This is the best thing Drake dropped in 2015, and I'll go into detail why I consider this a perfect example of good rap:



First off, unlike other genres of music, the rap scene is a highly competitive one. This isn't some 2015 thing, the competitive nature of rap and hip hop goes back to the 70s. One thing about Drake is that he disses other rap artists so smoothly, you almost don't even notice it.

"I heard a little little homie talking reckless in Vibe
That's quite a platform you chose, you should've kept it inside
Oh, you tried
It's so childish calling my name on the world stage
You need to act your age and not your girl's age
It gets worse by the annual, my career's like a 'how to manual'
So I guess it's understandable, man"

In this part of the song, he's responding to his beef situation with Tyga. Tyga interviewed with Vibe and dismissed Drake, so in the song Drake responds by saying the way Tyga went about doing it was childish, that he should act his age and not his girl's age ( Kylie Jenner is 8 years younger than he is ), and then says that the only reason Tyga is doing all this is because he's jealous of his success. All without never mentioning any names or using generic diss lines such as "I'll shoot you when I see you", "I got a hundred niggas with me", "you're a faggot", etc like you see other rap artists doing.

Another thing you rarely see a rap artist do nowadays: address issues outside of the rap scene. After responding to his critics and rivals, he says:

"And I heard someone say something that stuck with me a lot
Bout how we need protection from those protectin' the block
Nobody lookin' out for nobody
Maybe we should try and help somebody or be somebody
Instead of bein' somebody that makes the news
So everybody can tweet about it
And then they start to R.I.P. about it
And four weeks later nobody even speaks about it
Damn, I just had to say my piece about it"

Here, Drake is referring to all the recent instances of police ( those protecting the block ) murdering black people who didn't actually need to be murdered. He then goes onto what he believes is the solution: for people to actually help and protect each other instead of just being bystanders, tweeting about the chaotic aftermath, and then eventually forgetting about it after a month.

Another thing I like about Drake is that he's humble and full of himself simultaneously. He boasts about being the best while also never forgetting to pay respect to the people who helped him reach the point where he is today. He constantly references his family, friends and producers in his songs:

"I told 1da send me something and I got it covered." ( "1da" is one of Drake's producers and has worked with him for a long time )

"Lil Wayne could not have found him a better successor." ( the person who flew him out and signed him )

"You see they got me back talkin' like it's just 40, Oli, and me." ( "40" is another one of his producers and Oli is his manager )

"I gotta make it back to Memphis to check on my cousins
Shout out to Ashley, Tasha, Biama, Julia, Ericka, Southern America" ( his family members )

And then of course, we have the nitty gritty: his flow and wordplay/allusions/similes. The backbone of any rap song. It doesn't matter if you talk about the most important things in the world - if you can't deliver it in a manner that's entertaining, you may as well not deliver it at all. I don't even have to elaborate on Drake's flow, anyone who isn't deaf can tell he's got that mastered after listening to 3:17 thru 3:50. As for allusions and similes?

"And stories 'bout my life hit the net like a bad serve" ( tennis reference )

"Every shot you see them take at me? They all contested" ( basketball reference )

"Allen Iverson shoe deal, these niggas all in question" ( reference to A.I.'s "Question" shoe line )

"Yeah, boy, you rappin' like you seen it all
You rappin' like the throne should be the three of y'all" ( not only is he rapping in second person, another thing other rappers almost never do proving how creative he gets with his lyrics, I don't think anyone's compared themselves to Jay-Z before as nicely as this )

"Cuttin' all loose ends, I be the barber for free" ( metaphor, stating that he cuts useless people off and removes them from his life the same way a barber cuts loose ends off someone's hair )

And he gets philosophical:

"I know rappers that call Paparazzi to come and get 'em
To show they outfits off, guess they need the attention
I remember when it used to be music that did it
But then again times have changed, man, who are we kiddin'?" ( stating that rap used to be about, and should still be about, who raps the best. not about who wears the best outfits )

"I'm managed by my friends that I grew up with
I'd rather give that 15% to people I fuck with" ( implying that the rappers who are managed by people who are nearly complete strangers and not legitimate friends who work in their best interests are being foolish )

"They scream out my failures and whisper my accomplishments." ( referring to people like Lummox )

"I wanna prove that I'm number one over all these niggas
Bein' number two is just being the first to lose" ( he's saying that not being the greatest at what he does is unacceptable, similar to how Steve Jobs said we should "stay hungry", meaning we should always be wanting to achieve more and do better )

"And on top of that it's getting harder to eat
Rappers downgrading houses, putting cars on the lease
To think labels said they had a problem marketing me" ( he points out that rappers nowadays are making less money and are living above their means, and that he finds it laughable that when he first started out trying to find a record label to give him a chance, they told him he wasn't marketable when apparently he those labels had no idea what they were talking about since he's an enormous success and doesn't have to downgrade houses and lease vehicles )

I can go all night about why Drake is one of the greatest ever. Guy is crazy influential. Do you know how many rappers started singing in their songs only after Drake became popular? He pretty much changed the culture of rap to the point where it's now acceptable for rappers to also sing in their songs. Before, rappers usually just found someone who could actually sing and had them do the chorus. Drake did his own choruses and became a phenomenon, something other rappers were frightened to even think about attempting. Drake is the only rapper who can dance like a mental patient and still be taken seriously. He's also one of the only rap artists who does not have a rap battle background but can demolish rappers who do. Most of this song will go over your head unless you follow the rap scene, so I'll translate. Essentially what Drake said in this song was "I came to your city in an expensive vehicle blasting your rival's music, ate at popular restaurants, and you did nothing about it. Also, your girl ( Nicki Minaj ) is wearing the pants in your relationship. I spend half my time singing and I can still write a better diss song than you despite you being a battle rapper. I've officially ended your career, and this situation isn't even worth talking about anymore."

In rap culture, the city you rep means everything, so the fact that Drake was able to travel to Philadelphia ( Meek's city ) and be treated like a king with no retaliation from Meek was pretty bad for Meek's image. Normally, your city is supposed to rally behind you and make sure your rivals know they aren't welcome, but this wasn't the case with Philly. Philly welcomed Drake, and Meek didn't show up to defend his turf by pistol whipping Drake or stealing his jewelry. Drake is pretty much just like Eminem - there was no one quite like them before their time and there won't be anyone like them after they die.

Speaking of Eminem, he's still the undisputed rap god. He is the definition of impeccable. This was a total eargasm.

Eminems best work is clearly right here. His rap battles before the fame.

"Nobodies hearing you, you're a wack liar, damn, all your white jokes just backfired, b*tch you walking up the wrong creek. Now go tell all your boys that you were beat by a honkey."

That was just Eminem wiping the floor with people who didn't even have a fraction of his skill and ambition.

Rap fam be like:



MC Chris fam be like:

so many little white boys they all wanna copy

Molano wrote:

No one takes us seriously till we're rich.

Or you start claiming the earth is flat (B.o.B), despite 400 years of proof otherwise. :P

Ces Cru, anybody?

Weird Al Yankovic for-the-win.

Fuck. Now I'm gonna be listening to Al all day.

Owl city!!!