I’ve been hearing that since Drake became a part of YMCMB he’s changed…and frankly I used to believe that. Don’t get me wrong, I love Drake. I’m one of his biggest fans. I’ve blasted So Far Gone, Thank Me Later and Take Care one too many times. And while I do agree his style – and even his topics- have changed since So Far Gone, I don’t think he’s changed. Some people have failed to notice what he’s been saying all along. The change you’re seeing is more like maturation, which in my eyes was must needed in order for Aubrey Drake to make it in the music industry.
Take for example, his latest song, “Started From the Bottom”. It’s a banger, and it has become every up-and-coming artist/model/businessman/whatever’s newest motto. I mean, “You Only Live Once”, so you might as well do it big…because you started from the bottom right? But we’ve got plenty of people saying Drake never started at the bottom. After all he was on Degrassi…so he knows nothing about “the struggle”, right? But what do we define as the bottom? To those blasting music where Meek Mill refers to selling drugs before he got big, people think gang-banging is the bottom…but drug dealers make money too. College students can say we are at the bottom…while some of our parents send us money, we have meal plans and some of us have part time jobs. We all have these images of what the bottom is, but we can’t impose them on the artist and what they felt or intended. Drake been talking about being on the bottom since day one. Hello…ever heard the intro to Comeback Season? “I’ve hit rock bottom…” he says. He’s an unsigned rap artist taking a risk making a mixtape after Degrassi cycled him out. Sounds like a variant of the bottom to me. To Drake, starring on Degrassi with his ill mother at home is the bottom compared to sold out shows and partying with greats like Lil Wayne and Baby. Is it the bottom to us? Nah, but the bottom to me isn’t gonna be the bottom to you.
Second, people love to assert that he recently changed his image once he got to YMCMB. Ehh…try again. Again, let’s use Comeback Season as an example. Drake talks about drug money, stealing girls, blah blah. Same as YMCMB Drake. Drake may not be hard, but he’s been fake-hard since day one boo. He’s been simping on saving strippers since Houstalantavegas. He’s been talking about jet-setting since before he could ride first class. He just flexing a little bit now, but would you blame him? People love to say that since Drake “changed” he’s gotten worse. “Bring back the old Drake”…nah you can keep him. Instead, I assert that Drake has improved since he got signed to Young Money. Listen to Comeback Season and then listen to post YMCMB tracks and get back to me. Matter of fact, listen to “Teach You a Lesson” and then listen to “Practice”.
His flow is tighter, and let’s not talk about the tracks. I’d blast Take Care harder than So Far Gone, but that’s just me. I think the same types of emotions are there, but just crafted so much better. Comeback Season and So Far Gone may have had that raw, innocent emotion that Take Care has tried to conceal, but Take Care shows the maturity of Drake as an artist. So for you all that think Drake has changed…for my sake please don’t ask him to bring back the old Drake. Let me enjoy Take Care while you blast Comeback Season.
It all depends on your perspective…most artists do change once they hit the mainstream stage in the sense that they conform to what the entertainment industry’s vision is. Some change their appearance, style of music, etc. In the Hip Hop industry, there is a distinct difference between mixtapes and hits on the radio, aka mainstream. The songs on the radio make you want to jam, they sometimes have good lyrics but most often they are just songs people want to go to the club to dance to. The mixtapes are original pieces that artists wrote before they became famous. Often times, the style is very different than the mainstream. It’s not just with hip-hop or even Drake in particular, but when money and fame are in the equation it is a fact that people do change, and not always for the better. It’s not necessarily that they are changing who they are inside, but it’s more like their image and the way they present themselves. The influence of the entertainment industry is so strong that people are easily persuaded and convinced to do what they say because there is so much money at stake. Plenty of hip-hop artists out there, have NO talent…they rap about drugs, alcohol, sex, money, etc that is pointless and often degrading towards women. I don’t even blame some of them for what they do, I blame the entertainment culture of this society that tries to transform people into someone they’re not. As a little girl, I grew up listening to Tupac and Biggie with my family, and now a days hip hop is just not the same. It is all about greed and power….what happened to morals? this is 21st century America.
I agree, most artists do change to conform with what the industry wants. Consider nicki Minaj. Now that’s a drastic change. But on a spectrum it seems drake has remained true for the most part. And the popularity of hip hop artists degrading women is growing, and it’s a little scary to someone who regards herself as feminist. When my favorite rapper slips up and refers to a woman with a less than savory name what do I do?