Grandmaster Flash has weighed on in on the debate over Drake‘s authenticity as a Hip Hop artist and his place in the culture.
During a brief conversation with HipHopDX the 2024 Grammy Awards’ red carpet on Sunday (February 4), the legendary DJ co-signed Drizzy and even explained that his versatility is what makes him such a superstar.
“What I admire about Drake is he’ll rap on all different styles of beats,” he explained. “And back in the day, when I was DJing and cutting and a rapper was in front of me, he was rapping on all the beats I played!
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“Sometimes, the beat was jazz, sometimes it was pop, sometimes it was rock, sometimes it was blues, sometimes it was R&B, sometimes it was disco.”
He continued: “So I think the kaleidoscope of music that he’s doing — his style — is absolutely excellent. This is why he’s so big! Because he’s not just staying on one particular style of beat; he’s rhyming on everything and that’s dope.”
The discussion has been ongoing ever since Yasiin Bey called Drake’s music “pop” in an interview last month.
“Drake is pop to me,” he said on The Cutting Room Floor. “In the sense like, if I was in Target in Houston and I heard a Drake song, it feels like a lot of his music is compatible with shopping. Or shopping with an edge, in certain instances.”
Though Bey did refer to the Canadian superstar’s music as “likeable,” he and Omondi had fun joking about the idea of music that is an ideal backdrop for commerce.
The Brooklyn native has since amended his stance and noted that the “Hotline Bling” hitmaker is a talented MC while standing on most of his original sentiments.
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“Drake, if you’d like to speak to me directly, you can at any point,” Yasiin said in an Instagram Live last week. “I reached out to [Dave] Chappelle, actually reached out to you. I DM’d you. You are a very talented MC, but for me, I require more of myself and others than just talent or charm or charisma — particularly in times of urgent crisis.
“And what I would like to see in terms of creators or creative people in the world, as it relates to our culture, is for people to connect with us beyond the jukebox or the dance floor.”
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He concluded: “A fair-weather friend can hardly be called a friend at all. The people who party with you — that’s cool. But will they show up for you when you’re at the triage?”
As for Grandmaster Flash, he’s also sung Drake’s praises in the past. At last year’s Grammy Awards, he called the Toronto superstar a genius and compared him to the late Prince for how daring he is with his music.
“He is probably the only rapper — and I want to speak on his talent because he’s a great rapper — but he’s the only one, in my opinion, that’s daring enough to rap on a trap beat, to rap on a disco beat, to rap on ballad beat,” Flash said. “I would call it like a Prince formula. When Prince makes records, it does not sound like his last record. Drake is daring enough to rap on all different types of beats. I think he’s a consummate genius.”
