Are you his producer or something?
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 26 September 2013 20:45 (ten years ago) link
well, the way ship tells it no one's had a run like Drake
but since we're talking Billboard placings, which is all about sales, seems to me that it's all predicated on a combination of the record buying public buying what they buy and my not agreeing with their purchases
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 26 September 2013 20:46 (ten years ago) link
if you want me to list acts that have sold a bajillion records while being horrible I'll be happy to oblige you
I doubt anyone here wants that tho
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 26 September 2013 20:47 (ten years ago) link
Drake had 17 hot 100 singles since '09
alicia had 9, one of which was 'unplugged' and one of which was with usher
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Thursday, 26 September 2013 20:49 (ten years ago) link
[in that '01-04 window]
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Thursday, 26 September 2013 20:50 (ten years ago) link
i know there's an element of support for drake that is on some 'genius auteur' shit but i feel like that's generally pretty overstated ... most of his support is really, at the end of the day, that he keeps making hits. The biggest stream of contiguous massive crossover hits for a rap artist since the golden era of bad boy
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Thursday, 26 September 2013 20:54 (ten years ago) link
an era also oddly predicated on a hero that could neither rap nor sing ie Puffy
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 26 September 2013 20:56 (ten years ago) link
Yes. Agreed. He has also effectively shaped how rap hits sound in this era.
― longneck, Thursday, 26 September 2013 20:56 (ten years ago) link
Xpost.
― longneck, Thursday, 26 September 2013 20:57 (ten years ago) link
Assorted Drake thoughts:
- I'm startled by how critic-proof he's been. It leads me to suspect that he may be very consciously two steps ahead of the critical establishment. Chalk it up to vagueness or chameleon tendencies or whatever, but he's been consistently able to have hate (from more than just pop critics) slide off him like he's wearing Vaseline.
- I think it’s really silly to keep harping on the “soft Drake” meme, when it’s a criticism that’s been leveled at him from the beginning and has never hurt his career in the slightest. I’ve always imagined him as a mentally tough person; maybe not a gun-toting psycho in the MMG vein, but apart from the most hardcore internet Clipse fans, who cares about how much weight a rapper actually moves? Personal qualities like mental toughness come through very nicely on a record, whereas on the other hand you can be an insecure, numbers-obsessed pedant like Pusha and continually make a fool of yourself in search for attention while not really building much of a long-term fanbase. (I don’t know why I have such a bone to pick with Push.)
- I also think that Drake's lackadaisical attitude, so infuriating to some, is the reason that I don't really see him gunning for anything like “significance” in the some dude sense. He doesn't seem terribly concerned with the approval of strangers, where I see “significant” albums like The Chronic or Illmatic or MBDTF or Good Kid as products of artists who have a million things to prove to everyone. I think the insecurity of artists like Dre, Nas, Kanye, Kendrick, etc fosters a neurotic perfectionism necessary for these beautifully crafted albums. I don’t see any of that neurotic perfectionism in Drake. He’s obviously concerned with quality, but not to the obsessive degree that these other artists are. That’s a lot of his appeal to me - just that he seems like an ultimately chill dude. I’m sure that plays a lot into the “relatable” thing that his fans seem to enjoy.
― fennel cartwright, Thursday, 26 September 2013 20:57 (ten years ago) link
fwiw that was singles as a lead artist, not even counting guest spots like 'i'm on one' or 'stay scheming'
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Thursday, 26 September 2013 20:58 (ten years ago) link
i would argue w/ that last point in that i think the mentalities that produced the chronic and illmatic were v v diff from those that produced mbdtf and good kid
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Thursday, 26 September 2013 20:59 (ten years ago) link
the latter way way more conscious of the idea of a canon & the creation of a Classic
- I'm startled by how critic-proof he's been. It leads me to suspect that he may be very consciously two steps ahead of the critical establishment. Chalk it up to vagueness or chameleon tendencies or whatever, but he's been consistently able to have hate (from more than just pop critics) slide off him like he's wearing Vaseline.I've always found this strange. anyone who is an enthusiastic drake supporter from day 1 = suspect imo
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Thursday, 26 September 2013 21:03 (ten years ago) link
I totally loved So Far Gone but semi-hated Thank Me Later. I need to revisit it soon as I've started suspecting that the internet power blogger contempt for Drake at the time might have had me swayed. We'll see.
Also, agree that the self-obsessed neurotic Drake meme is hilariously overblown. He seems extremely relaxed to me, very confident in his own abilities, never chasing a hit like so many of his contemporaries (Push is an excellent example) and yet not trying to alienate people either (like Kanye of course). The way he has handled this whole Kendrick thing has been pretty exemplary, acknowledging the competition, using it to pull out a bit of aggression now and then, but really just making sure that the game remains his.
― longneck, Thursday, 26 September 2013 21:09 (ten years ago) link
When was the last time someone had a run like Drake's and you could chalk it all down to the poor taste of the record buying public, who apparently didn't notice that their hero could neither rap nor sing?
― longneck, Thursday, September 26, 2013 4:43 PM (26 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
so you think Katy Perry is on the level of Michael Jackson in the '80s? because that's what the numbers say. you NEED to respect Katy Perry. math demands it.
― Jean-Claude Brand Ambassador (some dude), Thursday, 26 September 2013 21:12 (ten years ago) link
Sigh.
― longneck, Thursday, 26 September 2013 21:15 (ten years ago) link
i'm just sayin'. i think the popularity of an artist says something that's worth examining and to some extent taking seriously, but i don't think it implicitly validates everything they do or invalidates criticism.
― Jean-Claude Brand Ambassador (some dude), Thursday, 26 September 2013 21:21 (ten years ago) link
Well I guess part of my issue with that review is that it I think it goes to lengths in trying to invalidate Drake's presence in contemporary rap. And that's kinda something else, no?
― longneck, Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:10 (ten years ago) link
*omnipresence
i dunno i thought i gave him credit for an impressive career even w/o being impressed by the music
― Jean-Claude Brand Ambassador (some dude), Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:21 (ten years ago) link
i mean, Muse have the #1 and #3 most played songs in alternative rock radio history. if i wrote about that, would i have to be completely reverent of that accomplishment and be wary of implying anything negative about the state of alt radio?
― Jean-Claude Brand Ambassador (some dude), Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:25 (ten years ago) link
but what if you don't think he deserves the omnipresence?
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:27 (ten years ago) link
I mean, too much crit takes omnipresence for granted, you know?
Of course, but I read Ship's review more along the lines of "well, he's been omnipresent but only because the people have no ears" - and that strikes me as sorta insufficient.
― longneck, Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:36 (ten years ago) link
haha sure but that's a position implicit in every reevaluation
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:37 (ten years ago) link
it's not really a mystery to me why a "non-threatening" rapper would come to so dominate the barren pop landscape, although his longevity and omnipresence is certainly unusual. he's taken it really far.
my question upthread about what he would have to do to destroy his career was genuine btw. I can't think of anything
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:41 (ten years ago) link
ehh if i was writing about his entire career i'd be more charitable about what the appeal is. i think NWTS is lacking in a lot of things about his music that have appealed to people besides the Sad Millenial Spokesperson aspect.
― Jean-Claude Brand Ambassador (some dude), Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:42 (ten years ago) link
If he started to sound old and out of touch, people would move on. But so far he's been the guy writing the rules.
― longneck, Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:43 (ten years ago) link
i mean i think a lot of what is unique about Drake (in good and bad ways) has been normalized to the point that we don't talk about it. but like, the way he goes from rapping to singing the exact same way in every song is kind of hilarious and bizarre.
― Jean-Claude Brand Ambassador (some dude), Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:46 (ten years ago) link
If he started to sound old and out of touch, people would move on
I fear dude will just move (back) into movies and tv where he will be until we die
insert sadface
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:47 (ten years ago) link
that "you feel like you miss those happy days well" ::abrupt shift into crooner mode:: "that makes twoooooo of uuuuuuus" flow xp
― Jean-Claude Brand Ambassador (some dude), Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:47 (ten years ago) link
so good
― longneck, Thursday, 26 September 2013 22:51 (ten years ago) link
Obviously I was naive, but once I was thinking the same of Lil Wayne.
― Van Horn Street, Thursday, 26 September 2013 23:00 (ten years ago) link
that's the thing! if Drake decided to play guitar and make a shitty rock record... it would probably be huge
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 26 September 2013 23:03 (ten years ago) link
I've already got him playing piano hush
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 26 September 2013 23:03 (ten years ago) link
drake at a piano is so plausible. for probably the first time in history, the grand piano's time as a swag symbol is nigh. franco sits at one in sprang breaaaaak-ers. has future sat at a piano in a vid?
― zvookster, Thursday, 26 September 2013 23:17 (ten years ago) link
drake as keyboard cat is pretty fun to picture
― Jean-Claude Brand Ambassador (some dude), Thursday, 26 September 2013 23:22 (ten years ago) link
http://cdn.rap-up.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/future-letoya-honest.jpg
no doubt yall will correct me, but i feel like this setting woulda had to have been some period reimagining in the past
xp true
― zvookster, Thursday, 26 September 2013 23:24 (ten years ago) link
http://www.vibe.com/sites/vibe.com/files/styles/main_image/public/article_images/vibe-drake-chilly-gonzales.jpg
― festival culture (Jordan), Thursday, 26 September 2013 23:33 (ten years ago) link
was wondering what will self had been up to lately
― zvookster, Thursday, 26 September 2013 23:35 (ten years ago) link
not a big Kid Mero fan but he definitely sums up my feelings about "Too Much": HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA YO WHO THE FUCK IS SINGING THE HOOK ON THIS SHIT B!? THE AMPHIBIAN VERSION OF TRACY CHAPMAN?
― Jean-Claude Brand Ambassador (some dude), Thursday, 26 September 2013 23:38 (ten years ago) link
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Thursday, September 26, 2013 1:49 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Thursday, September 26, 2013 1:50 PM Bookmark
Billboard's rules, the way music is distributed, and the way albums are promoted have all changed a lot since that time, and each of those three things allow big artists to place more songs on the charts than in the early 2000s. Alicia Keys was huuuuuge. Ironic that the best song she's done in the past five years was written by Drake tho.
― The Reverend, Friday, 27 September 2013 00:00 (ten years ago) link
aw poor sampha
― r|t|c, Friday, 27 September 2013 00:01 (ten years ago) link
altho tbh AMPHIBIAN VERSION OF TRACY CHAPMAN is actually a superior and more enticing rvw to any the uk press have tried to boost him with
― r|t|c, Friday, 27 September 2013 00:09 (ten years ago) link
poor samphibian
― Jean-Claude Brand Ambassador (some dude), Friday, 27 September 2013 00:14 (ten years ago) link
― The Reverend, Thursday, September 26, 2013 7:00 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
there being a reason for it doesn't make it not a reality! There were many, many more drake singles in heavy radio rotation than AKeys ones
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Friday, 27 September 2013 03:53 (ten years ago) link
this is such a weird discussion
― J0rdan S., Friday, 27 September 2013 03:55 (ten years ago) link
it's an imperfect comparison obv but funny to think about and kinda otm
― J0rdan S., Friday, 27 September 2013 03:56 (ten years ago) link
i think it describes a very narrow slice of why ppl like him \oO/ feel like the 'traditional' 'real soul' stuff was way more a part of alicia's narrative than 'serious important artist' is for drake
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Friday, 27 September 2013 04:08 (ten years ago) link