can somebody explain his musical appeal??
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Drake
Tish-The-Scorpion — 16 years ago(November 01, 2009 10:44 PM)
i heard people say things like he's bringing something new to the game. but i heard his EP and shrugged it off and thought it was nothing special, just another pop rapper going auto-tune crazy.am i missing something?serious question.
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movnongrownup87 — 16 years ago(March 02, 2010 12:29 PM)
If all you heard was the EP with the 5 songs i'd tell you to listen to the whole "So Far Gone" the one with 15 songs because they left out all the good songs from the mixtape on that EP imo.. if thats the one you heard I don't know what to tell you, everyone's opinions are different
I like him because I can relate to what he's talking about, and I like the sound its not like what we've been hearing like I tried listening to J.Cole the other day (who everyone keeps comparing Drake too) and I couldn't relate, it was way too hard to me and what he was talking about meant nothing to me.. -
Massscot — 16 years ago(March 03, 2010 12:46 PM)
He is fusing rnb and rap in a way that no other rapper has done before.. He talks about things one can relate to and he has got a rap persona that we're not used to in rap. He's the rich mulatto who never really struggled in life financially, so he discusses pursuing fame and struggling with the hardships in trying to get to fame Basically he's a breath of fresh air.
He's not a messiah, he's not the best rapper alive, he's not yet bringing classic material.. He's just something the game needs, because the rap scene is getting very stale at the moment..
A lot of people give him WAAAY more hype and props than he deserves IMO. He's a dope artist but he has a lot still to prove.. J. Cole can't be compared to Drake at all, because they rap from two totally different perspectives.. That's like comparing Kanye West to Nas.. Both are amazing artists but you just can't compare them.
J. Cole is a bit too rough around the edges IMO, whereas Drake is more of a developed artist. Cole needs a lot more maturity and he needs to form his lane in rap more clearer. It's too much generic topics that have been discussed to death, and a style that is very familiar for the average rap listener (while Drakes on the other hand is pretty fresh).. He is definitely a first class lyricist but that's not enough if he wants to be relevant and remembered.
Don't stare at me you sorry hoe, I know you've went down more pipes than Super Mario -
movnongrownup87 — 16 years ago(March 03, 2010 01:44 PM)
after hearing J.Cole's mixtape I didn't understand the comparisons eitherhe's not singing, he's not talking about relationships the same way, something tells me they're being compared because they're both young, decent looking, light skinned males which is soooo stupid if their music sounds nothing alike!
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Massscot — 16 years ago(March 05, 2010 11:41 AM)
You need to take a reading comprehension course. I never said fusing rap and rnb had never been done before, I said it hadn't been fused in the way Drake did.
I knew some schmuck would come and make a Bone Thugs remark.
Don't stare at me you sorry hoe, I know you've went down more pipes than Super Mario -
Tish-The-Scorpion — 16 years ago(March 05, 2010 12:45 PM)
He talks about things one can relate to and he has got a rap persona that we're not used to in rap. He's the rich mulatto who never really struggled in life financially, so he discusses pursuing fame and struggling with the hardships in trying to get to fame
no offense, but how in the double barreled, chrome plated, fuel injection, limited edition hell is that relatable to hip-hop's core audience??, you have essentially shown me he's not talking about anything. to a lesser degree you more or less said he's popular because he's not too black and threatening. -
Massscot — 16 years ago(March 05, 2010 01:33 PM)
Who is the core hip hop audience? Is it the street thugs, is it the kids in the ghetto, is it minorities in general, is it suburban whites? Who is it?
That's one of the biggest problems with todays rap, people like you putting these barriers and borders to narrow the definition of what hip hop is. You evidently know jack sh!t about who or what rap is aimed at. Kanye West is an average joe who grew up middle class but he has 2 classic hip-hop albums. Eminem is a whiteboy who grew up both in the suburbs of detroit and in detroit. He has 2 classic hip-hop albums. Beastie Boys were jewish punk-rock influenced rappers who released a classic album. So I ask again, who is the core?? None of these artist probably fit your description of the "core" hip-hop audience.
But rap is beyond your mindstate and it's beyond your feeble borders. Anyone and I literally mean ANYONE, who really has the heart and the skill to do genuinely dope hip-hop, CAN make it. Rap is not exclusive to a group of people, rap is universal. Rappers tour around the world and sell out shows in every corner of the world, the world is the core hip-hop fanbase.
With that said, what sets these rappers apart - what SHOULD set these rapper apart - is that they all show bits and pieces of themselves, that they represent a new and unprecedented part of hip-hop. Drake is the upper class dreamer who shows us that the sun doesn't always shine in paradise. He has dreams and he has pressure to reach his goals.. He paints his picture, a picture no one has painted in hip-hop. He's not the second coming but he IS hip-hop.
Don't stare at me you sorry hoe, I know you've went down more pipes than Super Mario -
movnongrownup87 — 16 years ago(March 05, 2010 01:36 PM)
I like that Drakes "7ec;struggles" are relatable life is hard to him (its hard for everybody!)but not in the same way, its nice to hear, its not relatable to "hip-hop's core audience" (i'm assuming you mean the "hood"? which is a bad stereotype anyway) and thats the point- he is bringing a new school of rap that doesn't need to talk about how hard life is from the perspective of poverty and crime, theres so much more..and he is talking about something, he's talking about his own success and love and failing at it and sex, anyone can relate to that so it's not closing out the core audience its just broadening who the audience is.
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Tish-The-Scorpion — 16 years ago(March 06, 2010 10:31 AM)
oh god, ok let me disect this..
Who is the core hip hop audience? Is it the street thugs, is it the kids in the ghetto, is it minorities in general, is it suburban whites? Who is it?
political correctness aside it's usually working class, low to middle icome blacks and latinos. There's also plenty of white kids whom are from said class as well
That's one of the biggest problems with todays rap, people like you putting these barriers and borders to narrow the definition of what hip hop is.
hip-hop has multiple sub-genres pop rap being one of them. i'm not trying to narrow down what hip-hop is. the nmainstream is already doing that. a lot of periphery demographics (and record labels) came in and started trying to narrow the definition to fit them as well. so lets not play this game
You evidently know jack sh!t about who or what rap is aimed at.
oh really?
Kanye West is an average joe who grew up middle class but he has 2 classic hip-hop albums.
his music is inteligent though, and has a lot of socio-political under/overtones.
Eminem is a whiteboy who grew up both in the suburbs of detroit and in detroit. He has 2 classic hip-hop albums. Beastie Boys were jewish punk-rock influenced rappers who released a classic album. So I ask again, who is the core?? None of these artist probably fit your description of the "core" hip-hop audience.
ummm music wise yes they do fit.go listen to eminem's "white america". and i actually loved the beastie boys during the 80's.
But rap is beyond your mindstate and it's beyond your feeble borders.
because i say blacks and latino's are hip-hop's core audience you think that means there's some type of boarder? so me pointing out the obvious means i have a feeble mindhhmmmhip-hop has no boarders it only appears as boarders to people who perefere diluted music so it's more accessible to them. so your trying to twist this around into being about boarders. because people say death metal shouldn't be light in tone doesn't mean they're trying to put up boarders. i don't get your logic, if they really liked the genre/subgenre then they would like it as is.
Anyone and I literally mean ANYONE, who really has the heart and the skill to do genuinely dope hip-hop, CAN make it. Rap is not exclusive to a group of people, rap is universal. Rappers tour around the world and sell out shows in every corner of the world, the world is the core hip-hop fanbase.
rap is actually not universal, no music genre is ever truly universal. there are cultural barriers. but unlike you i don't think that's inherently bad. people shouldn't have to dilute their culture just so it's easier for outsiders to swallow. for instance jeff (aka cousin jeff) from BET went to south africa and the radio DJ asks him how come american rappers aren't talking about anything, why aren't they discussing about important stuff. basically the rest of the world can also fall into hip-hop's core audience as well. the commonality being the class divide, and instituitionalizerd racism, and poverty, including but not limited to, rebeliousness, and anti-establishment. you suppose to be against the system not
BECOME
the system.
With that said, what sets these rappers apart - what SHOULD set these rapper apart - is that they all show bits and pieces of themselves,
of course
that they represent a new and unprecedented part of hip-hop. Drake is the upper class dreamer who show5b4s us that the sun doesn't always shine in paradise.
what you don't understand is that at the end of the day it's still paradise, it could get much worse for him.
He has dreams and he has pressure to reach his goals.. He paints his picture, a picture no one has painted in hip-hop. He's not the second coming but he IS hip-hop.
actually i never said he wasn't hip hop, i said how in the hell does his music relate to hip-hop's core audience. -
NYMike8818 — 12 years ago(September 18, 2013 08:12 PM)
95% of Drake's songs are about love, relationships, romance, looking for connection, missing ex-girlfriends, etc. how many rappers do that? how many rappers SING? how many rappers have made a song where they admit to being rejected/ignored by a girl? staring at their phone waiting for her to call or text back? how many rappers show ANY KIND of vulnerability? Drake gets MADE FUN OF by "hardcore" and old school hip hop heads because he approaches hip hop ( a genre normally defined by bravado, womanizing, drugging and thugging, poverty, etc.) from the perspective of a sensitive R&B singer yearning for love.
every rapper no matter how deep or intelligent their music, no matter how catchy or radio friendly or "street" their music, for the most part ALL rap about the same thing. Drugs, sex, getting money, cars, partying, popping bottles in the club, having any woman they want, not caring about women, getting famous, etc. Does drake rap/sing about some of those things as well? Sure. He needs to in order to "fit in". But in many songsda0 he admits all of those material things really are meaningless without someone to enjoy them with. He makes music the average person can relate to because normal 9 to 5 guys know what its like to worry about getting ONE GIRL to like them and drake despite all his fame and cash seems to have the same worries/struggles/ things on his mindgetting the love of ONE GIRL.
the average white kid or suburban raised kid (of any race) knows nothing of selling drugs, being in a gang, etc. they drive around in their 97 honda bumping Dre, Game, Jay-Z, Nas, Mobb Deep, Wu Tang, DMX, 50 Centthey can appreciate the lyricism but can they REALLY relate to the music. Sure the common street thug who does that stuff can relate to being run down by the cops, holding a dead friend's body in their hands, owning a gun, selling coke, banging twenty different baby mommas, etcbut the average kid who goes to school everyday and comes home to a home cooked meal from mommy and daddy knows nothing of this life. What rapper can THIS kid REALLY relate to? DRAKE. Why? Because Drake's music (other than his mentions of fame and money) speaks about stuff the average male goes through EVERYDAY.
Drake music mirrors and effects MY LIFE and the life of so many males because Drake is the only rapper I CAN THINK not only of this generation but of ANY generation who puts the trials and tribulations of love and relationships (especially the negative side when you DONT get the girl) in most of his songs. Again, he makes "romantic-emo" hip hop from the perspective of a love obsessed hopeless romantic and many "hard", "never love a woman" type of men call Drake "gay" or "soft" for that but the reality is 90% of men are not out there womanizing and "gettin money" non stop. They are obsessing over THAT ONE GIRL (as unhealthy as they may be) and Drake's whole musical repertoire seems to revolve around this concept and a generation of young men can relate to it.