drake. Thats not necessarily his fault tho

It doesn’t necessarily hurt the semi established artists he does it to but the sentiment to do it in the first place is definitely self serving to reach audiences he wouldnt be able to. Hov did it too but Hov isnt biracial/doesnt have white boy thing going on so it doesnt seem egregious. Drake doesnt get into the clubs if Houston and Atlanta dont embrace him

browser

10mo

Facts

He’s a backpacker at heart who knows better/knows what Kendrick is saying at the root but he chose to maintain a safe brand (while also somehow becoming a cosplay mob boss) rather than continuing his original trajectory and somewhat continuing the lineage of the Kanye/Pharrell/Andre/Phonte lane

It backfired on him over time as a whole with stuff like him having to acknowledge the reaction to FATD but also ironically in this beef itself as he tried to make club tracks instead of getting into a Dreams Money Can Buy or 5 AM bag. He got stuck in his fantasy world lol

And in a way he is definitely the precursor to Yeat and Ian type acts the way Wayne is to Thug Carti Uzi lol. You just gotta have the right song and a budget and you look like a cornball for saying (unprovoked) someone isn’t really what they’re portraying.

Noir

10mo

I'm going to set aside all of the allegations for a second as I type this because, if they are true, Drake has done a lot of damage to the world that extends beyond hip hop. But we're not talking about that, we're talking about the rap game.

Drake started really popping off when I was 18-19 years old and I didn't really appreciate him at the time. There were so many barriers the game put in front of him to be loved and respected and I had a very oldhead mindset about what made for good rap. I'm also a very album-centric person and his albums have never been as perfectly curated as an Illmatic.

Still, over time, I was one of those people who found a certain level of respect for Drake. Since his come-up, hip hop has, at various points, been the #1 genre in the western world and Drake had a lot to do with that. He's put a lot of great rappers on, challenged expectations of masculinity in rap and pushed the boundaries of what a rap song can sound like. I appreciate the musical restlessness he showed at his peak and I think he really answered the bell on a number of occasions as a lyricist, ghostwriting allegations aside.

My thing is that the Drake I came to respect between 2013-2017 is long gone. I think Drake's breed of masculinity has grown toxic and problematic over time, his instrumental choices have gotten worse without 40 around as much, and his sense of what should and shouldn't make the tracklisting of an album has completely gone out the window during the streaming era. Perhaps worst of all, his hooks have gotten worse and those classic melodic singles that were a given during his heyday are harder to find on his newer projects.

Would the game miss him? I think it already does because the Drake that was such a complicated figure to process in 2016 disappeared years ago. He's become a caricature of himself. The industry would miss today's Drake, sure, but I don't think today's Drake all that closely resembles the creative mind that was so impactful on hip hop 10 years ago.

The one thing I will say is that he can clearly still rap at a high level, as this beef and Scary Hours 3 showed. He needs to find some really creative and forward-thinking producers who can shake up his sound and really make him sound hungry again, not just as a rapper but as a songwriter.

But most of all, I think he just needs a break. And now is as good a time as any.

gabapentin

10mo

I was about to say basically that

I am not a "materialist" or Marxist or anything like that, but I have to say (without taking anything away from the effort that Drake as an individual has undeniably put in), he is very much the avatar for larger social forces causing geographical social differences to be obliterated and formerly distinct groups and places to be meshed together because of the speed and frictionlessness of communication

And when ppl talk about him reflecting the most popular trends and embracing a more exaggerated parody of hip-hop excess, as the OP said, basically promoting the most Boondocks elements of Black culture, I think that's because with the internet there is a greater ability for the audience to demand and signal exactly what it is they want, and what they want are the most unsubtle, explicit, gonzo and instantly gratifying vibes

What drake since scorpion has represented more than anything is INDULGENCE. People get mad at him for pushing 40 (pun not intended) and still living the frat boy + gangsta lifestyle, but he just is what the collective wishes they could be. Someone who can enjoy wine, women and song -- sex, d**** and rock and roll -- in whatever the most currently culturally popular version is -- Forever

Kengi

10mo

Never understood the point that "Drake made himself vulnerable". I dont see and hear it. Its more like what a toxic and gaslighting person might think being vulnerable is.

He never really exposed any insecurities about himself. It was more projected on his artistic persona but in the end of his stories he was the one that is "above" all the drama. Always too cool about it and having a last laugh about it.

Thats not what being vulnerable is and it always seemed quite childish to me.

Its obvious why it relates to people because its some kind of powerfantasy. Its when your girlfriend breaks up with you then drakes music makes you think you dont really care she didnt deserve you and youll find somebody better.

gabapentin

10mo

I was about to say basically that

I am not a "materialist" or Marxist or anything like that, but I have to say (without taking anything away from the effort that Drake as an individual has undeniably put in), he is very much the avatar for larger social forces causing geographical social differences to be obliterated and formerly distinct groups and places to be meshed together because of the speed and frictionlessness of communication

And when ppl talk about him reflecting the most popular trends and embracing a more exaggerated parody of hip-hop excess, as the OP said, basically promoting the most Boondocks elements of Black culture, I think that's because with the internet there is a greater ability for the audience to demand and signal exactly what it is they want, and what they want are the most unsubtle, explicit, gonzo and instantly gratifying vibes

What drake since scorpion has represented more than anything is INDULGENCE. People get mad at him for pushing 40 (pun not intended) and still living the frat boy + gangsta lifestyle, but he just is what the collective wishes they could be. Someone who can enjoy wine, women and song -- sex, d**** and rock and roll -- in whatever the most currently culturally popular version is -- Forever

Noir

10mo

I'm going to set aside all of the allegations for a second as I type this because, if they are true, Drake has done a lot of damage to the world that extends beyond hip hop. But we're not talking about that, we're talking about the rap game.

Drake started really popping off when I was 18-19 years old and I didn't really appreciate him at the time. There were so many barriers the game put in front of him to be loved and respected and I had a very oldhead mindset about what made for good rap. I'm also a very album-centric person and his albums have never been as perfectly curated as an Illmatic.

Still, over time, I was one of those people who found a certain level of respect for Drake. Since his come-up, hip hop has, at various points, been the #1 genre in the western world and Drake had a lot to do with that. He's put a lot of great rappers on, challenged expectations of masculinity in rap and pushed the boundaries of what a rap song can sound like. I appreciate the musical restlessness he showed at his peak and I think he really answered the bell on a number of occasions as a lyricist, ghostwriting allegations aside.

My thing is that the Drake I came to respect between 2013-2017 is long gone. I think Drake's breed of masculinity has grown toxic and problematic over time, his instrumental choices have gotten worse without 40 around as much, and his sense of what should and shouldn't make the tracklisting of an album has completely gone out the window during the streaming era. Perhaps worst of all, his hooks have gotten worse and those classic melodic singles that were a given during his heyday are harder to find on his newer projects.

Would the game miss him? I think it already does because the Drake that was such a complicated figure to process in 2016 disappeared years ago. He's become a caricature of himself. The industry would miss today's Drake, sure, but I don't think today's Drake all that closely resembles the creative mind that was so impactful on hip hop 10 years ago.

The one thing I will say is that he can clearly still rap at a high level, as this beef and Scary Hours 3 showed. He needs to find some really creative and forward-thinking producers who can shake up his sound and really make him sound hungry again, not just as a rapper but as a songwriter.

But most of all, I think he just needs a break. And now is as good a time as any.

Worldpremiere_

10mo

All in all this is factual.

He lost his sauce hard with a few glimpses of greatness but the consistency was lost around scorpion imo.

Worldpremiere_

10mo

All in all this is factual.

He lost his sauce hard with a few glimpses of greatness but the consistency was lost around scorpion imo.

Kengi

10mo

Never understood the point that "Drake made himself vulnerable". I dont see and hear it. Its more like what a toxic and gaslighting person might think being vulnerable is.

He never really exposed any insecurities about himself. It was more projected on his artistic persona but in the end of his stories he was the one that is "above" all the drama. Always too cool about it and having a last laugh about it.

Thats not what being vulnerable is and it always seemed quite childish to me.

Its obvious why it relates to people because its some kind of powerfantasy. Its when your girlfriend breaks up with you then drakes music makes you think you dont really care she didnt deserve you and youll find somebody better.