The end of Drake, and the end of pop?
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The pedophile accusations are literally true though and it’s been demonstrated for almost a decade now.
I think as a culture we do respect pop. But we also understand what it is. Yes, it’s “sometimes you just wanna dance”. But when an artist does exactly that and then tries to pass it as the same thing as social commentary rooted in deep cultural history (non-pop rap), that’s where the problem arises. Don’t try to portray a racial culture as “I fuck bitches and pump my fist because it’s fun” when it’s not. That’s what Drake did. He trivialized a genre that has been fighting for decades to be considered legitimate (entirely on a racial basis) by equating it to a genre that gained acceptance within 4-5 years because turns out people realized they can also like shallow.
If you think ghostwriters are ok in rap then you lack a fundamental understanding of what rap started as and has always tried to be. I’m not black. I’m not disadvantaged. I won’t claim to know it better than someone who lives in it. But we have to agree at the very baseline that rap is meant to be authentic, self-promoting, commentary-based oration. An artistic voice for a downtrodden population. The second you remove the authenticity, it’s not meeting the point of rap and therefore can’t really be rap. And just because some other greats have sometimes used ghost writers doesn’t make that ok.
Pop rappers can have respect. It’s just not the same thing as true rap. Pop rap isn’t immediately false rap. It’s just not the same as rap. Pop was meant to be a derivative version of rock, blues, jazz and a ton of other genres. That’s fine. It can exist and even be respected because it’s a MARKETING art form in a way. Don’t call it the same thing as the base versions of genres and the same as deviations from the mainstream though. It IS the mainstream, and the advent of art was always meant to express opinions regarding the mainstream. Not the be the mainstream.
Ok so pop (a “genre” created exclusively to capitalize on other genres by removing substance so that as many people want to buy it as possible) is ok but gatekeeping subsequently isn’t? I won’t act like gate keeping is on the whole. It’s not. But at some point the EXISTENCE of the gate needs to stop being equated with gatekeeping. The gate is there for a reason. Because there IS a natural division between the two. Should that inherently imply superiority of one side of the gate? No. Should it be a reminder that those who choose to be on one side of the gate can’t go out of their way to ruin the reputation of the other side of the gate by pretending to be one of them? Yes.
I would HARDLY argue that pop is inextricably tied to gay rights. Pop literally did everything to maintain heteronormativity as best as possible until LGBTQ artists started entering pop. You know why that was monumental? Pop is the mainstream. LGBTQ people are not. For LGBTQ people, a downtrodden population, to make it into good public perception, they have to show said oppressive public that they are not what the public thinks of them, they demonstrate that they can do the popular just as well as anyone else. It’s actually 1:1 what Kendrick did to Drake. “You got a problem because I can’t do what you do? Guess what? I can and did do what you do, possibly better than you ever have.” A PORTION of recent pop has been for queer people because some of the biggest artists have been those same people. It’s moving. That aside, it’s not a correct equation to say dissing pop is inherently homophobic.
Kendrick saying he believes Drake doesn’t like women for reasons he elaborates on that clearly aren’t homophobic. He’s literally only competing with women in his category is what Kendrick’s point is. Drake’s trying to be more “girlypop” than girls who want to be “girlypop”, which tbh would be fine if that’s who Drake was in real life. Drake in real life is someone who abuses women, has used women as tools and still does, thinks of women as prizes and still does, and any woman who is up there on drakes level Drake takes some pretty severe offense to if they don’t offer to shake on him.
Also I’m leaving a lot of comments and I know that shit’s annoying I just have a lot of thoughts on your commentary. It’s certainly an interesting take, and we agree on a lot of the baseline stuff. I just like airing out what I’m thinking so if you read any of this don’t think I hate you. I do think you may have misapplied what exactly rap is at certain points is all.
what is happening in this video 😭 i am so baffled by some of these interpretations… i think it’s really really challenging to analyze hiphop and rap from a pop-centric perspective, and, perhaps it just isn’t useful to?
I genuinely would love to see Kendrick do a lecture series at some big university on effective oration.
Don’t think this situations pegs Kendrick as a manipulator. You can manipulate a bad situation to your favor and that’s not being a manipulator always. That’s just smarts.
Being a manipulator is categorically what Drake did, convincing girls he met when they were 14 and 16 to date him once they were of age due to his fame. Using his leverage to take advantage of the entire Atlanta scene so he could appropriate rap culture for his image. For fuck’s sake the guy sleep with people’s wives while they’re in prison just to get a rise out of people. If that’s not a manipulator I don’t know what is.
If nothing else, this is a win over mumble rap. No one’s gonna enjoy that shit anymore now that shit matters.
“I believe you don’t like women” is calling Drake a misogynist who views female artists as threats
Yeah, I wouldn't think too hard about the ending of the song. That's just Kendrick making fun of Drake, like he said in Euphoria, "it ain't gotta be that deep some shit just cringe worthy".
I love this song but i can go the rest of my life never hearing it again
Mack > Kendrick. Song slaps tho.
Dot didn’t mix up Haley Joel Osment w Joel Osteen. He combined the 2
NananananA kinda of rappers are awful. Hate that stupid rythm. And about Drake, he is what you would exactly imagined a Canadian rapper would be: a washed up version of rap. Vanilla Ice sounds super dangerous compared to Drake and that Lamar dude. It´s like emos playing metal.
If Lamar could rap for shit I'd be concerned for D. But the truth is, KL is just Jay-Z's mouthpiece at this point and frankly should be embarrassed by the shit he puts out now.
Can't the 69 reference be about the way Drake has 2 sides? The alleged "rapper that pursued the scene for respect" And the pop star vain and full of himself to a nauseous degree. You flip a 69, is still a 69. Calls him the 69 king, the king of having 2 sides. By the way the video of F. D. Signifier about the beef is worth the watch, can't recommend enough. Love your work Todd. I'm not like Kendrick either, just a old rap head… from Spain.
Drake personifies what Kendrick feels is wrong with the culture and he hates that because by extension it’s basically what’s wrong with the world: dishonest people get away with evil destructive shit.
So in layman's terms, Kendrick is saying that Drake is a modern day Thomas Eddison? Amongst other things?
You really should have sat this one out or did more research first.
Chappell roan video pls!!!!!
They're like little junior high girls bitching and calling each other names over nothing. Feud? Who gives a fuck? You call yourself an "artist" and all you have is childish name calling and airing your bullshit in public? Seriously? "I'll show you". Your supposed to be grown ass MEN! ACT LIKE IT instead of little girls bitch slapping each other over some nonsense that makes no difference. Be ARTISTS!! If you have a problem with the other than meet up and fight it out and then put out something adults can listen to.
Todd telling us he feels skeeved out by the receipt-less allegations, then has the end credit song being "Little Girls" plays your hand brother
Good Old Todd Makes his Review on the Greatest Song Ever Done. Hbomberguy should definitely make his version of that song. I listen to this every single day because of the memes.
I think the “freaky ahh he a 69 god” line is like a veiled homoohobic dig just for the ig posts and all the acting stuff
It’s wild to me that music critics have been patting themselves on the back for taking pop music more seriously than they used to (which is to say “at all” as opposed to “never”). Hearing you talk about the gatekeeping critics have been doing and the way “pop” is an insult is so irritating to me because it’s like no music journalists ever learn from those who came before them. Shitting on popular taste has been done since the dawn of music criticism and probably will never stop and I hate it.
69 God = the Devil, master of manipulation and temptation
Drake often called himself the 6ix God (referring to Toronto), so calling him a 69 god is a clever flip
I fully disagree with your assessment of Kendrick. Kendrick doesn’t want to be famous for the sake of acceptance. Kendrick has always wanted his music to be an inspiration to bring about change and to just be THE best rapper alive. When he realised that ain’t happening because the issues of racism are far more deep seated and harder to solve than black people just being inspired, I think that broke him as evidenced by how down DAMN is and Mr Morale is him just healing. If Kendrick really wanted fame I think this beef has proven he could easily do what drake does but better.
Drakes real best option would be pull up and run hands. Much much bigger physically so good shot there. If he did that it would get respect.
F.Y.I… it is a big deal when you’re a rapper and use ghost writers. The ability to write and/or freestyle has a lot to do with determining how great a rap artist is. Especially if you don’t play instruments, make beats, or carry actual notes with your voice in your music. Saying it doesn’t matter if a rapper uses a ghost writer is like saying it didn’t matter that Milli Vanilli didn’t actually sing their hit songs. If it were sports, it would be like saying it doesn’t matter if Barry Bonds used steroids to break the home run record. It doesn’t matter that Drake uses ghost writers because he’s a pop star (and rap is the most popular genre in this country at the moment), not a rap artist.
Dr. Dre was able to get away with it because he’s a producer. Hence why the Grammys he’s won were mostly for pop album of the year and not hip hop/rap album of the year. Considering Dr. Dre to be a rap artist is like saying Sean Combs was a rap artist.
Imagine if someone said it doesn’t or shouldn’t matter if a singer can carry a note or sing in tune… 🤣🤣🤣
I think the insult of being pop-[genre] has more to do with pop as an attempt to get popular rather than disparaging pop as a genre. The insistence that pop needed to be respected as a genre I think is different than the idea that pop is a tool to make money. Pop has proven that it can be as relevant and important as other genres; I think that's what poptimism was about. Pop was a genre that needed respect, and it's getting it because of the movement. By using "pop" as an adjective, however, the insult is meant to be "You are utilizing this genre as a disingenuous cash grab rather than as a respect for the genre." At least that's my view on it.
K Dot Bugs Bunny'd him!!
NOT THE INFORMER REMIX, DRAKE!!!!!!!!
ey no need to shit on the Juno Awards lmfao
i dont think just because one of the worlds best rapppers makes one of the years catchiest songs means it has to be a "Pop" song….
I forget who said it but- Drake said he spends $10k on security to go out in LA for a day and Kendrick can getin his car and go wherever he wants whenever he wants…alone…and I think the best moment in the video is at the end when Kendrick is in his grandmas living room with Whitney and the kids…I mean god bless her for stickin by her man. But its Kendrick saying look what I got Drake what do you got?