The Drake Theory

One can argue, with much persuasion, that mentioning today's hip-hop along with the word originality is oxymoronic. What is probably universally conceded is the fact that where once rap artists wedded borrowed beats, melodies, instrumental, etc. to create their own distinctive style of rap, now the game has become so stylistically and lyrically impoverished that artists resort to borrowing other artists' entire persona.

Tragically, this reality commonly goes unaddressed by today's generation of hip-hop heads who are either oblivious to these unabashed swagger-jackers or are completely apathetic. Like so many others who have recently been swept up in the fanfare of Jimmy Brooks, AKA Drake, I've been trying to figure out just why I like the guy so much. Being the staunch critic of contemporary rap that I am, I consider this my disgraceful mea culpa. After much reflection, I stunningly arrived at the reason...Drake is a carbon copy of Phonte; one of my favorite artists.

Sadly, the aforementioned name isn't household enough for most people's lightbulb to instantly flick on without further elaboration. He is the frontman for the highly under glorified North Carolina rap duo, Little Brother. From his voice's pitch, to his delivery, down to his simplistic but defining ad lib "yeah" that is interspersed throughout his flow, Drake has mastered them all. To be clear, the point of this expose is not an attempt to discredit or defame the former Degrassi thespian, because despite his apparent creative deficit, I really like his material (perhaps because I like the bitee). Drake is merely the segway to an even greater truth. What I do want to get off my chest is only related to what just came off my chest, and that is how much of a shame it is that hip-hop's greatest talents invariably wither in obscurity, while their drones along with ringtone rappers flourish under the limelight.

What this is, is an indictment of the crowd-mindedness of hip-hop's fan base. I always knew rap wasn't a merit-based industry, but today's fans only listen to the music that is forced down their eardrum via television and radio. Had Little Brother or countless other hapless, obscure talents been endorsed by an artist as popular as Little Wayne, then their lack of popularity and commercial success wouldn't be reality.