I remember the first time I heard Drake. When I was in high school, he had just released his first studio album, Thank Me Later, in 2010. By the time I got to the fourth song, “Over,” I was completely hooked. I had never heard anyone use rhyme so well and express it so smoothly and elegantly.
Up until that moment, I hadn't felt a connection to any of the artists, but as a mixed-race person, I felt represented by Drake, who is also biracial. Not only did I enjoy his music, but I could relate to his personal experiences that inspired his art and taught me the beauty and power of music.
opinion
This is one reason why the public feud between Canadian Drake, 36, and fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar tested my loyalty to Drake, aka Drizzy.
The two rap stars accused each other of some pretty heinous things. Lamar, 36, from Compton, has released a number of “diss” songs about Drake, accusing him of having an 11-year-old daughter and of being a pedophile. (For the uninitiated, a diss song is an artist's personal expression of disdain for the subject of the song.)
I overheard a gentleman in Midtown the other day commenting on lyrical battles.
“Yeah, Drake lost that battle,” said one person. “He's a predator.”
It took everything in me not to turn around and give this man a piece of my heart.
This battle doesn't have the regional weight of the East Coast vs. West Coast beefs of the '90s, but it does feature two men who are the current faces of modern hip-hop. It also signifies a rupture between his two styles and subcultures, which had reluctantly coexisted until this conflict occurred.
The relationship between the rappers was rocky for a while, but Drake's song “First Person Shooter” from his album For All the Dogs was released in October last year. In the song, guest J. Cole refers to himself, Drake, and Lamar as the “big three.” Lamar took exception to Drake and J. Cole when he was featured on Future's “Like That” in March, refusing to be on his level. Lamar is an important cultural figure who became the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018 for his album DAMN.
There have been a total of nine diss tracks between Drake and Lamar in the past three weeks.
The reason for this is not just because of the high ratings, but also because it may go down as one of the most polarizing beefs in hip-hop history.
One of Lamar's diss tracks, “Euphoria,” broke the record for most streams for a solo rap song in a single day, previously held by Drake, in the first 24 hours after its release. In the song, Lamar criticizes Drake's biracial status by questioning his sexuality and openly disliking him. “I hate the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you dress,” Lamar rapped.
Even I, a longtime Drake fan, say he wasn't prepared for this onslaught of accusations. Watching my favorite rapper go head-to-head with Lamar on “No Holds a Bird” reminded me of Rocky Balboa standing helplessly as Ivan Drago kills Apollo Creed in Rocky IV. At some point you have to throw in the towel.
On May 7, days after Drake's latest response to Lamar's diss, police responded to a report of a shooting outside Drake's Toronto mansion. One of the guards was seriously injured in the gunfire. The security guard has not been identified, and Drake has not made a public statement on the matter.
line in the sand
The heated argument between Lamar and Drake shows the influence of hip-hop culture, for better or worse.
Lamar chose to attack Drake by mocking his mixed heritage and family. And calling him a pedophile was a brutal, quick combo uppercut. This wasn't just to win the match, but to end Drake's credibility and potentially his career. Lamar believes he is a hip-hop torchbearer, a lyrical poet shaped by a harsh upbringing that included abuse and violence. This experience is very different from that of Drakes, a former child actor who lives in the Toronto suburbs.
The optimist in me hopes that these men and their diverse life experiences can coexist within hip-hop. These two different, though contrasting paths, both led these artists to stardom. It's not as if either one better defines hip-hop. We shouldn't try to exclude people from hip-hop based on who they are, we should embrace them.
There's also some irony in Lamar's attack on Drake. In his previous song, “The Heart Part 5,” he said, “In a land where hurt people hurt people, [expletive] We call it culture. ” Now he's attacking another artist, calling him a pedophile.
If this situation continues, all signs point to it being the case, the real victim in this will be hip-hop culture. He is now a giant in the industry. They don't just rap, they embody a style and a vibe.
As a mixed person, I felt that Lamar's attempt to attack Drake for being biracial was a step backwards for our culture. Disparaging someone because of their background creates a culture of gatekeeping.
Hip-hop should respect individuality and be inclusive of all who participate.
