...And Without Further Ado, I Present To You My Favorite Song From Aubrey.

[ill legal operation]

Can we just be honest for a moment?

Is Drake NOT batting near 1.000 this year alone on features and verses?

Stay Scheming? Diced Pineapples? Pop That? Poetic Justice? No Lie? ****** Problem? Amen? The Motto? 

YES. I've said this before. Since summer 2011 when Dreams Money Can Buy dropped he has not missed.

Thing is...dudes are too afraid to say it. Drake has this stigma surrounding him.

Look at this thread alone. Everyone starts off with some pseudo-masculine disclaimer just to re-establish to everyone else how Drake is (insert some derogatory characteristic) but (insert name of obviously great song) is incredible.

Its really unfortunate. 

Dude is making some of the best and most memorable records the mainstream has seen in YEARS and its really undebatable at this point yet everyone wants to perpetuate this meme of him not being embraced by rap/hip-hop. 

Me personally, if he went back to his underground/Comeback Season vibe (which is a personal classic as a mixtape if you ask me) I don't think people could really deny his talent anymore. 

Leave it to Stanleyputty to come through dickridin'...

...post your favorite song or G T F O.

 

[illphillip]

Niketalk.com...for years now

I get it. Dude gets his share of shade.

Just was confused as to how that came up in this thread when everything was fairly positive and particularly confused when it was suggested that there were "pseudo masculine disclaimers" in this thread when I don't see any.

 

[futuremd]

I wasn't saying they were in the "majority." I shouldn't have said "everyone" then, if thats what you're latching onto. It would be more accurate to say "many people"...because its more than 1 or 2.

My point is that Drake is the artist that people love to hate but can't deny on some level.

Lets not front. We're just gonna sit here with the "Drake is a little light-skinned sissy and I hate dude's guts because he ain't street...but (proceeds to list 5 songs) go HARD!" 

 

...Alright buddy. 

Its whatever though. Dudes got all his songs but out here fronting on him in public. 

I wasn't latching on to anything. You specifically mentioned this thread and I don't see any of that in here so I'm not sure why you chose this thread for that statement.

Again, I haven't seen anything you're seeing. I don't see people hating on Drake then listing their favorite songs. I see dudes hating for whatever reason. So be it.

I've always been a fan and will continue to be. In private and in public (on here for instance).

Some guys don't like his vulnerability. That's their problem. It's actually what I like about his music. A lot of it carries and honesty and a sincerity that dudes are afraid to express.

Not an problem for me. I'm not out here posturing for anyone. But if that's the stance dude's want to take, so be it. We can't all like everyone.

But projecting hate where it doesn't exist isn't helping anything....

Alright. All good then. 

I agree especially with the bolded. 

 

[antidope]

I wasn't saying they were in the "majority." I shouldn't have said "everyone" then, if thats what you're latching onto. It would be more accurate to say "many people"...because its more than 1 or 2.

My point is that Drake is the artist that people love to hate but can't deny on some level.

Lets not front. We're just gonna sit here with the "Drake is a little light-skinned sissy and I hate dude's guts because he ain't street...but (proceeds to list 5 songs) go HARD!" 

 

...Alright buddy. 

Its whatever though. Dudes got all his songs but out here fronting on him in public. 

I wasn't latching on to anything. You specifically mentioned this thread and I don't see any of that in here so I'm not sure why you chose this thread for that statement.

Again, I haven't seen anything you're seeing. I don't see people hating on Drake then listing their favorite songs. I see dudes hating for whatever reason. So be it.

I've always been a fan and will continue to be. In private and in public (on here for instance).

Some guys don't like his vulnerability. That's their problem. It's actually what I like about his music. A lot of it carries an honesty and a sincerity that dudes are afraid to express.

Not an problem for me. I'm not out here posturing for anyone. But if that's the stance dude's want to take, so be it. We can't all like everyone.

But projecting hate where it doesn't exist isn't helping anything....

Tell em. I've always preached that this is his number one selling point for me when it comes to his music. Its extremely relatable. Dudes just talking about regular dude problems in all those songs that the majority of us have had. Its hard to hate on it IMO, and on top of it the records themselves are always great. I have no shame in admitting I'm a fan.

Take Care is his greatest work to date and he may never top it.

 

[futuremd]

I wasn't saying they were in the "majority." I shouldn't have said "everyone" then, if thats what you're latching onto. It would be more accurate to say "many people"...because its more than 1 or 2.

My point is that Drake is the artist that people love to hate but can't deny on some level.

Lets not front. We're just gonna sit here with the "Drake is a little light-skinned sissy and I hate dude's guts because he ain't street...but (proceeds to list 5 songs) go HARD!" 

 

...Alright buddy. 

Its whatever though. Dudes got all his songs but out here fronting on him in public. 

I wasn't latching on to anything. You specifically mentioned this thread and I don't see any of that in here so I'm not sure why you chose this thread for that statement.

Again, I haven't seen anything you're seeing. I don't see people hating on Drake then listing their favorite songs. I see dudes hating for whatever reason. So be it.

I've always been a fan and will continue to be. In private and in public (on here for instance).

Some guys don't like his vulnerability. That's their problem. It's actually what I like about his music. A lot of it carries an honesty and a sincerity that dudes are afraid to express.

Not an problem for me. I'm not out here posturing for anyone. But if that's the stance dude's want to take, so be it. We can't all like everyone.

But projecting hate where it doesn't exist isn't helping anything....

Tell em. I've always preached that this is his number one selling point for me when it comes to his music. Its extremely relatable. Dudes just talking about regular dude problems in all those songs that the majority of us have had. Its hard to hate on it IMO, and on top of it the records themselves are always great. I have no shame in admitting I'm a fan.

Take Care is his greatest work to date and he may never top it.

Whats funny is that this point is a major aspect what is facing about the rap game right now. 

I think Kanye's 808s album, and his career in general, is one of the most influential albums to date for this reason alone. 

A lot of the appeal with rap music is this sort of party life and hardcore narrative that people love to try and validate as real life. These dudes aren't out here really selling drugs or pimping like that. The problem is when people get too caught up in the narrative and try to defend it when the man behind the curtain gets revealed (See: William Leonard Roberts II). 

They want their rap, and largely all forms of entertainment, to be a reflection of what they aren't...its why underground dudes don't blow up like that. They're TOO regular. They're TOO relatable. Their problems are TOO common. Theres nothing to them that they can't get elsewhere. Do you think you'd listen to a rap album about a guy's desk job? So when a dude like Drake comes along, who is admittedly trying a LITTLE too hard now and then, but is really honest about his life then people toss it off as being weak and what not. Its easy to call dude the "kitten-whisperer" than admit that the song goes hard...and the only problem for many people is the fact that he sings. You really can't discount him when he decides to put some bars together considering he's not from the hood and can't rely on those gangster/hard luck tales to get him through his verse. But for most people, rappers aren't supposed to "sing." Its an image problem. If you can't put it in a box then people don't get it. I remember people hating on Cudi for this same reason. You've got to separate the person from songs themselves.

 

[flacobey]

I don't really listen to Drake that much, but that song is really good. I was a big fan of So Far Gone and Comeback Season. though.

I don't listen to much R&B or Top 40 Rap/Hip Hop so I guess that can explain why I'm not a big fan of him. He's mad talented though, can't deny that.

 

[illphillip]

Whats funny is that this point is a major aspect what is facing about the rap game right now. 

I think Kanye's 808s album, and his career in general, is one of the most influential albums to date for this reason alone. 

A lot of the appeal with rap music is this sort of party life and hardcore narrative that people love to try and validate as real life. These dudes aren't out here really selling drugs or pimping like that. The problem is when people get too caught up in the narrative and try to defend it when the man behind the curtain gets revealed (See: William Leonard Roberts II). 

They want their rap, and largely all forms of entertainment, to be a reflection of what they aren't...its why underground dudes don't blow up like that. They're TOO regular. They're TOO relatable. Their problems are TOO common. Theres nothing to them that they can't get elsewhere. Do you think you'd listen to a rap album about a guy's desk job? So when a dude like Drake comes along, who is admittedly trying a LITTLE too hard now and then, but is really honest about his life then people toss it off as being weak and what not. Its easy to call dude the "kitten-whisperer" than admit that the song goes hard...and the only problem for many people is the fact that he sings. You really can't discount him when he decides to put some bars together considering he's not from the hood and can't rely on those gangster/hard luck tales to get him through his verse. But for most people, rappers aren't supposed to "sing." Its an image problem. If you can't put it in a box then people don't get it. I remember people hating on Cudi for this same reason. You've got to separate the person from songs themselves.

We're going on a completely different tangent here and we're generalizing again and it's not entirely accurate, as tends to be the case with generalizations.

Kendrick Lamar just blew up. He was underground once. Cole. Same.

Kanye, at the beginning of his career as a rapper, did have somewhat of an "everyman" appeal that he has since left behind. People looked at him as a "backpacker".

Do people listen to Nas for escapism when he's rapping about his divorce or his "Daughters"? Probably not. They like the fact that it's relateable. You know how many dudes I know with or about to have daughters that reference that record?

You say no one wants to hear an album strictly about a guy's desk job. But that doesn't mean that person with that "desk job", and circumstances leading up to it or the surrounding it, can't provide experiences, that in the hands of the right artist, wouldn't be appealing to a listener, because it's relateable.

Drake's experiences are relateable. Too relateable. That's what the people who like him like about him. Some people won't relate to his experience so they may not like him. And that's OK.

You're almost talking about him like he's unsuccessful. He has MILLIONS of fans. Male and female.

Trust me when I tell you, NT Music Forum opinions are not an exact representation of the world at large. His detractors don't speak louder than that to me.

But I disagree that you need to separate the person from the songs. I don't think people really want to hear Drake talk about pushing packs if that's not him.

What makes guys like Drake, and Cudi (who you say people hated, but who is also a largely successful artist) special is that their music comes off as a reflection of who they are as people. THAT is the honesty that we love about them and that is what makes them and their music great IMO.

That's what music is. The art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.

And another thread hath derailed.......my bad Cage.....

 

[futuremd]

Whats funny is that this point is a major aspect what is facing about the rap game right now. 

I think Kanye's 808s album, and his career in general, is one of the most influential albums to date for this reason alone. 

A lot of the appeal with rap music is this sort of party life and hardcore narrative that people love to try and validate as real life. These dudes aren't out here really selling drugs or pimping like that. The problem is when people get too caught up in the narrative and try to defend it when the man behind the curtain gets revealed (See: William Leonard Roberts II). 

They want their rap, and largely all forms of entertainment, to be a reflection of what they aren't...its why underground dudes don't blow up like that. They're TOO regular. They're TOO relatable. Their problems are TOO common. Theres nothing to them that they can't get elsewhere. Do you think you'd listen to a rap album about a guy's desk job? So when a dude like Drake comes along, who is admittedly trying a LITTLE too hard now and then, but is really honest about his life then people toss it off as being weak and what not. Its easy to call dude the "kitten-whisperer" than admit that the song goes hard...and the only problem for many people is the fact that he sings. You really can't discount him when he decides to put some bars together considering he's not from the hood and can't rely on those gangster/hard luck tales to get him through his verse. But for most people, rappers aren't supposed to "sing." Its an image problem. If you can't put it in a box then people don't get it. I remember people hating on Cudi for this same reason. You've got to separate the person from songs themselves.

We're going on a completely different tangent here and we're generalizing again and it's not entirely accurate, as tends to be the case with generalizations.

Kendrick Lamar just blew up. He was underground once. Cole. Same.

I was speaking on dudes who DON'T blow up...i mean clearly those guys did gain success. 

Mickey Factz and all those other blog-type rappers who are just clones of one-another.

Kanye, at the beginning of his career as a rapper, did have somewhat of an "everyman" appeal that he has since left behind. People looked at him as a "backpacker".

Agreed.

Do people listen to Nas for escapism when he's rapping about his divorce or his "Daughters"? Probably not. They like the fact that it's relateable. You know how many dudes I know with or about to have daughters that reference that record?

I wasn't referring to that. I'm talking to mainstream rap music...and lets be honest because Nas isn't as mainstream as his fans like to lt on that he is. Nas is an established artist with the ability to do that. A lesser artist wouldn't get that sort of acclaim. Didn't Don Trip have a similar song? 

And keep in mind, I loved his last album and the album with Damian Marley. Both are great. 

You say no one wants to hear an album strictly about a guy's desk job. But that doesn't mean that person with that "desk job", and circumstances leading up to it or the surrounding it, can't provide experiences, that in the hands of the right artist, wouldn't be appealing to a listener, because it's relateable.

But it hasn't been done successfully...kinda my point. 

Music is an escape for more people than its not. The most relatable part about music is relationships. Hands down. That guy at the desk job might have money problems or his hard luck tales, but in context his "daily struggles" aren't going to reach others in the same way that gritty, almost 3rd world portrayals of street life do. 

You know what I'm trying to get at here. People want to feel like they're watching a movie more than they want to be reminded how boring their lives are.

I point to dudes like Phonte who hold down this middle-class, every man vibe. I mess with that...but hes not talking about filing papers and jammed copy machines...hes still bringing it back to relationships.

Drake's experiences are relateable. Too relateable. That's what the people who like him like about him. Some people won't relate to his experience so they may not like him. And that's OK.

I'm not disagreeing with you. 

You're almost talking about him like he's unsuccessful. He has MILLIONS of fans. Male and female.

Trust me when I tell you, NT Music Forum opinions are not an exact representation of the world at large. His detractors don't speak louder than that to me.

I didn't say he was unsuccessful.

I'm talking about the initial criticisms of him early in his career.

But I disagree that you need to separate the person from the songs. I don't think people really want to hear Drake talk about pushing packs if that's not him.

But this point was used against him for most of his career up until very recently. 

What makes guys like Drake, and Cudi (who you say people hated, but who is also a largely successful artist) special is that their music comes off as a reflection of who they are as people. THAT is the honesty that we love about them and that is what makes them and their music great IMO.

That's what music is. The art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.

And another thread hath derailed.......

I'm not sure you're getting what I'm saying.

I'm talking about the CRITICISMS people have/had against Drake (and I guess Cudi)...not how successful they are right now.

I guess it seems hard for people to remember how much hate dude encountered before they had to realize that he was one of the better artists out there. 

 

[thejrob]

 

[toast1985]

Can we just be honest for a moment?

Is Drake NOT batting near 1.000 this year alone on features and verses?

Stay Scheming? Diced Pineapples? Pop That? Poetic Justice? No Lie? ****** Problem? Amen? The Motto? 

I told someone this, N's looked at me crazy...And I was gassed off of his verse on "Us".

 

[hoosierdaddy317]

No Do It All or Congratulations?

 

[guzzy]

I have a list..

Brand New

The Real Her( Bass on that 

)

Crew Love

Cameras

Marvin's Room

Fall Your Type( Same Mistakes)

Bria's Interlude

Miss Me

Messages From You

Look What You've Done

Doing It Wrong(Hermonica

)

Shut It Down(

)

Little Bit(Lykke Li

)

Let's Call It Off

Dudes a talented song writer.

Easily one of my favorite rappers.

 

[a 5th of august]

Kind of reminiscent of his SFG days IMO. Not sure why all of those records he released didn't make TC?

Free Spirit
Club Paradise
Dreams Money Can Buy

Take off "Take Care", "We'll Be Fine", "Make Me Proud" and replace it with the three above and you have an incredible album start to finish.  But we all know those songs were on there for radio and women.

Drake is just a talented artist and musician.  I don't even try to categorize him as a rapper or singer.  He just makes music, great music.  It's unfortunate that some people can't see that because they are too caught up on the subject matters a rapper is "supposed" to rap about.  He's doing something unique by talking about his emotions, and it may or may not work for some people, but don't deny the quality of his work.

Weird analogy, but it's similar to Lebron's situation.  You can hate him or you can love him, but you have to respect the product he puts out.

 

[jthagreat]

[quote name="Tha Flashy One"
he's got plenty of good tracks, and i used to really hate dude[/quote]

as did i. I still 'think' he's corny, but i cant deny he makes good music

 

[HankHill]

My favorite Drake verse. And that boy Nick F

 

[futuremd]

^

I was CERTAIN Nick F would blow up man. 

 

[ucm92]

What's the consensus on this one?

Classic?

The images in the video itself are " 

 

" though. 

I was kinda annoyed he never made this a full song...

Man I love these records from Drake. His R&B is out of here man. I feel like if he wanted to classify himself as an R&B artist he'd be one of the best R&B artist out. From his content, to his concepts, very few R&B artist does that as opposed to guys like Trey Songz and Chris Brown. Was really looking forward to that R&B project he was gonna drop. Then dude turns around and drops a better than average 16. Talent wise not too much he can't do.  

 

[ucm92]

Can we just be honest for a moment?

Is Drake NOT batting near 1.000 this year alone  on features and verses?

Stay Scheming? Diced Pineapples? Pop That? Poetic Justice? No Lie? ****** Problem? Amen? The Motto? 

Yup. Drake got it. He's killing this year. And he hasn't really dropped the ball from Comeback Season on really. A few so so records here and there, but for the most part he comes correct. Every time. 

 

[mw2889]

Yup. Drake got it. He's killing this year. And he hasn't really dropped the ball from Comeback Season on really. A few so so records here and there, but for the most part he comes correct. Every time. 

Hes been fire for the most part...but

His verse on Amen was pretty weak.
His hook/verse on No Lie was weak.
His verse on ******g Problem was weak ( flow was there though).

I don't even blame him though, these labels straight up rely on him to make other artists hot. His heart can't be in a project just because they cut the check.

 

[a 5th of august]

Say What's Real, The Calm, The Resistance, and The Ride are too real.

 

[Maximus Meridius]

Man, Take Care coulda been so much better w/o some of those weak R&B songs. He has a lot of good R&B joints like A Night Off, Sooner Than Later and Cameras / Good Ones Go but most of 'em on Take Care just wasnt good.

Me and my boy was talking about it last year when that album came out, Drake should just make a double disc. One for his female fan base and Im sure he'll have some songs that dudes will like to and another disc with tracks like Light Up, Congraulations and Underground Kings.