believe the hype: drake.
“feelin’ good, feelin’ great/how you, though?/bet you hear my name every single place that you go…”
to most people that consider themselves hip-hop purists, drake looks awful on paper. strike one: he sings about as well and about as often as he raps. strike two: he’s a former-child-actor. strike three: he’s a preternaturally-good-looking dude, and not just by rapper standards. case in point: nas has a chipped tooth. biggie was a fat dude with a lazy eye that would even make thom yorke wince. and let’s face it; cam’ron was absolutely right when he said jay-z looks like joe camel. don’t try to conceal the obvious; the rap game’s always had a silent prejudice against pretty boys.
so, what do we make of drake, the man born aubrey graham and made semi-famous as jimmy brooks (degrassi, stand up!)? i mean, i’m sure you’ve read of his musical pedigree (pops worked with jerry lee lewis, uncle is the legendary teenie hodges), i’m sure you heard the rumors that he signed to lil’ wayne’s young money imprint, and i’m sure you’ve heard a lot of the hoopla over so far gone, the stellar mixtape released in february. now that you’ve heard all of those things about him, have you formed an opinion on him? if not, read the title of this post again. i’m about to tell you why.
“my song is your girlfriend’s waking up ringer/or alarm, or whatever”
the first thing you’ll likely notice upon your first listen to so far gone is that it’s not a mixtape on the level of a bar exam or a we got it for cheap; you know, raw-ass MC’s going hard over mostly the grittiest beats they could find. not so far gone; the lion’s share of guests on the tape are R&B a-listers: lloyd, trey songz, and omarion are all featured prominently. and surely it’s no coincidence that drake’s best-known songs are “lust for life,” “best i ever had,” and “successful,” which capture the feel of urban radio right now, for better or worse (not saying that either of those songs are bad at all).
“and me doin’ a show is gettin’ everyone nervous/’cause them hipsters gonna have to get along with them hood niggas…”
of course, given the cosmopolitanism of music nowadays, of course most artists are going to try to make things a little hipster-friendly if they can. in this instance, drizzy turns to the swedes, recording remakes of lykke li’s “little bit” and peter bjorn & john’s “let’s call it off”, offering his smooth tenor– and in the latter case, a sing-song rap verse– to the mainstream-alternative singles. “unstoppable” featuring genre-hopper santigold, fares a little less well, with a limp hook from ms. white and a bouncy beat that’s way better suited for lil’ wayne (who delivers star-quality verses on this and and a handful of other tracks on so far gone).
“the game needs change, and i’m the motherfuckin’ cashier…”
and i suppose this post wouldn’t be worth writing at all if not for this one important detail: drake really can spit. last week, drake hit new york city, had funkmaster flex dropping bombs like drake was jay-z in 1998, and had the entire city in the palm of his hand. on so far gone, drizzy weaves in-and-out of his rap verses with the confidence of a seasoned veteran, punctuating his bravado with the pathos of someone who has actually seen how success ruins those who strive for it. like the last MC to gain BTH honors, wale, there is an apparent sense of self-awareness that undercuts even his heaviest boasts: “she’d be here six in the morn if i let her/but i never get attracted to fans/’cause the eager beaver could be the collapse of a dam…” over “say what’s real,” drake’s near-legendary turn over the beat for kanye’s “say you will,” he spits about his eyes hurting from the flash of camera phones, his mother thinking that driving a rolls royce phantom is a bit premature at this stage in his career, and him seeing his “ex girl, standing with [his] next girl, standing with the girl that [he’s] fucking right now.” and then, he offers the wink: “and shit could get weird, unless they’re all down.”
“understand, i could get money with my eyes closed/lost some of my hottest verses down in cabo/so, if you find a blackberry with the sidescroll/sell that mufucka to any rapper that i know…”
.ZIP: drake- so far gone.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:26 am
Seriously, I JUST had this discussion with someone. I didnt wanna like the guy, but he does everything well. And if someone can make me like slower tempo songs, there has to be some talent there. Its amazing that he actually has the biggest buzz of anyone at the moment. They play his mixtape songs ON THE RADIO! Like I heard him 3 times in the span of 2 hours. And I live in CHICAGO. XXL, it appears the artist with the biggest buzz didnt even make the cover. Shame……
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:35 am
Didn’t DJ Drama tweet that? LOL. I feel you, though, Ludo. I didn’t wanna like him, either, but the proof is in the pudding. Y’all extra-light-skinned cats are about to have the game on smash! HAHAHA.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:54 am
You really think Drake is as good as Wale?
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:55 am
I just cannot feel this dude, i was put off by him at first but then people i respected started boasting him, still didn’t get it. Even when the true head dart adams gave so far gone a recommendation i tried, but damn, i just don’t hear it. So far gone sounds like a wayne mixtape where this dude rapped wayne’s lyrics and wayne sat back and smoked blunts or something. He clearly doesn’t appeal to my hip-hop aesthetics and I admit he is better than most mainstream rappers..shit maybe I’m just being too idealistic but if this cat blows up (along with vomit inducing Asher Roth) i may just give up on the idea of a hip-hop renaissance.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:12 pm
i actually just gave this tape a listen yesterday, been sleeping on new rap in general. i’m not completely sold on the guy at this point — i think he could definitely refine his flow, kinda similar to how i feel about Wale’s style — but you’re right that “Say Whats Real” is dope. a bunch of the rest of the tape gave off a kinda sub-”808s” vibe to me though.
and yeah, Wayne murders the “Ignorant Shit” beat on here. was happy to hear that
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Danny: Of course I don’t think he’s as good as Wale; I was just pointing out that they share the same penchant for self-analysis, which I really enjoy. As far as these new-ish rappers go, Wale and Jay Electronica are in a class all by themselves. Everyone else, no matter how dope they are, is playing catch-up.
Curt: I totally understand where you’re coming from, for the most part. He’s clearly, CLEARLY a mainstream rapper, and there’s no way to get around that. I mean, it’s obvious that’s he’s courting the mainstream, but at the same time, the kid really IS dope. Have you listened to “Say What’s Real” or “Ignant Shit”? Those are Verse of the Year contenders! Did you know that Wayne has been rapping “November 18th” at his shows?
Trey: Wayne’s verse on “Ignant Shit” is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the best thing he’s done since Drought 3, Carter III included (and I really liked Carter III).
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Drake’s verse only “Ignorant Shit” is on point, but how many times has that beat been murdered, you know as well as I that Nickel Nine put that beat to rest on Bar Exam II.
Agree with Trey, his flow could use some refining. I don’t hear much of a voice, just a dude who listened to a lot of Wayne and Royce lately.
Agree about Wale and Jay Elec. there at the top of the class in the new school but I really hope they can release an LP this year. I’d throw Blu in there too, his body of work is impressive for a youngin’.
What about that new-sih Termanology mixtape, “Circulate” is some of the most vicious flowing I’ve heard in awhile.
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Yeah, I understand that the beat has been used 100 times, but Drake and Weezy firebombed that shit. As far as Drake’s flow, I think it’s capable, and it serves as a solid conduit for what he’s saying. I can’t get mad at him for knowing what sounds universal. For instance: Jay’s beat-riding in Reasonable Doubt is leagues better than Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life, but the latter sold five million.
Yeah, I like Blu a lot. That mixtape he just dropped (as well as some song I heard with him over a Dilla beat) has been getting a lot of play here at Fresh Cherries HQ, but he’s not yet on the level of Wale and Jay Elect. To me, Wale is the complete MC, and Jay is just fucking out of the stratosphere. Some of these other new dudes are nice, but they still need fine-tuning. Those two came fully-formed out of the gate, IMO.
The only Termanology joint I can fully co-sign is “Watch How It Go Down”. Everything else reminds me of a field trip to Microsoft; technically fascinating, but still quite boring.
April 24th, 2009 at 4:43 am
Ha! That’s exactly what “Circulate” is; technical as it gets, but about nothing.
Btw, Shadowboxers is on repeat on my ipod. I’m walking around campus giggling like a girl over Zilla’s lines.