The New York Times ran an article on Sunday (November 24) titled “Rappers Are Singers Now. Thank Drake” for The Decade In Culture segment.
Author Jon Caramanica claimed, “Drake’s So Far Gone mixtape — released in February 2009 — marked the arrival of new path: singing as rapping, rapping as singing, singing and rapping all woven together into one holistic whole.
“Drake exploded the notion that those component parts had to be delivered by two different people, and also deconstructed what was expected from each of them. His Hip Hop was fluid, not dogmatic. And in so remaking it, he set the template for what would eventually become the global pop norm.”
Little Brother MC (um, and singer) Phonte eventually took notice of the article and challenged its author who was promoting the article on Twitter. To help make his point, Phonte quoted the 2006 Radiohead song “The Eraser.”
“The more you try to erase me, the more I appear,” Phonte tweeted on Monday (November 25).
In a follow-up tweet, Phonte doubled down and reminded everyone he’s been singing and rapping years before Drake ever stepped on the scene. In fact, he influenced Drake.
“I’m thankful to make a good living doing what I do and awards/accolades never meant much to me,” he wrote. “But I refuse to let you motherfuckers rewrite history while the niggas who helped shaped it are still breathing.”
Drake released his Room For Improvement mixtape in 2006, which featured 9th Wonder, Phonte and Elzhi on the track “Think Good Thoughts” and Little Brother on “Don’t U Have A Man.”
The Toronto superstar even took note of Little Brother’s influence on the song “Fear.”
“What up Little Bruh, what up Slum Vill/I hope you know you’re the reason I have fun still,” he spit.
Phonte addressed Drake’s admiration for Little Brother in a 2010 interview with The Urban Daily.
“It just made me proud,” he said. “I was glad to know that I was able to inspire someone from the next generation just as someone had inspired me beforehand. It was almost like passing the torch … things are coming full circle for me. Lot of cats like to act as if their music is created in a vacuum. But Drake was just very honest.”
HipHopDX has reached out to Phonte for comment.
Ok Phonte, sit down please lol no one asked you.
Plz shut up
And you are here for????
Phonte is definitely the originator of the rap/sing movement. Just so happens that drake has always credited him for it himself. Just cuz u don’t know don’t mean it didn’t mean it didn’t happen
Kanye made the sing-rap sing. Not fucking Drake or no Phonte
sing-rap scene*
incorrect, nigga. Phonte has been doing that style since before the Roc even let Ye feature or rhyme over his own beats lol foh!
Little Brother… The Foreign Exchange. that’s all i gotta say..
Truth is truth. Did we not learn anything from our silent innovators? Phonte “directly” influenced Kanye 808 and heart break, and Drake as well. Only the real heads know, but I am sure it can be quite frustrating for the industry to not acknowledge contributions. Respect the architects. Shout out to Shadow purveyors Slim Kid Tre (Pharcyde), Bone Thugs, And Grand Puba.
Phonte was influenced by De La and Tribe, Kanye was influenced by RZA and Cudi. Everyone is influenced by something. To be honest, Phonte sounds nothing like Kanye or Drake though. If Drake sounded like Phonte, backpackers would be fans – they aren’t. In the end, Lauryn Hill , Bone N Thugs and Cudi all sang but what made everyone start sing rapping was Drake’s success. Drake did it in a way where it was no longer a niche for artists like Nelly / Ja Rule who weren’t taken seriously. Drake deserves credit for the current popularity and ubiquity of rapping and singing at the same time.
Phonte also a GOAT MC, legend in the flesh
T-Pain?
Leave… Just leave. Put your phone down for a few days and think about your life.
Some of y’all don’t kno Phonte and it shows.
Yeah, but Bone Thugs did it before all yall did it.
You call dat singing? lawl
Gotta give the credit to Lauryn Hill on this one ya’ll. Phonte, Drake and Ye are all dope and influential as well though.
Slick Rick, Andre 3k, Kanye, BTH, Snoop….
Garbage. As much as he rides J princes dick, and him using the june 27th beat among countless other nods, he was obviously influenced by underground Texas rap.
Bone, pimp c, countless others geez how can you be erased if no one’s ever heard of ya?
If you a TRUE rap fan, then you’d know..but i think you just a light fan
How you 777 but hate on the gods?? Little Brother is that lick!
Southern Hip Hop had a big impact. Even LL for not exactly singing but having that consistent r&b singer with dropping rhymes also plays a part. Nelly & Ja Rule had a big movement with keeping it moving too. Can’t expect Drake to have integrity. 808’s & Heartbreaks made Drakes career
That credit would probably have to go to Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean.
FOH !
I don’t care what yall say. Bone Thugs started this… all the credits should go to them.
The article fails to mention that Phonte was nominated for a Grammy for……singing.
808s? Is this an Onion article
Lauryn Hill gave birth to the sing rap scene and did it better than anyone ever. The Miseducation of Lairyn Hill album is still the greatest example of what a dope rapper AND singer( Drake is only one of those ) can do. Kanye’s 808 was huge in that as well. Butbyall really sleeping on Kid Cudi, who influenced Kanye and thereby Drake more than anyone at that time. His fingerprints are all over early Drake and Kanye was quick to tell everybody that Cudi started that genreless sing rap thing
Lauryn Hill and her solo album are overrated as fuck !!
Biz markie is the true pioneer
So…. Guess they never heard of bone thugs n Harmony???? Dumbasses
I’m not the biggest Drake fan on Earth but, Aubrey is one of the few mainstream rappers who actually SUNG like an R&B singer who could really rap. Ja Rule was on some singing shit but, Ja never really hit those high notes like Drizzy. I would give Ja Rule more credit for popularizing the singing/rapping hybrid shit than I would give Phonte credit for. Phonte wanna be relevant so bad that it’s making dude look downright pathetic. I mean, face it Tigallo- ya career has gone NOWHERE outside of Little Brother. Just listen to Trust Issues from Drake- dude is hitting crazy high notes on there like the male version of Aaliyah. Bone could harmonize but, even those niggas weren’t hitting those “traditional” R&B notes like Drake. I’ve never looked at Phonte as a singer/rapper- dude to me has always been a straight up spitter. I know he had the R. Kelly parody shit going on but, Drake actually took his singing serious. Sad what some niggas will stoop to just to get attention. This nigga’s career as a rapper has failed, now he’s resorted to reaching out to the New York Times for a write up. Can you say “mega, ultra washed”?
Phonte has never been corny, most of his music from songs with jazzanova and foreign exchange(which was nominated for a grammy)are great and he’s far from washed up. U just have to know good music. What he’s saying is that Drake spoke up awhile ago and said Phonte had inspired him with his way of singing and rapping. Speak facts not BS dude.
Drake has never hit a high note do you know that is? Listen to The Weeknd or Dolla $ign now those’s are high notes
This is what happens when those who don’t know the culture become authors on the culture….hell, it’s a million white kids that think Em started Hip Hop. Always know your history.
Lol what? No, no white kids think eminem started hiphop haha. What kind of stupid statement is that? I bet you cannot share any real life examples haha
. Now, of course kids today aren’t aware of former legends, unless they research, and become underground hiphoo heads, like most of us are. I hated newschool rap until about 5 years ago, then loved a lot of it, until the new greats went pop too. What’s insane to me though is how many young kids don’t know DMX. But, I guess that’s life. Most folks follow what’s trending, or what their friends/family introduce them too. Marijuana smoking is what made me into a hiphop lover! I used to hate rap. I was raised to hate it, and was strictly into rock n roll. Now, I love all kinds of music!
60 Minutes episode where Em is interviewed by Anderson Cooper.
So Phonte corrected the New York Times and told them Bone thugs made that shit popular right? Is that how this story ends?
The article says Drake is responsible for making singing and rapper a staple in Hiphop. No one was saying Drake was the first to sing and rap.Only complete idiot would say this? Biz Markie sang and rapped “Just a Friend”. Even the Red Hot Chili Peppers sang and rapped. It’s absurd for lames to be so sensitive . The fact is before Drake came along sing and rapping was considered corny and if it existing it was simply singing the hook or rapping a verse. Cudi and Kanye had some side projects where they sang and rapped but they didn’t make it a standard. Now rapping and singing is everywhere at the start and the middle of a song is almost a requirement for every rapper – this is because Drake made it popular. Phonte didn’t invent it, Bone N Thugs didn’t invent it, Kanye didn’t invent it, Nelly didn’t, DMX didnt and DRAKE didn’t. He made it popular and mainstream. That’s a fact. Just like Nirvana didn’t invent alternative music but they made it a staple for rock. Elvis didn’t invent rock n roll but he made everyone want to be a rockstar in the 60s. Drake made the era want to rap sing. It’s just a fact. Get over it.
If you call what the Red Hot Chili Peppers did rap, and if you call what Biz Markie does singing, then you need to lay off the devil’s lettuce son!
kill yourself you’re a f****** idiot that’s been a staple in hip-hop Niger that’s what you call MC in my control dumb mutherfucka what are your stupid white boy
FACTS
Youngin –
Gary, who started the rapping/singing concept in Hip Hop?
Gary –
This is what I found: Africa Bambata, Funky Four + 1 and most rap acts in the early to late 70’s in the parks and house parties within the 5 borrows of New York City. Please know your history youngin.
Test
Youngin –
Google, who started the rapping/singing concept in Hip Hop?
Google –
This is what I found: Africa Bambata, Funky Four + 1 and many other rap acts of the mid to late 70’s at house parties and parks located throughout the 5 borrows of Bee York City.
that is correct that was in the beginning of hip Hop Drake b**** ass ain’t do s*** just like you don’t write his own songs
New York City.
Phonte is one of the best rappers and a grammy nominated R&B singer. With this comment, I end this discussion. Nobody else will comment.
Grammy winning
Drake was not the first… Besides the ghostwriters create the song in that fashion… Drake ain’t done shit… With his Canadian Maple Syrup undercover Gay Ass…
Shouldn’t people like James Brown be considered for creating the singer/rapper? Play “Brother Rapp”. Sure some others before him too.
Phonte’s dope as hell, but his shine was put on hold when he kicked up a stink over Minstrel Show. He could’ve really pushed harder through the lack of record sales so that his talent shone through his dark moments in the industry. It’s a story we hear time and time again..
Domino Ghetto Jam though and that was a hit
To me this a joke…firstly, Phonte
and Drake do not sound alike in the slightest. Phonte sounds like a classic R&B singer when he sings using bluesy melodies while Drake half sings and raps. Little Brother and Phonte also borrowed heavily from Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Tribe and De La Soul. Their sound was heavily influenced by the backpacker/conscious rapper of the 90s. Their sound was never polarizing like Drake. It was always in line with the hiphop tradition. Everything is influenced by something. Kanye was influenced by Cudi and RZA. RZA was influenced by Prince Paul and Kung Fu Flicks. Thirdly, neither Drake, Phonte, Ja Rule, Lauryn Hill or whoever didnt invent rapping and singing. It was all done way before them from the start of hiphop by many acts. But it was so ridiculed so much as “pop” that De La Soul and Wu-Tang called it “Rap and B***s**t”. Drake deserves credit for popularizes rapping-singing and making it popular acceptable and not just “pop”. if you could transport you folks back to early 2010, it was everyone’s number one complaint about Drake – “I dont like Drake, he sings and that’s not hiphop” . Now everyone realizes it works so they shifting their opinion. The number complaint about Drake was how he raps in harmony with the beat and inserts melody . FACTS. He wasn’t first and NO artist is not influenced by another artist (you just don’t know the references is all). This isn’t so much about Drake influencing this generation to sing and rap (which is not even debatable) It’s about folks dislike for Drake and his dominance because he looks like a light skin Cosby kid and he’s from Canada.
Except when drake first started this singing shit he sounded just like phonte and said thx to phonte for opening his eyes to that style.
People sing rapping way before Phonte: Slick Rick, Ol Dirty Bastard, Mos Def, Lauryn Hill, Nice and Smooth.
That’s a fact ??
This stupid auto correct. That is a Fact !
Phonte should cool it with the anti-semitic remarks.
Phonte’s ego is the real reason 9th can’t work with these dudes. Ever since he popped up on Destiny fulfilled and the black album there’s been issues and an undercurrent of jealousy. Phonte quick to point out how HE was the one producing or putting songs together smh. Talented brother, but sensitive as hell….