He has never replicated the braggadocio on the A-side of If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, and “Energy” is still the standout of that run. Being at the top makes you a villain, and Drake was embracing it. As a title, Nothing Was the Same has a little bravado, but mostly sounds bittersweet.
“Energy” is “Worst Behavior” on performance enhancers. What other rapper is famous for riding on team planes? A long time ago Drake rapped of artists and athletes, “we wanna be them and they wanna be us.” Hip-hop and sports have always had a symbiosis, but like everything else Drake, has elevated this relationship to new levels. He name drops Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel first, but the reference to Golden State Warrior Andrew Wiggins is more appropriate, given that Drake was clapping on the sidelines of every televised NBA game. This new level of brashness wasn’t going anywhere.Ģ014’s loosie “Draft Day,” now included on the B-sides compilation Care Package, was notable both for bagging a rare Lauryn Hill sample, and its heavy sports shoutouts. He was now in a tier of his own, which meant he got to make songs like “Worst Behavior.” He wasn’t just consciously rapping circles around everyone else, he was doing it over beats that felt experimental, and explored new sounds for Drake. By the time Nothing Was the Same came out, he was the most dominant rapper on the planet. The songs that truly define Drake as a rapper didn’t arrive until later in his career. The Lay-up Bangers (Worst Behavior, Draft Day, Energy, 0-100)
Scorpion’s lead single “God’s Plan” would follow in the footsteps of both “Hotline” trends, becoming Drake’s biggest single of all time and propelling his videos to new heights. He embraced it and started going bigger with each video. “Hotline Bling” was another moment when Drake surpassed himself on the charts, but the first time one of his videos took on a life of its own. It also featured Drake just straight-up rapping in a way that pleased his die-hard fans and built up a ton of excitement for NWTS. Drakeisms working their way into everyday speech coincided with brands discovering social media, and the result years later is that a Drake song released on a Thursday night has spawned four catchphrases by Monday. Nothing Was the Same’s “Started From the Bottom” wasn’t just Drake’s biggest single to date, it marked a turning point in his career when his ubiquity reached new levels, on and off the charts. But “Best I Ever Had” is still one of the most quintessential Drake songs: other than being hugely popular, it also marked his ability to make songs that sounded like love songs but are really true player’s anthems. The jump from Thank Me Later to Take Care feels massive. It almost sounds quaint, because of how immediately his flow would become more boisterous and his singing more elastic. The Hits (Best I Ever Had, Started From The Bottom, Hotline Bling, God’s Plan)Ĭompared to some of the best Drake songs named here, “Best I Ever Had” doesn’t feature his best rapping or singing. Listen to the best Drake songs on Apple Music and Spotify. These multiple personas – singing Drake, hedonistic Drake, or embittered Drake – lets him appeal to every kind of music fan. Because of that, Drake’s biggest competitor on the charts has been himself. This ability to cross genres and maintain quality endeared him to a much wider audience than he if he’d stuck to just rapping. A Drake co-sign was worth its weight in gold, even if he showed up every collaborator. He did it on his own songs and with his guest spots. By the time he was hitting his stride, Drake was beating most of his contemporaries at both.
Rapping or singing, verses or hooks, it didn’t matter. Doing both in tandem gave him the ability to show up on anyone’s song and knock it out of the park. 808s & Heartbreak had only been out for a few months, but Drake was already pushing despondent, singing-infused rap into new territory. The pliability displayed on So Far Gone was just a jumping-off point. It wasn’t just versatile - it was effortless, as he pivoted between styles. His hybrid of croon-rapping would redefine what was acceptable for rappers to sound like. So Far Gone feels like a truer release than his official debut, Thank Me Later. Sure there’s the undeniable talent, work ethic, beat selection, genius collaborators, and classic videos, but the true key to Drake’s longevity is his versatility.įolks often forget that Drake’s breakout release was a mixtape. In addition to being one of the most charting artists of all time, Drake has landed as many hit songs for other artists as he has for himself.
He’s one of the only true music stars of the new millennium, and in his home country of Canada, he’s probably the most powerful person who’s not an elected official. Pound for pound, he might be the most successful rapper of all time. Drake has redefined rap’s sound and the way we consume pop music.
0 kommentar(er)
