Drake‘s current place in Hip Hop is explored in the latest episode of HipHopDX‘s “Deep Dive” series — watch it below.
The 24-minute video combines Drake’s own thoughts about his style and career, with commentary by others ranging from Mos Def to 50 Cent to Jim Jones to attempt to answer the question: is Drake still Hip Hop?
No matter which metric of success you wish to judge him by – album sales, tour returns, streaming numbers – Drake’s success simply cannot be denied. Drake is undoubtedly one of the most successful artists of all time in any genre, earning close to half a billion dollars on the road. And in terms of album sales, he is close to the 200 million mark. Streaming is in the multiple billions and he just reached a crazy achievement by tying Michael Jackson’s record for most no. 1 records.
Still, in a genre where success is so coveted, where even fans are now tuned in to “first week sales” and Billboard chart placements, it seems like the more successful he gets, the more hate Drake draws.
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The most recent round of debates about the 6 God’s position in Hip Hop was spurned by Mos Def’s now infamous statements in an interview.
“Drake is Pop to me,” the rapper now known as Yasiin Bey said. “In the sense that, I was in Target in Houston and I heard a Drake song. So it feels like a lot of his music is compatible with shopping. Or shopping with an edge in certain instances. It’s likeable.”
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Immediately, fans and peers alike weighed in on the discussion. Because, honestly it comes up quite often. Jim Jones, Grandmaster Flash, 50 Cent and many others have all addressed it over the years. And those three specifically have voiced opinions that stand in direct opposition to Mos Def’s thoughts on the matter.
“I would say he’s the greatest of all time,” Jim Jones answered when asked about Drake’s place in Hip Hop. “The relevancy that he keeps showing year after year, hit after hit, record after record. Any record that he has put out has seemed to go multi-platinum. He really in it from all angles of music. It ain’t nowhere that you can go that they not gonna play some Drake records and get the party started.”
Grandmaster Flash echoed those thoughts, adding a slightly different perspective: “He’s probably the only rapper in my opinion that’s daring enough to rap on a Trap beat, to rap on a Disco beat, to rap on a ballad. I would call it like a Prince formula: when Prince [made] a record, it didn’t sound like his last record. Drake is daring enough to rap on all different types of beats. I think he’s a consummate genius.”
By many accounts, including Drake’s, this level of reach is exactly why Hip Hop should always claim Drake as one of its own. Because regardless of how far his reach takes him beyond traditional Hip Hop fans, he has yet to walk away from lyricism and skill that made him a Rap game darling when So Far Gone was firs released.
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Drake may be one of the most popular artists in the world — which could be enough to argue that he is too Pop to be Hip Hop — but he’s still ready to drop a four back like Scary Hours 3 at any moment.
Check out our deep dive below and chime in with your verdict in the comments.
