Grandmaster Flash Explains Why Drake Is A 'Genius'

Grandmaster Flash called Drake a genius on the red carpet of the 65th annual Grammy Awards and compared him to the late Prince for how daring he is with his music.

The legendary Hip Hop DJ made his remarks on Sunday night (February 5) while stopping by to chat with Billboard on the red carpet. According to Grandmaster Flash, artists such as Drake, Lil Baby, JAY-Z, Lizzo and more remind him how happy he is that he helped create the culture 50 years ago.

However, when it comes to the 6 God, Flash said he admired how he’s never made the same record, and his ability to constantly turn the page with his music is similar to how Prince would do it.

“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,” Grandmaster 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.”

Drizzy has been criticized for adopting other genres of music, even called a culture vulture at times. But Grandmaster Flash has no problem with it, and if a Hip Hop legend like that is co-signing him, Drake must be doing something right.

The Toronto megastar won his first Grammy in four years despite not submitting any of his music for the 2023 ceremony. The OVO hitmaker’s victory came in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category thanks to his appearance on Future’s “Wait For U,” which also features Tems.

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The I Never Liked You track, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been certified triple platinum, beat out Kendrick Lamar’s “Die Hard,” DJ Khaled’s “Beautiful,” Jack Harlow’s “First Class,” and Latto’s “Big Energy (Live).”

Although he didn’t submit any solo material for consideration, Drake actually had four nominations on the night. “Wait For U” was also up for Best Rap Song, as was his Jack Harlow collaboration “Churchill Downs.”

Drake’s last Grammys win came in 2019 when “God’s Plan” took the trophy for Best Rap Song. He was also nominated in four other categories that year, including Album of the Year (Scorpion), Song of the Year (“God’s Plan”), Record of the Year (“God’s Plan”) and Best Rap Performance (“Nice For What,” “Sicko Mode”).