Drake Rap Radar: Review

12.29.19

Picture from @Pinterest

It feels like social has been going crazy over this Rap Radar interview. I wasn't sure if it was just because it is Drake, or if it was really insightful and interesting to listen to. I am not Drake’s biggest fan, but I wanted to find out. Overall, I would say this interview was a gigantic waste of 2 hours and 20 minutes of my life.

The interview takes place in Drake’s house in Toronto, which he just moved into two weeks prior, as he asks for another glass of white wine. He’s wearing a black zip hoodie and some jeans. Boring, but I guess he can do that in his own home. I think the biggest part about this that I did not enjoy, was that I was expecting him to be nice, fun, witty, etc. To me, this interview was too serious, level toned, and just overall not really exciting.

Drake jokes about not being credited for Sicko Mode. He wanted Uptown to be his hit single over Best I Ever Had. He lost this battle, because he is so self-conscious and insecure with his music, that he shares everything with his eight-man crew and listens to their advice when acknowledging what and what not to release. Drake loves social media because “negativity makes you stronger.” These are just the little things that made him sound a bit like, he was begging for recognition and respect, but this is just the beginning.

At one point, Drake mentioned that he has a chip on his shoulder because he doesn’t think that he is celebrated as a black artist. Now, I am not the one to debate on this topic, but I do know that Drake has a gigantic collection of awards from the Grammy’s, Billboard, to yes, BET. I get it, he sings, but he also said himself in this same interview that he feels that making songs for females is “the waviest thing to do.” I think Drake is fine in the hip-hop world he lives in. He also as of late, has received a lot of backlash for his different cultural music release, like War, from people that don’t think he belongs making music with inspiration from cultures that do not belong to him. However, Drake says that he has studied these cultures and how they make their music, and that the OGs in each space respect him for the work that he has put out in doing so.

Now what everyone really wants to know, is what he said about Meek Mill and Pusha T. First, Drake shares that there was never any shame in his game that he was collaborating heavy with Quinten Miller. He shares Meek Mill’s anger came from when Drake did not show up to one of Meek’s shows, which I would say is understandable. What I didn’t love, was that Drake kind of glorified himself for creating Back to Back to diss someone like Meek Mill who was “about that life,” and could have taken their situation a lot further. Come on Drake, you guys made up and it was beautiful, don’t try to act tough now.

Pusha T, is a whole different story. Drake says he’s been moving differently since the whole situation with Push. He has no desire to mend this relationship, there is no going back from the things that have been said. However, Drake does say that spilling the tea about his hidden son was “a genius play in the game of chess.” He does not feel that he was out barred by Push by any means, he just shared some unknown knowledge that was considered inappropriate since the two are no where near chill, or friends. Throughout the beef with Pusha T, Kanye West remains Drake’s favorite rapper, after Lil Wayne (of course).

There were a couple of things I did enjoy. I watch these things to learn about an artist. A few things I learned, I could connect with. Rick Ross is one of Drake’s favorites, because he is the most consistent rapper of our time. I have to agree here. Rick Ross doesn’t get any respect as an artist, a producer, or anything like that. Even though every song he has something to do with, is a hit, banger, etc. He just isn’t the highlight artist on the track and people put him under the radar for that.

Over ten years and still nobody’s favorite. - Rick Ross

Poor Rick Ross. Anyways, Drake also mentions that he used to rap like Joe Budden on purpose because he liked his flows. He said that “21 Questions” from 50 Cent was one of his biggest inspirations, of being a guy that sings, who “isn’t supposed to be singing". Finally, when talking about bars going extinct in the hip-hop industry, he called out, “besides Griselda.” To all these points, Shady Gang, I respected this.

Last thing, I want to talk about his respect for the young generation of rap talent. This could be controversial to many, but Drake gives a shout out to YWN Melly, saying he really respects Melly for being an artist that isn’t afraid to show so much pain and emotion in his art work, and Drake loves it. Well, Melly should be free soon, so let’s see if there is a potential collab on the way. Melly has recorded with Future, and they’ve spoken while Melly is behind bars, so hey, maybe the three of them will cook something up for us. I’m not going to love it, but I’m here to listen.

Going off of this, I would argue that Juice WRLD was a better notion to make on artists who share their pain and emotions on a track, because I mean, he didn’t kill anyone. But hey, they all have their own struggling issues, and if you can overcome your battles, that will lead to your longevity in the industry. To touch on this, Drake says he wants this generation to get clean, and stick around a while. It pains him when we loose artists, and he wants to hear what they have to say.

Overall I think Drake wants to stick around in the industry, and to do so, he is open to adapting to new artists and the new wave of music. Drake doesn’t think he is going to be able to rap past 40. However, he is 35 and isn’t feeling like slowly down just yet. What will hip-hop be like once Drake retires?