Brand New
It’s Caribana weekend at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, Canada, and the crowd is taking their time to find seating in a venue housing 16,000 guests. Tonight, Drake’s fans mostly comprise hipsters, fashionistas, and other ’80s-trend reviving youth. There were three opening acts: a young, male R&B singer who can be mistaken for Drake’s long-lost sibling; a band, Francis & the Lights (of whose song-writing Drake is allegedly a huge fan); and two unknown rappers who left the stage just as quickly as they took it. The opening acts gave their all to the eager beavers, though irrespective of their dedication, the crowd did not pay much attention. It was clear that the appetizers were to be skipped tonight.
Much discussion among Hip Hop fans, heads, and media alike revolves around the former Degrassi actor and present Young Money marvel. Questions whether Mr. Aubrey Graham is good enough to carry the weight of Hip Hop’s future on his shoulders, whether his lyrical capabilities live up to his huge hype, and whether he is the next best thing since your Nike Shox, are often left unanswered, falling under the “wait and see” category. I too, found myself posing the same questions. I like Drake as much as his biggest fan, yet like his critic, I lack the excitement. Ah, the paradox.
This year’s Caribana weekend is just what Torontonians needed after the highly publicized and controversial G8 Summit protests and riots sparked at end of June, teasing the city’s otherwise-swell reputation. Caribana 2010 festivities also correspond with the Civic Holiday, making for one hot long-weekend for which girls pre-planned the short outfits months before. It is also the weekend in which Toronto sees about a million visitors enter its blazing gates for Caribana festivities, and it is the weekend in which rappers seek to find shows in a city that is guarantee to provide world’s most gorgeous groupies.
After an hour or so of people watching, I was happy to see New York’s DJ Cipha Sounds hit the ones and twos. My ears were ready to be blessed with Tunnel-era staples from Notorious B.I.G., Rakim and Nas, to the Wu-Tang Clan, LL Cool J, Mobb Deep and Jay-Z. As the crowd was settling in and ready to get the party started, Cipha Sounds also got his party started with Black Eyed Peas’, “I Got a Feeling.” And that feeling tonight, was far from New York. Southern beats quickly erupted – complete with their own dance moves – as “Teach Me How to Dougie,” “Stanky Leg,” “Chicken Noodle Soup,” and “Jerk” detonated through the speakers, offending my sound buds without an apology. It was apparent that Cipha Sounds knew how to rock a crowd, and surely, that entails knowing your crowd. So what do “Stanky Leg” loyalists have to do with Drizzy Drake, who is too North of the South to introduce crowds to languid dance steps fully equipped with instructional YouTube videos?
Replacement Boy
Perhaps the youth can relate to the Young Money superstar who at 24 years old managed to attach himself to the contractual hip of one of the most lucrative Hip Hop artists: Lil Wayne. Perhaps this is the new generation of superstars, who choose creativity over tradition, optimism over pessimism, and behavioral freedoms over cultural constraints. These are the youth who are lax with sex, and rapid to self-start businesses. They appear more guarded from genuine emotion than any previous generation Hip Hop has witnessed thus far – or perhaps, that is the facade given off, as this is the generation who eagerly and religiously welcomes Drake’s love-themed hooks and rhymes. These are the coffee shop hipsters who opposite to their predecessors choose action over grumble. And this is the generation that is well dressed, increasingly well-rounded, and quick to offer a smile.
The new cohort of inspired, imaginative and resourceful youth chose Drake as their pictogram, who smoothly embodies all of the above. He is everything the current image of a rapper is not. Drake has no tattoos. Drake smiles. Drake’s energy is positive. Drake wears no sunglasses during (most) interviews. Drake doesn’t wear heavy chains merely because he can afford them. Drake wears dress shirts, heather tees and woven sweaters. Drake can be the poster boy for H&M on any given Monday, Wednesday and Sunday. Drake brings his mother to award shows. It is easy to see that Drake breaks borders of Hip Hop’s stereotypes just as his followers break away from pre-disposed cultural expectations, constraints, and obligations. Ladies and gentleman, Hip Hop may be entering an era of individualism.
But there is more. As opposed to the often monotone delivery and habitually serious face expressions seen on many Hip Hop artists controlling the stage, Drake’s facial language, if not awkward, is certainly entertaining. From spasmatic smiles to surprised and serious affects, Mr. Graham confidently shows off his dramatic skills acquired from playing Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation, a basketball star who became physically disabled after a shooting in the back. Throughout the show, Brooks discovered his artistic talents; through recording, Drake discovered a way to a fan’s heart: via their feelings.
“Find Your Love” 
, the title of Drake’s single, is engraved on many tank tops and tees, worn both by males and females within the crowd. Flirting with love could be Drake’s M.O.; he easily alternates between heartfelt R&B tracks to sentimentally induced “Best I Ever Had,” “Teach U A Lesson,” and “Missin’ You.” For those who long for the sentiment Hip Hop used to offer, Drake is that dude. Does he contribute something new? Perhaps not quite, as plethora of artists from LL Cool J to Ghostface Killah meddled with topics of romance, relationships and regrets. Does Aubrey offer a replacement to the present-day ego-enabled cold cuts? Rotationally bland songs which hit the radio with the same monotony as their theme-less, purposeless, and insipid videos? Absolutely.
Where To Now
When analyzing artists, and Hip Hop in general, it is of paramount importance to remember that Hip Hop is a culture. As any with any other culture, it has its own language, attire, music, political aspirations, art, community work, and often overlooked history. Similarly, it evolves, changes, and progresses in ways in which its predecessors – as with any other culture – may not agree with. Just as our parents may not understand, accept, and promote individualistic expressions by means of tattoos, piercings, and career paths laced with artistic aspirations, the ’80s and early to mid-’90s Hip Hop generations may not understand, accept, and welcome similar creative endeavors such as persistent use of Auto-Tune, Pop-ish beats, and simplified songwriting.
Cultural advances are anthropological truths, and almost always, there are individuals at the forefront of change, carrying evolutionary torches. Perhaps the most obvious example is the present-day United States political precedent set in by a half-black President. While America herself has matured enough to elect a black President, it is America herself that instigated the change; it was not President Barack Obama. Obama however, is the face of the social movement. The ideological change shift itself, is the movement. In similar form and fashion, the likes of KiD CuDi, J. Cole, and Drake, are the faces of the Hip Hop’s cultural change.
This transformation in Hip Hop music can be also noted by Drake’s choice in guest appearances. Bun B, Young Jeezy, Fabolous, and Rick Ross each took the stage, igniting the cell phone flashes and inciting the Torontonian crowd to repeat every single line word by word. It is natural that the youth are showing love to Drake – after all, he is city bound. But why are Canadian hipsters losing themselves in Southern’s finest? Perhaps it’s Jeezy’s smile behind the empowering stage slogans such as “keep yo’ head up and your chest out,” or “’cause if you like it homie, I motherfucking love it.” Perhaps it’s Rick Ross’ chains, adding gleam to stage lights. Or perhaps, it’s Bun B’s slang that makes us Northerners recall just how boring our accents can be, despite the overemphasized “ehs,” “aboots,” and random British-induced pronunciations.
Whatever the Northern attraction to the dirty South may be, one thing is clear: Hip Hop evolved into a multidimensional, multifaceted culture which cannot be neither controlled nor contained within geographical borders, and more importantly, within particular ideas.
About The Game
Although Hip Hop culture transgresses borders and ideological predispositions, at the same time, the unification and synergy within the industry itself cannot be ignored. The cohesiveness, unification and unspoken understanding and shared love – such as that found in religious communities – amongst heads, journalists, artists, producers, promoters, fans, deejays, and radio hosts alike, places Hip Hop culture in an arena in which many other cultures, never have touched, and will perhaps never come close to touching. Church leaders, for example, may preach out of the same bibles, but churches themselves segregate communities through taxonomy of race, economics, and territorial locations. The same can be said for mosques, political parties, and even academic institutions. But not with Hip Hop, and not tonight where the crowd itself is as diverse as the nail polish colors oh so carefully painted on each lady with opened toe shoes and a dangerously short dress. Long way from baggy pants and afro picks.
In addition to global fan fusion, the unifying energy of Hip Hop extends artist-to-artist, despite the irritating and deceitful propaganda alluding otherwise. Synchronization of ideas, the blend between old, new and in-between, the creation of friendships, relationships and classic music itself can be witnessed throughout the current umbrella of Hip Hop music. For example, Kanye West helped carry the game to where it is now, not only by means heartfelt samples, but also through enlisting love songs, Auto-Tune, and tight (jeans) beats. In addition, Mr. West executive produced Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 (which ironically has the “Death of Auto-Tune” planted as the third track in a sequence of business collaborations, Jay-Z’s classic storytelling – even if the story changed – and inspirational jawns.) While Kanye may be labeled “progressive,” Jay is a middle ground between the classic approach and the changing topical range: some call it growth; others, selling out. No matter what you call it, Jay’s artistic patterns are as versatile as his vocabulary. This is the artist who can jump on a DJ Premier beat while collaborating with – and emulating even – Lil Wayne. And in turn, Weezy F. Baby is responsible for Nicki Minaj. Granted, many do not understand what the self-proclaimed Barbie Doll is doing in the front of the mic; however, she flawlessly jumped on Usher’s “Little Freak,” a man who created hit tracks with both Jay and Drake. One may call these overlapping collaborations successful business ventures; fair enough. But a hit single is usually not produced without fantastic synergy.
Back to tonight, Drake is that face of Hip Hop’s unity (collaborations include anyone from Alicia Keys and Trey Songz to Eminem, Rick Ross and T.I.) and musical synergy. These collaborative trends occurring in the music certainly juxtapose the fend-for-self orthodoxy that plagued the industry for the last decade (at least).
Light Up
Such collaborative ventures certainly brighten Drizzy’s world, shaping him into the kind of performer many artists only strive to be. Drake’s stage energy is grand. He is the only rapper I have seen who gets off on his own music – on stage – living and reliving every beat, every lyric, and every undertone. The show is extravagant, stimulating, and surprising, much like Drake’s entire Hip Hop career has been thus far. He has a somewhat thoughtful intro to every track, and a live band accompanying him –including an electric guitarist. Hip Hop artists are present-day Rock stars more than the Rock stars themselves. And the show is a hypnotizing dream: spectacular illumination, an energetic and patriotic Torontonian crowd, and actual fireworks popping off on cue during “Fireworks” . Resembling Santa Clause more than a mere rapper tonight, Drake now adds the hometown’s Kardinal Offishall to the list of tricks and treats.
The man who gives name dropping a tangible meaning keeps raving about the beauty in Toronto’s women. To prove his point and amuse himself, Drake invited a lady from the audience with thick thighs, long brown hair and a gleam in her eye, to join him on stage while he serenades her in his own Drizzy way (first by asking her if she is of legal age), a tease of a massage, followed by a slow dance. Tonight’s show certainly differed from Rakim’s set in Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre only weeks ago. Despite energetic delivery laced with words of wisdom, Rakim’s show did not offer flashy lights coupled with the drunken affect Drake brought to the stage. It was clear, that just a couple weeks ago, Toronto’s Hip Hop fans were breathing the air of the ’90s, while tonight, 2010 creeped up without an apology, and without a warning.
The Resistance
Fans, artists, critics and media alike disparage, ridicule and offer on a don’t-need-to know basis their opinion which often describes the “current state of Hip Hop.” Hip Hop writers and journalists love to solicit artist’s opinions on the present “conditions” of the music. As though Hip Hop is a state, a condition, a trend which its followers and believers alike are expected to grow out of. Not for nothing, I was guilty of asking the question myself, without realizing that Hip Hop is a culture, its music leaving the nay-sayers with three options, and three options only. Change, accept, or leave (shout out to Echkart Tolle and The Power of Now).
To change the current direction of commercial music involves taking action as opposed to releasing on rotation fruitless bicker and blubber. Anything from supporting artists by purchasing albums (as opposed to downloading without paying dues) to contacting media stations and requesting play of particular tracks/videos. And while at it, why not write to video directors themselves, and remind them that alcohol, cash, and “hoes” do not equate to creativity, originality, or ability to evoke authentic emotion. The second option is to accept the status-quo, enjoy the artists with whom one relates and appreciates at the moment (shout out to J. Cole, Jay-Z and Eminem), without paying play to those failing short. The last option is to just let go of Hip Hop, as though it’s a pair of jeans you were able to fit into when you were 17 and rocking cornrows. However, for most fans, those jeans still fit…
Perhaps the most obvious rants are retirement roll calls witnessed by jaded and annoyed rappers, both up-and-coming and vets alike. Just as fans do, rappers often become annoyed with the “present state of Hip Hop,” and their grievances that include anything from tight jeans and Lil Wayne to the lack of conceptual music and Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne’s not complaining however, as Wayne is doing Wayne; more so, Wayne does it for his fans. Those who are not his fans however, are free to explore other artists, and with the ease of the Internet, conduct research on rappers from today, the ’90s, the ’80s, and the ’70s. In addition, Hip Hop music is so multifaceted, that one is guaranteed to find the stroke that rocks their boat. This can be done without resistance, and without the futile attempt to prevent the culture from evolving and taking its natural course – whatever that natural course may be.
The views and opinions expressed in the above feature editorial are those expressly of the writer of this piece and do not necessarily reflect those of HipHopDX.
No Image No Gimmicks Just Banging Ass Music
I Love M I A Music and Ent presents $WonDough$
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia
I couldn’t finish reading this; the author was too firmly saddled on Drake’s jock.
Hip Hoppers dressing well, being positive-minded and smiling did not start with Drake. Like what?
I can tell the person who wrote this hasn’t been around Hip Hop much. Especially in the underground, where innovation is always goin down.
exactly, she has no knowledge of the hip hop culture or its past.
she sounds like a groupie. its unbelievable
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia
No Image No Gimmicks Just Banging Ass Music
I Love M I A Music and Ent presents $WonDough$
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia
agree with Mike Twain totally. Man whoever wrote this should just give Drake the ring and propose because obviously they are in LOVE..LOL. Not hating on Drake at all..he’s a talented MC and artist but…come on.. did his publicist write this?
Jay Electronica, J. Cole and Blu are hands down better newcomers than Drake. More news on them would be a lot better than hearing about this “hybrid artist” that sung his way into the charts and gets mad when people don’t take him serious lyrically. Next.
*sigh* We’ll let longevity decide this.
I’m glad no one was flabbergasted in the fanciness of this article. The face of hip-hop will be someone like Jay Electronica or J. Cole…someone of that stature..fuck this singing shit
She’s from Toronto, what do you expect. Toronto hardly sees anyone bring that American appeal to their city. Snow? Maestro? Choclair? Kardinal? LOL
We just need some1 that can straight rap. Enough with this 2010 bullshit. Music has no year.
it’s okay that drake softened up his music to appeal to the masses. that’s what you’re supposed to do if u wanna go commercial. jay elec, j cole, they gotta sing if they wan a number 1 hit…drake is not afraid to sing thats the difference
rappers have sang on hooks Years before Drake came along. Eminem, Outkast, 2pac, Slick Rick, Kanye West etc.
Drake is not a first at anything!! hes not even a great singer he can’t hit a note for shit. know your history
u really have no ideal about wat ur talkin about do u. drake is nowhere near a good artist and def not the first to bring positive energy i think older groups like nappy roots would have a problem with that.
I agree with most of what the author said. However I think Drake is trying too hard to sell records and not focusing enough on his music. When he first started putting out songs I loved them. I had enormous respect for him the first time I heard Fear. However somewhere along the lines he fell in too deep with Young Money and started having less and less substance in his music. For example Thank Me Later was completely screwed up. About half the album was great and the other half was all filler. Hell a lot of the songs on his mixtapes where better than what was on his album. Now he’s doing an R&B mixtape? Wtf? I get that he’s trying to be different and stand out, and I think a couple R&B tracks on his HIP-HOP albums would be great. But a whole mixtape? Come on man. He said he went back and listened to Nas to get inspired for TML. He obviously didn’t listen to Nas enough. He’s got incredible potential but he’s going in the wrong direction. And why did he bring Rick Ross on stage? Ross is about as fake as it gets. What happened to valuing honesty? I’m sure I heard that a few times in his lyrics. Fabolous is okay I mean I loved his first few albums and even Loso’s Way was good. Bun B is holdin it down for the south. Young Jeezy has his moments too. I have respect for those guys but why Ross? Drake can do better than that.
I am amazed at the level of hate Rick Ross receives for being fake. The man is an entertainer. He weaves a good yarn. People buy his albums because they enjoy the story he crafts. Whether that story is really about him or he is simply the author of a great fiction are irrelevant as long as he tells a story that people want to hear. So when someone says Drake could do better than having one of the most popular recording artists in the industry right now come on stage with him I question that.
It seems simplistic that because he is not really a gangster that he is not honest. He plays up a criminal past using a pseudonym, he sells what we all want to hear. A good story of struggle and success. It’s why we enjoy Scarface and any number of gangster films, they intrigue us and entertain us.
What did you really think Ross knew Noreaga, the real Noreaga? Do you feel he duped you? I just don’t understand the unfounded hatred you are spewing.
Carnivore
Rick Ross dosn’t speak about NO struggle in his songs all he basically says is he loves money, sells drugs and talks about his clothes. thats NOT a story thats bullshit. when it was revealed that Rick Ross was really a C.O. back in the day he STILL said he was it was a lie when there was PROOF he really was. Thats not honesty thats FAKE hes completly delusional if he thinks hes a Druglord.
and its not hating when you have a opinion! learn that.
Mylie
I think you missed the entire point of my statement. If you do not like the man’s music by all means you deserve the right to hate it and never listen to it. But my point is that Rick Ross is a character created by William Leonard Roberts II. William was a C.O. but his character that he created is a drug kingpin. In fact he didn’t even really create it he just brought it mainstream and used the charisma and talent he had to make a living for himself.
Essentially I’m saying rap is like the WWE.These guys don’t want to get shot, or have to go to jail. Being entrepreneurial black males the penal system is always trying to hold them down of course, but they don’t desire that. They want to tell their stories on wax and collect the paycheck so they can live like rock stars. They are no more fake than The Rock…the only difference is they play their characters out in real life a lot to build reputations and create an aura.
That is not to say some of the people in rap did not come from a rough past. But even though he has been shot 9 times 50 Cent has no desire to currently live the thug life. But it does not make 50 Cent a better entertainer because his past is more legitimate than Ross’s. Early 50 was hungry and you could feel an angst to succeed and make it big, Early Ross had the same feel. Now whether these guys entertain you is a whole different concept and I certainly respect your opinion.
Wu-Tang went quadruple platinum off of RAW SHIT….WTF ARE YOU TALKIN ABOUT..
Ya back in the day when hip hop was hard, I’d love to see them try that now.
I am afraid the nuance of this excellent article has been lost on almost all of the commenting parties below.
This was an excellent article. When I peruse this site I see a whole lot of hatred being spewed at artists for doing certain things. Drake is making the music he likes, and I cannot hate the artist for making his art. If I don’t enjoy it I pay it no mind. I think some of the haters on the comment board would be much less stressed if they just let go of their negative energy.
A weak opinionated Bitch wrote this, big surprise.
Women Ruin Music
Misogyny breeds a culture of hate.
Chauvinism is a real issue and your absurd hateful comment is just that.
People like you ruin society
Your unfounded statement and dubious title don’t really deserve a response. But I wonder. How do people like me, a guy you have never met before, ruin society?
I mean we can see where a society that marginalizes women is messed up. We need look no further than radical religious sects that beat and stone women if they say one word to any man besides their husband.
But how does a guy who enjoys hip hop and makes valid substantiated responses ruin society?
Carnivore I was refering to the OP
i agree pussy is the main topic and if pussy dont like it it’s not going to be heard
co-sign @WTF-MAN
less drake, more madlib
i 2nd that
really an article about this???
waist of F’in time
great article
Very Nice piece no matter how you feel about Drake. You see thats the down side of acceptance, it comes with the whole package-even these whining fucks on here that don’t have the basic literacy to read an article this long and are interjecting their ignorance. The million dollar moment of this article was the golden notion of “Accept ,Change,or Leave” Adaptation has always been my stronghold. What fanship I lack in a Nicki Minaj-I am picking up in my apprecciation for Curren$y and Wiz-J.Cole and Big K.R.I.T is my modern day range to rival my 90s love for Redman and Above The Law–Evolution is the key–these old heads I came up wit still bumpin that shit cuz they are still that same cat-I’m that new nigga-2010
Im down with letting hip hop evolve, but is it really evolving naturally? Good job tho. good read.
The only real problem I had with the article was that this bosniak chick is giving Drake waaay too much credit when it comes to setting a precedent..
No lady, it was NOT Drake who made it possible for all these droves of artists to get in, he is not the lane switcher, Kanye West is.
Without Yeezy, we’d have no kid cudi no drake no b.o.b we’d have none of that. Kanye West is the one who brought in the age of individualism.. NOT Drake. When Kanye was doing his socially conscious, soul-sample heavy shit on his debut album, rappers were on that bang bang shit over timbaland beats.. Kanye brought in the age of individualism and the fact that your biased torontian ass gives Drake that credit just means I can’t take your shit seriously.. Fuck outta here with that bullshit..
This is truth, although he was not the first rapper to bring out a more mellow style, he was the first to really blow up. Common and that crew have always been pretty similar
look at the credits. BOB received his first production credit when he was 15 for the remix to Danity Kane’s song “showstopper” Kanye opened up that outlet for many, but not all
Also while we’re at it, the fuck is you talking about rappers used to not wanna work with other artists?? Jay-Z had basically worked with every major southern artist, and all big west coast artists by the time you got out of junior high.. The fuck is you talking about? I don’t even know how deep your hip-hop credentials go but again, you give your T.Dot homeboy waaaay too much credit.. Snoop dogg worked with everyone, Wayne worked with everyone and their momma, dipset worked with hell of alot of people.. Kanye West did… I mean the fuck are you talking about..
I agree with this article. I think Drake is a great artist and so are some of the other new artists that have come out as of late. I can’t relate to the hard shit that used to come out as much as some of the newer stuff coming out now. I was never a hard black person, so when Kanye blew up, I thought maybe this will help us not so hood black people not get hate for being different, and it has. I’m glad hip hop is going in the direction it is.
Don’t get me wrong I’ve been listening to Hip Hop since the mid 1990’s, and so much good shit was released in that era, but this new era of Hip Hop is great too.
DRAKE IS A FUCCIN FAG I USED 2 LIKE WAYNE BUT HE KISSES MEN DIS ISN’T AN EMO ERA THIS A HOMO ERA OF ARTIST COMIN OUT DA CLOSET BCUZ HIP-HOP WAS ONCE DIVERSE WITH DA ECEPTION OF FEW J.COLE BUT HE TRIES 2 HARD RHYMES MEDIOCORE BARELY IMPRESSIVE & TOO MUCH HYPE FOR UNWORTHY ARTIST WHICH ALBUMS HASN’T BEEN RELEASED A YEAR YET U CAN CALL IT HATTIN BUT FUCC U FOR NOT EMBRACIN HIP – HOP INTEGRITY & FOLLOWIN DA NEXT PERSON WIT SKINNY JEANS & A MIC SO IF I GOTTA LEAVE HIP – HOP ALONE Y’ALL FAGGOTS COMIN WIT ME JAY – Z BP3 WAS COOL BUT HE’S A DEVIL WORSHIPPER ALONG WIT KANYE ALSO UNAPPOLOGETICLLY BEIN DA ILLUMINATTI’S PUPPET SO FUCC DIS ARTICLE U SOLD OUT 2 MASSES I MISS WHEN HIP HOP WAS GENUINE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I Love M I A Music and Ent presents $WonDough$
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia
I agree with some of the comments previously stated below. Drake does bring a positive feel to hip hop but this was also done in the late 80s and early 90s. Groups like De La Soul, X Clan, Brand Nubian cant forget Public Enemy made songs that were totally against the grain of your average emcee that infused alot of positivity in their music. They truly celebrated individualism, for example De La Souls “Me, Myself and I” and u can peep the video to see whut they were talking about. Thats y us “old heads” constantly complain cuz none of this shit out here today is new or groundbreaking. I will be 40 yrs old this year and that should tell u that I have been listening to hip hop for 30 FUCKING YEARS. Rick Ross would have been clowned and thrown out of the hip hop world for portraying himself as some big time hustler when in fact he was a mutherfuckin CO back in the days. REMEMBER OUR GENERATION came up with the term “KEEP IT REAL and KEEP IT GANGSTA”. NOW, I do appreciate whut Drake brings to the table and he will continue to be “successful” BUT I predict rap will RETURN to hard ass stripped down beats with rhymes that talk about the struggle becuz the economy will only get worse, crime will increase and the masses will not tolerate songs about how paid u r when a muthafucka is starvin. I wanna type sum more shit but I am gonna leave it at that. I personally feel that Sha Stimuli should be on the same level as Drake. PEACE!!!!!!!!
Props to Sha! Tight on the mic.
In regards to the topic, I tire of people hating on Drake and I’m pretty damn far from a Drake fan. I tire of hearing the same song 4 times in a two hour block, instead of mixing it up with an artist who could use some shine. Can’t hate on them getting paid, but I can hate on how they do it. I also tire of people saying Hip-hop is dead because they’re too lazy to look for GOOD MUSIC they can enjoy. Stop being so damn negative. Look and ye shall find. Don’t be afraid to give a new artist a shot, and if you like them actually support them.
word
Thats word we needed that old head perspective..I liked NWA and the Gheto Boys just as much as I did Kid N Play and Heavy D…there are no alternatives as far as mainstream music goes top 40 or bust…
Tonight on the Live In The Cipher Show @ 9 pm est – 6 pm pst on http://www.bks1radio.com we will rate and review Ish’s new release Transparency. Join us for our interactive rating and review process. Get the latest hip hop news and rumors with the Live In The Cipher Team on http://www.bks1radio.com. Also The QUIZMASTER has some hip hop trivia for you. Join us @ 9 pm est -6 pm pst http://www.bks1radio.com join the movement!
This writer basically gave us all an ultimatum. If we don’t like the way hip hop is now, or the way hip hop is trending, we should leave hip hop?
How about YOU leave hip hop!
The writer has no idea what she is talking about in regards to hip hop’s history. If Drake is the future of our culture, then what exactly does that say for vitality of hip hop?
I think what she is saying is, if you don’t like mainstream hip hop, don’t buy into it. There is great diversity in hip hop today and you can find any number of great artists if you search the internet. But to like or want something different doesn’t necessarily extend to hating what is popular. Drake is entertaining the fans he has. But so are other artists.
I mean she says some unfounded stuff, but I don’t think she’s telling you to leave hip hop, just let it grow and do what it does. In todays age music is easily distributed and supported. Support what you enjoy and leave the rest alone for others to enjoy. I think thats her point.
I could be wrong but that’s what I got. I’m really on the bandwagon with dude below who said Sha Stimuli needs some shine. That dude is hella-talented and barely gets recognized.
Read the last paragraph.
mainstream hip hop damn today, i just dont like it, fuck it im out
I was interested in this article until the author called “simplified songwriting” a “creative endeavor.” Anyone who thinks dumbing it down is a progressive creative action doesn’t deserve my time reading them.
This is by far the most canadian-biased Drake article i’ve ever read. Does she know anything about hiphop, other that the artists that she ‘shouted out’? fo realz, if she thinks that Drake is the first rapping r&b singer, she need to see wut r.kelly been doin for the last decade. she also need to recognize that kanye is the only reason for his success, cuz wayne wulda never picked up some random actor from toronto if he didn’t think he culd get that ‘preppy boy’ image that kanye made cool. sayin somethin bout how them canadians can rock to southern rappers? huuh?? that plain n simple…cuz they dope! (or cuz there just isn’e enough to offer in canada that they’ll go wild over anything). sure drake is a nice addition to the music industry as a whole, but she gotta get off of his with that “he’s the future of hiphop” BS! ya’ll had rakim a few weeks before right? one of the GOATS, and she gonna act like he ain’t all that compared to drake. i guarantee drake wuldn’t be nothing lyrically (not sayin he’s ill or anything) if it weren’t for rakim…the R paved the way for all ill lyricist. maan, this article jus got me messed up, sorry for ranting…but i culd jus go on forever, maybe even write an article myself about “The Real Crowd: Understanding Hip Hop through Historical Figures and Lyrical Evolution”
Hiphopdx is turning into a shitty pop website.
Wasn’t going to get into the Rakim snub but this is a time when lyrics are reduced to two good one liners per song..so Rakim’s over this attention deficit society’s head..
I don’t really understand why she assumes it is so difficult for the 80’s and 90’s hip hop fans to appreciate new hip hop for its breaking of barriers and deviance from the norm. “Perhaps this is the new generation of superstars, who choose creativity over tradition, optimism over pessimism, and behavioral freedoms over cultural constraints.” Wasn’t that exactly the point of hip hop when it was started? Wasn’t this whole entire movement founded on a creative force that was different from what anyone else was doing that allowed individuals to break barriers and cross different genres of music? I looked at the beginning of hip hop as a complete break of cultural constraint; today it seems much more manufactured and fit to an ideal. Look at a song like Eye Know. It samples classic rock, uses a catchy hook with melody, is about love, and remains upbeat the whole song. You can’t listen to that song without being optimistic. If anything, Drake is bringing back or paying homage to a golden age that should always be a part of hip hop.
Anywho, if anyone is carrying hip hop, it’s J Cole. He kills it.
I’m also from Toronto, but this chick is giving Drake WAY too much credit. I agree with all the comments below, Kanye is the one who opened the door for dudes like Drake, Kid Cudi, B.o.B, etc. And except for Kardinal, she didn’t mention any Canadian emcees from the 90s (like Maestro and Choclair) who made it possible to be accepted by American heads.
evertime somebody mentions this dude I think the same thing ..Kardinal Offishal/ Maestro Fresh Wes / Choclair / Sukrates / K-Os all Canadian emcees I heard of before Drake…..I always say Will I Am stole K-Os’s career like R-Kelly did Aaron Hall….Drake is a good artist but a wack performer and a lackluster personality…Also is a coincidence that most of these other Canuck emcees are dark skinned or of west indian / jamaican / african descent ? Just putting that out there…
Dear everyone,
I love and appreciate all the comments – even those coming from the hatoration nation.
Please note that Drake is used as a metaphor more or less to analyze new cultural trends in Hip Hop music.
Thank you for reading the oh so lengthy piece…
all those hating are you are actually have a good reason too. your biased and clueless to the hip hop culture and your jumping on whats a fad now. make she you do some research and gain enough knowledge before you write anything else you have no business talking about.
Great article. When I first heard Drake back in early 07, I had a feeling then that he would be a big deal. I thought, “FINALLY…someone who doesn;t talk about what EVERYBODY else talks about.” I mean, God forbid he uses some actual emotion in his music. It’s nice to see that somebody tries to take a different approach in UNDERSTANDING the music, rather than just blindly spewing hatrid. Your take on the entire thing is a mirror-image of mine. Thank you for this article. It was a great read. I will be sharing it. BTW—If you would be so kind as to take a look at my ReverbNation page, and see what you think of my music, I would be very greatful. There are two Drake covers and 1 original, but there’s a link there to more videos. Thank you if you find the time. Have a good day.
Mina Jasarevic:
Dear everyone,
I love and appreciate all the comments – even those coming from the hatoration nation.
Please note that Drake is used as a metaphor more or less to analyze new cultural trends in Hip Hop music.
Thank you for reading the oh so lengthy piece…
Yeah? and thanks for your patroising article. Im glad you found music that you can listen too with your tight jean wearing friends. You and the people like you are the reason that i find myself stepping away from a musical genre that i really thought i would love forever. Nowadays the state of this once great artform just makes me angry. I used to say that ‘I am Hip Hop’ with pride in the culture and what it meant. Unfortunatley, as Common Sense put it ‘I USED to lover H.E.R’, not so much anymore. Today i would have to agree with The Clipse ‘…They slutted her out, i wish i’d never met H.E.R). People tend to look backwards with rose tinted glasses but in this instance i think that when ‘They reminisce over you’ they are right to feel that the artform is no where near what it used to be. Hip Hop used to be uncompromising, it had a like it or step the F**k off mentality. Since when did becoming more like the mainstream bullsh*t become something to aspire too? It’s good that the music has become more accessable but not if it’s at the expense of the integrity it once had. Like some of the other people who have commented on here i remember a time when it was about being individual, when ‘biting’ was a cardinal sin and an MC stood or fell on the merit of the music they produced, not on whether they could be marketed to a bunch of 12 year olds. I find myself wishing for ‘the good old days’ when people like the writer of this article wouldn’t have gone to a Hip Hop show in case they got jacked! At least when the music was viewed as violent, anti social and misogynistic it kept the fake bullsh*t out (for the most part) and allowed genuine music space to develop and be appreciated by those people who really felt it, not just those who have no heart and will jump on the bandwagon as long as they feel its ‘cool’. ” I AM HIP HOP” used to be something people would say with pride. Not anymore. Still I am glad that you had a ‘nice time’ at the Drake show, if only you had been around when sh*t really meant something, maybe you could understand why articles like this annoy people, and maybe you would be qualified to speak on an artform that has been around for 30 years and not just the last 5 minutes that you have experienced. Trust us, it was better.
5000
Whataloadashit.
what the fuck is “hatoration nation?”
?Did you seriously say that?
How can i respect you as a writer. It is obvious your piece is bias.
never and i mean neve use Drake as a metaphor for anything in Hip Hop. This man is a fraud. He is a popstar who does not sing, rather raps!
@EB you are obviously a female, arent you?
it is sad how good marketing skills can contribute to disguising weak hip hop into something grandeur and extraordinary. Drake is nothing new; if you speak of sensitivity is new in hip hop you probably are unaware of ppl like, oh say, ll cool j?
haha, come on please stop with the ridiculousness! J.ortiz, immortal tech, evidence, j cole…i can go on are real music. DO NOT BE HYPNOTIZED BY WHAT THE MEDIA WANTS YOU TO LISTEN TO!! make your own choices
if you are a true fan of hip hop you would have the passion to defend it against perpetrators that attempt to destroy her!!
i fully agree, i saw drake in winnipeg, and his songs started out all hype then died,. the intros had people out there seats , then straight to the concession,. songs are well thought out and very musical , just not for live preforming. A very difficult thing to do ,.
drake disappointed me. his mixtapes were hip hop. now he is all R&B. He sold out to sell out
This is a well-written article. Probably one of the best thought out pieces I’ve read in a while, whether or not I agree with it.
Comments keep mentioning Kanye as having started this new era of individualism, not Drake. However, there is a huge difference: Kanye was welcomed pretty much by everyone when he came in, while Drake (who folks in the C-section say bit off ‘Ye) was not welcomed. I’m not sure if the Kanye/Drake parallel makes sense. There’s a significant difference to what they bring to the table, including how they present themselves onstage and in the media.
I agree that Kanye and Drake have different styles, but I think what most of us are saying is that we might not have welcomed artists such as Drake, Kid Cudi, etc. to the Hip Hop world if Kanye hadn’t set a tone for different, more mellow, styles to hit the mainstream. And saying Kanye was just accepted is not true, he had plenty of haters amongst hip hop fans and other rappers (50 cent cough cough) that didn’t want to welcome his new way of doing things into the genre.
Well written article. Quite a change from the usual here. Drake is a good entertainer, but way over rated. Being from Toronto myself, I heard Drake’s underground music before he became popular, and it was honestly the best music he ever made. I bought his last album if only to support a fellow Toronto rapper, and I was incredibly disappointed. I went to buy a hip hop album and found myself listening to an R&B album with one or two hip hop songs thrown in.
This writer seems like they realized hip hop mainsteam isn’t as bad as they thought but that had an extreme reaction to a good experience at a show. Just cause you got caught up and realized you liked a show doesn’t mean that rap is headed in the right direction. Is the music tolerable? yes but that doesn’t mean the music is headed in the right direction.
The best thing about rap today is that with all the technology and outlets fans dont have to buy into anything they dont want to anymore. So in regards to accepting what it is that is not true. Drake, J Cole and others aren’t leading the way for the new school cause fact is nobody is leading the way. The fans can choose to disregard any Drake song or album if they want these days. Its not like back in the day when you had to hear Jay Z cause he was on radio 24/7. Now you dont have to play the radio. The same experience this writer got people have gotten at tek 9 shows, brother ali, Immortal Technique, so on. The day of having to tolerate an artist is gone and if the message of this writer is that people should just get used to Drake and get used to the change in the mainsteam then its wrong. Mainsteam Hip Hop doesn’t control where the fans go anymore. There are a plethora of outlets out there and you can choose your own with a million artist out there both indie and major. Nobody has to sit and move on with the times if they dont want to or feel that they should used to something they don’t like. I like many new artist and drake is not one of them. his music is tolerable but its very bland and redundant as well as predictable. Nothing of his moves me in any way. His music doesn’t challenge my thought process. Thats the beauty of today’s scene, variety is key. Mainsteam hip hop is failing in every way possible. For anybody to even compare kanye to drake is insane cause Kanye has lasted quite some time and evolved as an artist plus he has tons of more substance and just better quality music. Drake has a long ways to go to accomplish anything but he isn’t proof that hip hop is evolving. If anything he’s showing lack of progress. just my 2 cents
The title is asking the impossible.
Drake is not Hip Hop.
So how can you find an understanding of Hip Hop listening to Drake.
If you want to know where commercial rap music is then have at it.
“Such collaborative ventures certainly brighten Drizzy’s world, shaping him into the kind of performer many artists only strive to be. Drake’s stage energy is grand. He is the only rapper I have seen who gets off on his own music – on stage – living and reliving every beat, every lyric, and every undertone. The show is extravagant, stimulating, and surprising, much like Drake’s entire Hip Hop career has been thus far. He has a somewhat thoughtful intro to every track, and a live band accompanying him –including an electric guitarist. Hip Hop artists are present-day Rock stars more than the Rock stars themselves. And the show is a hypnotizing dream:
You just made me throw up a little in my mouth.
Do you belong to Drake’s fan club. I’m serious. Do you.
How can I take anything you say seriously after these words.
With praise like this Drake must be a top 5 rapper. Even though he bit someone’s style which in the best days of HIP HOP was an offense that would end your career.
Now it’s cool to sound and flow just like the next rapper.
The 80’s and 90’s are like the old testament. It was off with your head for certain things.
You guys are like the new testament.
Anything goes.
Even men in skinny jeans.
ayo 2 every word of that
i agree w/ most part of that except the fashion insight
who the fuck cares what a nigga wears a nigga in a toga is cool wit me when it comes to rap
i aint tryna look at a nigga just HEAR HIM
fashion changes and it’s just that clothes. they were wearing right clothes in the 80’s and now its back who cares stop the skinny jean shit!
Nice article. You gain respect for that J. Cole, Jay-Z, and Eminem comment.
Mina, ain’t hate from the hatoration nation (corny as hell btw). people who really appreciate HIPHOP are giving more or less their opinions about this ‘metaphoric’ article. First of all, i don’t find it metaphorical in the way you gave a very discriptive account about his show and how the canadians were lovin him rather than trying to make a relevant point about how new artists break barriers and add to the hiphop culture, and none of that sh*t about ‘dumbing it down is an evolution’ bull. Like, u should jus have told us u were a Drake fan that started listening to ‘hiphop’ because of him…then we’d all be able to read this article without giving u our harsh but real comments. don’t come to a hiphop website to post an article about how the new pop sensation is the next biggest thing in hiphop, cuz he aint! respect the culture and watch few more real hiphop acts before writing piece on it.
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia#p/u
I Love M I A Music and Ent Presents $WonDough$
No Image No Gimmicks Just Banging Ass Music
Drake IS overhyped by tons. J.Cole is just like him in a way but better in every way plus he’s from a place we’re familiar with, he’s the average joe.
Drake is a Jewish actor from Canada who made it through over-hype. Dude is not rap(Blackberry freestyling)plus his punchlines are mediocre like Wayne’s which can be made quit easily if your good at similes & methaphors, hip hop is more then that.
And actually theirs a 4th option, ignore the ignorant wack music & bump good music, DUMMY.
there’s*
whataloadashit:
Mina Jasarevic:
Dear everyone,
I love and appreciate all the comments – even those coming from the hatoration nation.
Please note that Drake is used as a metaphor more or less to analyze new cultural trends in Hip Hop music.
Thank you for reading the oh so lengthy piece…
Yeah? and thanks for your patroising article. Im glad you found music that you can listen too with your tight jean wearing friends. You and the people like you are the reason that i find myself stepping away from a musical genre that i really thought i would love forever. Nowadays the state of this once great artform just makes me angry. I used to say that ‘I am Hip Hop’ with pride in the culture and what it meant. Unfortunatley, as Common Sense put it ‘I USED to lover H.E.R’, not so much anymore. Today i would have to agree with The Clipse ‘…They slutted her out, i wish i’d never met H.E.R). People tend to look backwards with rose tinted glasses but in this instance i think that when ‘They reminisce over you’ they are right to feel that the artform is no where near what it used to be. Hip Hop used to be uncompromising, it had a like it or step the F**k off mentality. Since when did becoming more like the mainstream bullsh*t become something to aspire too? It’s good that the music has become more accessable but not if it’s at the expense of the integrity it once had. Like some of the other people who have commented on here i remember a time when it was about being individual, when ‘biting’ was a cardinal sin and an MC stood or fell on the merit of the music they produced, not on whether they could be marketed to a bunch of 12 year olds. I find myself wishing for ‘the good old days’ when people like the writer of this article wouldn’t have gone to a Hip Hop show in case they got jacked! At least when the music was viewed as violent, anti social and misogynistic it kept the fake bullsh*t out (for the most part) and allowed genuine music space to develop and be appreciated by those people who really felt it, not just those who have no heart and will jump on the bandwagon as long as they feel its ‘cool’. ” I AM HIP HOP” used to be something people would say with pride. Not anymore. Still I am glad that you had a ‘nice time’ at the Drake show, if only you had been around when sh*t really meant something, maybe you could understand why articles like this annoy people, and maybe you would be qualified to speak on an artform that has been around for 30 years and not just the last 5 minutes that you have experienced. Trust us, it was better.
5000
Whataloadashit.
Hip-Hop is still UNCOMPROMISING! What you take to heart is that it no longer compromises to your standards and tastes. Hip-Hop is about individuality and no matter if you feel Hip-Hop is “slutted out” or not it is still relevant in your life.
I am from the golden era of Hip-Hop. My favorite MC is Nas. I fell in love with Hip-Hop on the back of a school bus listening to Illdelphia Halflife. I remember wearing Cross Colors, I remember rhyming over Shook Ones pt.2 in my homies bedroom, I remember ciphering in high school in the courtyard, I remember being geeked about Wu-Forever dropping and Life After Death. I remember when Canibus was going to be the greatest MC the universe ever created. I used to think JUST LIKE YOU DO! Then I started working with this generation at a grouphome for teens. I learned that just like we had our own ideas on what Hip-Hop should be, they do too!
Hip-Hop used to be about being tough and hardcore and not letting anyone fuck with you. We didn’t give a fuck!!! But then we grew up!!! And the generation behind us saw us making money, being successful, and doing what the fuck we wanted because we grew up knowing we were in control of our destiny. True, I question their personal style or “swag”- skinny leg jeans and shit, HELL NO-but, they do what they wanna do and they got that shit from us. Truthfully, when it comes to not giving a fuck, this generation got us beat. Our generation listened to Rakim too much so we had to make Nas. We listened to Kane too much so we had to make Jigga. Not these guys!!! They don’t wanna be like nobody. And thats a good thing homie!!
Tell me as a Hip-Hip head you don’t feel the shit Lupe Fiasco spits. Tell me B.O.B and J Cole ain’t some cold ass Southern lyricists!–I remember when NOBODY thought the South would produce any real lyricists–Tell me Drake doesn’t have hot verses. Tell me Rick Ross doesn’t surprise you every now and then with a hot 16. Tell me Wale ain’t nice on stage. Tell me Nicki Minaj ain’t paying homage to Lil’ Kim. You mistaken homie…I STILL LOVE H.E.R
at 22 i use the internet quite often, when i first heard a CD of immortal technique my sophmore year of highschool i jumped on my comp to check anything i could find of this guy it was the realist shit i;ve ever heard!
(you gotta understand this is the time when lil john was real big)
but through the internet and older dudes i knew i discovered a world of hip hop that wasnt being marketed, music that if you werent living it you probably heard very little of it.
90’s hip hop as well as underground hip hop is motherfucing extraordinary!!!
but i can see why those who cannot experience tru hip hop get hypnotized by drake after being marketed all this bullshit from crunk to snap ya fingaz garbage you start to think that anyone that isnt repeating their versus 100times is actually good.
but at the end of the day drake sucks! he’s garbage and has soooo much to do with what our generation has been brainwashed to listen
i just hope mre ppl can be independent and dabble into rappers that do not show up on our radio and bet,mtv and all those garbage channels
to NC KING drake does not have hot versus!!!
i love HipHop but that bitch on the radio today is a fucking IMPOSTOR abd we need to murder that lying HOE!
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia#p/u
I Love M I A Music and Ent Presents $WonDough$
No Image No Gimmicks Just Banging Ass Music
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia#p/u
…huh…
Well, salute to the writer on gettin everybody attention with this. You ever need a job, check for me.
And salute all generations of hiphoppas. It’s yall voices and actions that protects and nurtures each level of the kulture.
Now…Drizzy, Cudi, ‘Ye and them? Ay, I don’t know they representatives, nor am I familiar with the era. So as an outsider I can only suggest that given they publicity, they are well within the latest marketing campaign of the “corporate approved” reproductions of Hip-Hop.
My understanding is that this and similar websites sponsor these reproductions thru promotion of the approved Hip-Hop PRODUCT…(be clear)…NOT KULTURE. These Hip-Hop products take the form of artists who fit the latest typecast of what’s edible (if you will) for corporate culture’s consumers.
Hopefully I aint lost yall. Everybody got a choice. The writer points that out. And as obvious as it might sound, I want to emphasize that as an audience…and as individuals, your choices are never limited to what you are spoon fed. My suggestion to the writer would be to provide a more open ended outlook for your audience to get them more positively engaged and building with you, instead of them posting garbage. I get the sense that peoples is mad with you on some comments, but only becuz your scope of choices (to them) may reflect an elitist “us versus you” generational angle that, as a journalist, yeah, provides conflict, but is not a good look on your patrons or core audience, regardless of topic.
To ANYBODY who actually STILL readin this: hiphop is not a website editorial or a rap artist’s records, or a live show…or a revamped ’80s style choice wit adidas kicks. NO…hiphop is a collective consciousness thru which everything you love about hiphop still ebs and flows from. Salute family.
completely agree
honest 2 god that article was the biggest pile of shit posted on here in a while
the person who wrote this is a fucking idiot.its like she just jumped on the bandwagon and all of a sudden she has a right to question Hip Hop before Drake came to light.
That annoys me and makes sick to my stomach. biased as hell.
i stopped reading and started laughing when she was amazed at how much drake vibes to his own music on stage. some how that had her in awe and im thinking this was an entire waste of my time reading. drake is not a metaphor for cultural change cause he isn’t changing anything. maybe the scene in canada but not overall he’s just a artist thats hot right now. end of story. talk about going over the deck based off a hometown performance. but hey thats her opinion can’t knock it if thats how you feel but dont associate your feelings with a new cultural trend that people should get used to unless they are close minded. fuckouttahere!
this was a serious waste of my time man drake aint no second fuckin coming hes just the star of the moment for hip hop, same as justin beiber is for pop music lol
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia#p/u
I Love M I A Music and Ent Presents $WonDough$
No Image No Gimmicks Just Banging Ass Music
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia#p/u
ayo Drake IS hip hop, just as every bit as a tribe called quest or 2pac. Hip hop the music, hip hop the attitude, hip hop the culture, I’ve heard his shit man gave him a chance, the nigga spits fire on some songs, but more than that he’s piercingly honest with his shit. the artist that can give you a glimpse of his life is an ARTIST and I would be glad to call that hip hop
you don’t see the real picture. hes deebut was a disapointment and a failure of a great album. hes way overhyped when hes avrage just like every other R&B cat out there. he can’t hit notes for shyt. te album is shallow talking about trouble with girls and money, money again, girls that come with money what should i do? thats boring!!