Drake's Unintentional Curse on Hip Hop

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In hip-hop, things are constantly changing. While one artist is rising, another is always slowly losing ground. At the same time, new sounds gain traction just as others start to feel washed or outdated. This is the natural life cycle of Hip-Hop. The old makes way for the young, who then create new sounds and go from there. It’s how it’s always worked and how it’s always been. But these days, things have taken an unexpected turn.

Whether he meant to or not, Drake finds himself in a landscape where is unequaled. Where there was previously always someone else lurking behind the throne, Drake isn’t just keeping the seat warm, he’s etched his name into it.

And just as they say that Tom Cruise is the last Hollywood megastar, Drake is currently the last of his ilk in the game. But now that he’s teetering closer to 40, it’s causing genuine concern among critics and fans.

#drake #hiphopmadness #forallthedogs

Narrated by: Spencer Pearman
Written by: Robert Blair
Edited by: Roman Bill
Music by: Josh Petruccio

© HIPHOPMADNESS 2023. All rights reserved

[Davidvx]

Drake is like the Covid-19 of rap, once you think he's done, a new variant rises

[austinjones]

“And I did it all without a Drake feature” - Mac Miller

[thabokgwele]

I'm guessing people were expecting Pop Smoke, X and Juice to be the new superstars

[SKYBLSSM]

bruh these Drake videos are everywhere now, i can't escape it😭

[dontebennett]

As I said before, Drake is not a man, He's a brand. Amorphous, adaptable, pragmatic and determined to thrive, even at others' expense. He's the apotheosis of the constantly changing music industry. He is creative enough to gain begrudging respect but not brave enough to edge to far out of his comfort zone for too long. He'll show "love" to the new artists and hang out with them to size them up, so when he collabs with them using their flow or style, he can always say that he's just matching their energy. He does not have enough faith in his own musical identity and must constantly ape whatever style is popping, water it down and suck it for all it's worth and then move on to the next trend.

Drake is everything a true artist despises in that regard, and everything a long-lived business seeks to emulate.

[stickybear]

These videos have been popping up, and looking back, the writing has been on the wall for a couple of years now. This is a historic moment, and I'm glad everyone documented their thoughts.

[MiniMight]

it’s crazy how drake came from late 2000s wayne and kanye era, and he’s still the superstar for the gen z era

[rickylucia]

I'm a big fan of Jack's verse on Churchhill downs, however the whole track was practically catered to drake. In true drake fashion he took the song and made it his own song

[Hains]

Drake is doing what’s best for him. The music business has proven to use artists for their own benefit. It’s not his responsibility to make other artists superstars, that’s the label’s job.

[noahlima]

drake is the embodiment of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer"

[watsyourdestiny]

This isn’t exclusive to hip-hop; there is no upcoming shining light in acting, tv or movie creation, sports, etc. Hell even politics. And it’s not by accident.

[isaacs.]

Unpacking the 'MJ curse' unveils a profound music industry paradox. MJ's 'Off the Wall' and 'Thriller' were transformative, reigniting the industry but also triggering the homogenization of pop. Now, Drake echoes this narrative, catapulting hip hop commercially but perhaps constraining its artistic evolution. Unlike MJ's pursuit of innovation, Drake seems tethered to a formulaic success. Are we witnessing a cycle of repetition or a genuine progression in music? The industry grapples with the tension between commercial triumph and artistic breakthroughs, and the parallels between these two icons force us to question the very essence of musical legacy.

[austinjones]

It is not drakes job to clear the way for these niggas 😂 It ain’t on the reigning champ to relinquish the belt. It’s up to a hungry new challenger to TAKE the belt. But these new rappers can’t do that cuz they focused on tik tok and ‘the trenches’. New rappers are myopic af. They ain’t tryna be megastars or legends they just want their moment. Genuinely don’t think most of em even really care about rapping. Prolly wish they had a YouTube career instead

[dftv]

Well this did not age well. Dethroned!

[TitaniumTectonic]

He intentionally prevented new artists from being successful.

[ShaneCM]

This is a business. Drake gives and takes like he’s supposed to. The public doesn’t like these artist as much as they like Drake. They could support new artist on their own like they support Drake but they don’t. Why is that?

[austinjones]

you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain

[AkFlav]

“If Drake goes independent the music business is over”. That’s a very powerful statement and we need discourse on why Steve feels that way

[AustinNovel]

Late 2000’s was struggling… it took time to get past Soulja Boy & ringtone rap.
Rn we’re in a tik-tok rut… we’ll get through it!

[vagabond]

A lot of the time the upcoming rapper's highest point is a collaboration with Drake. They find it hard to match that height afterwards. It's funny though... Drake will collab with rappers then diss all rappers brutally with bars about him being number one. Some might say it's all rap but he really means what he says.