So it turns out I’ve been living under a rock for about five years because I’d barely heard of this guy until he released his latest album last week. Now, full disclosure, I’ve not listened to the album. However, since a bunch of my friends were going loopy about it on Facebook, I decided to check out some of his earlier stuff on YouTube and…what the fuck? How is this even music? Listening to Hotline Bling made me feel like a drum machine had just taken a shit on my face. And that was the best one!
So yeah. I’m baffled by Drake. Then again, I’m an old fart and have been since I was about twelve, so what do I know? What do you think about him? If you like him, what’s his appeal? Enquiring minds must know. Cheers.
I don’t know how to answer this. I kind of have mixed feeling about Drake.
See, back when Hotline Bling was first released, I was dog/house sitting for a woman. She left very specific instructions that the radio was to be on at all times for the dogs. The station she left it on had Hotline Bling on very heavy rotation. As a result of visiting her house 3 times a day for 10 days, I must have heard that song at at least 20 times, maybe more. I grew to hate Drake over that period of time. I’d never even heard of him, but I hated him nonetheless. Ironically, by the end of the time, I knew all the words to the song. I still do, but I’m the only middle aged, white person I know who does and I have impressed some young people by knowing all the words. So that kind of gave me some street cred.
So like I said, mixed feelings.
(Plus, the video and all the spoofs for that song are hilarious!)
Don’t worry about Drake, his stuff isn’t aimed at you (or me). There’s no need to make a thing about it - just makes you sound like someone’s grandad objecting to, I dunno, that Bill Haley fella.
I go through music stages in my life in which I stick to one genre of music for several years. I had a hip hop period for many years and I “discovered” Drake very early on. I recognized that he had a unique style, significant talent and was a very clever lyricist. Anyway, I chose the first option, but that just may because I predicted early on that he would explode, and he did. If I discovered him later when he became mainstream, I might have chosen the 2nd.
All I know about Drake is that he is in everything that qualifies as pop music. Seriously, he’s either featured or is the main artist in everything heard on the radio. Him and a few others.
I mostly know him as a staple at Toronto Raptors games. I know that he’s a rapper but, while I enjoy rap, I don’t generally listen to the sort of stations that would play him. He killed Meek Mill on “Back to Back,” though, so he’s got that going for him.