Would Drake Be As Popular As He Is If He Was Darkskin?

Aubrey "Drake" Graham has been the number 1 rapper for a decade plus, from his humble beginnings as the vulnerable lover boy who made his name with his first #1 hit "Best I Ever Had" to the figurehead of the biggest genre in the world, Drake has proven himself & his critics time and time again that his place at the top will be cemented until otherwise.

But music aside, a question that hasn't been frequently asked when it comes to the success Drake has accumulated, is his racial ambiguity.

Now this is not to say that Drake's success was solely because of his race, but colorism has never came up in a in-depth discussion when it comes to Rap/Hip-hop and how rappers are put into boxes by communities outside the culture because of the image of dark-skined rappers that is pushed & portrayed in the music industry.

That's why I want to pose a few points, using Drake's career as an example of the perception between image and race:

1. Upbringing:
One of the common criticisms early in Drake's career is his upbringing. Now this critique didn't gain traction until the aforementioned rapper released his hit song "Started From The Bottom." Where he detailed the popular rags to riches story which seems to be rapped from his perspective (as seen in the Music Video). Most people attribute this criticism to his time on the hit Canadian show "Degrassi" citing that he had a privileged childhood, which he addressed on the song "Two Birds One Stone." The question is, from the era he came from, would a darkskined rapper be given a pass if he made the same song while having the same background as Drake?

2. Vunerability:
Drake's ability to sing and rap has made him stand out above his lyrically dedicated peers and shine a light on his vulnerable side. People on social media have made jokes about how he makes tribute songs to the women he's been with and the women that left him heartbroken, citing it as a "lightskin" thing. Although there have been plenty of rappers before him that have made songs about love & heartbreak, he somewhat breaks mold by expressing his heartbreak in a relatable but deeply sensitive way, (a great example is his song "Marvin's Room") creating a complete opposite personality from his tough talk, egotistical persona. Question is, would a darkskined rapper be taken seriously if he made a song like Marvin's Room while maintaining a tough image in the late 00s to early 10s?

3. Versatility:
In recent years, Drake has branched out into different genres such a Drill rap, Pop music, Reggaeton, Trap music etc. But his most notorious era was his Dancehall phase and the rise of "Jamaican Drake". Now versatility isn't a bad thing for a rapper or an artist to explore in their music but the main problem of this era was Drake's fake accents and his alleged vulturing of the Dancehall Culture. Despite that, he managed to succeed in this era with the biggest highlight being his certified Diamond smash hit, "One Dance". While he is still currently collaborating with artists of different cultures, He recently has showcase his linguistic abilities in the song "Mia" Bad Bunny, by rapping in spanish. This definitely poses a question whether if a darkskined rapper would've gotten away with posing as another culture or being well received being featured on a song such as "Mia" which is beloved by the Spanish Community, the same community with underlying colorism issues.

If you read of all this, you might thinking "What about an artist like Kanye West? he fits some of these criteria." That's a great example yes, but it can be argued that West's antics & his blunt, against the grain image has superceded any questions about his personal life beyond relationships or the music he makes

Now with all of that said, the biggest question is; Would Drake be as successful as he is if he was dark-skined?

why did you write "this rapper" in the title we all knew who you were talking about

This rapper

LMAO

it should be

u wrote all that just to get ur thread locked in 3 minutes

op posted this at the worst time, CLB aphrodisiac is at an all-time high tonight

yes

watch CLB be like another 3/10 lol

hmm,I think he would've had it a lil harder but eh, he'd still be as popular

Darke wouldn't have gotten the role in degrassi so no.

I hope not but as long as Kanye is still living in his head rent free, then probably. We all saw what happened with Scorpion

OP slick not putting Drake in the title so the thread doesn’t get moved

his last song is literally just a kanye diss lol

ngl it's probably not even worth listening to

move to drake section

WALE IS DRAKE SO NOPE

Lol could’ve been a logic thread