Drake & Struggle Rap In The Age Of Upward Mobility
by OMAR BURGESS
posted October 04, 2013 at 10:32AM EDT | 19 comments
Drake's arrival at the top of the charts with "Nothing Was The Same" may have answered a lot of questions about what kind of struggle we value as Hip Hop fans and consumers.
“I done done it all / From jackin’ and slanging, nikka trust that / Stealing cars, snortin’ dope, gettin’ bust at / Never going to school, all kinda bullshyt / They callin’ my momma in, I got her looking unfit / It ain’t Cyn fault I turned out this way / It’s my fault, she told me right from wrong everyday / When my daddy got killed, I think that’s when I went astray / Mark, Nell, L.T. and me made nikkas lay on they face…” –B.G., “Hard Times.”
Former Cash Money standout B.G. most likely won’t go down in history as the most lyrical emcee. But the above bars from his 1999 album, Chopper City In The Ghetto stand out as one of my all time favorite verses. This is purely subjective, and I’m not saying B.G.’s reflections on robbing, selling and abusing drugs should end up in some list of the greatest verses ever. But, despite having never robbed anyone or ducked gunfire, the palpable struggle, conflict and candor keep “Hard Times” in heavy rotation on my iPod 14 years after its release. Some of my favorite Hip Hop songs address the concepts of struggle and conflict, and I think that’s because they mirrored some of my own experiences. But even the tracks that address struggles different from my own are appealing when executed properly, and I assume the same can be said for Hip Hop fans across the globe.
When Drake, a representative of the new generation of Cash Money rappers, inevitably landed at the number one spot Tuesday with Nothing Was The Same, I think a lot of questions were answered as far as just what kind of struggle and conflict we value as Hip Hop fans and consumers. What kind of obstacles does an emcee have to overcome to earn our respect, and what variables should be factored into those obstacles? Back in February, when the single “Started From The Bottom” dropped, there was no shortage of backlash. What “bottom” had Drake, the former child actor from suburban Toronto ever experienced? Did it really matter?
The Stigma Of The Suburbs
“‘Everyone has their bottom,’ he says. ‘The three biggest misconceptions about me are that I’m a cocky a$$hole because I’m a famous male rapper, that any part of me wants to be gangster or hood, and that I grew up rich…’ Drake says he and his mom rented the first floor and basement of a house. ‘We were more or less broke, but my mom didn’t want us to live in an area that could create trouble for her son,’ he says. Meanwhile, as Drake grew older and eventually landed the Degrassi role, he became enamored of the good life.” –Michael Paterniti, June 2013 Profile of Drake for GQ magazine.
For all the ridicule and memes Drake gets (and if you frequent this site, you know I’ve been a part of that group), he raises an excellent point—everyone has their bottom. Over the years, I think we (or at least I) have become accustomed to equating struggle with things such as crime, poverty and violence. If we look at the pantheon of revered artists such as OutKast, UGK, E-40, Ice Cube, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and New York’s holy trinity of Notorious B.I.G., Jay Z and Nas, these themes are often reinforced. I don’t say that to build a straw man argument for Drake, but because history anecdotally bares this out. I think a lot of artists with ties to the suburbs have historically had their “struggle” questioned. Drake is the most current example, but he’s far from the only representative.
by OMAR BURGESS
posted October 04, 2013 at 10:32AM EDT | 19 comments
Drake's arrival at the top of the charts with "Nothing Was The Same" may have answered a lot of questions about what kind of struggle we value as Hip Hop fans and consumers.
“I done done it all / From jackin’ and slanging, nikka trust that / Stealing cars, snortin’ dope, gettin’ bust at / Never going to school, all kinda bullshyt / They callin’ my momma in, I got her looking unfit / It ain’t Cyn fault I turned out this way / It’s my fault, she told me right from wrong everyday / When my daddy got killed, I think that’s when I went astray / Mark, Nell, L.T. and me made nikkas lay on they face…” –B.G., “Hard Times.”
Former Cash Money standout B.G. most likely won’t go down in history as the most lyrical emcee. But the above bars from his 1999 album, Chopper City In The Ghetto stand out as one of my all time favorite verses. This is purely subjective, and I’m not saying B.G.’s reflections on robbing, selling and abusing drugs should end up in some list of the greatest verses ever. But, despite having never robbed anyone or ducked gunfire, the palpable struggle, conflict and candor keep “Hard Times” in heavy rotation on my iPod 14 years after its release. Some of my favorite Hip Hop songs address the concepts of struggle and conflict, and I think that’s because they mirrored some of my own experiences. But even the tracks that address struggles different from my own are appealing when executed properly, and I assume the same can be said for Hip Hop fans across the globe.
When Drake, a representative of the new generation of Cash Money rappers, inevitably landed at the number one spot Tuesday with Nothing Was The Same, I think a lot of questions were answered as far as just what kind of struggle and conflict we value as Hip Hop fans and consumers. What kind of obstacles does an emcee have to overcome to earn our respect, and what variables should be factored into those obstacles? Back in February, when the single “Started From The Bottom” dropped, there was no shortage of backlash. What “bottom” had Drake, the former child actor from suburban Toronto ever experienced? Did it really matter?
The Stigma Of The Suburbs
“‘Everyone has their bottom,’ he says. ‘The three biggest misconceptions about me are that I’m a cocky a$$hole because I’m a famous male rapper, that any part of me wants to be gangster or hood, and that I grew up rich…’ Drake says he and his mom rented the first floor and basement of a house. ‘We were more or less broke, but my mom didn’t want us to live in an area that could create trouble for her son,’ he says. Meanwhile, as Drake grew older and eventually landed the Degrassi role, he became enamored of the good life.” –Michael Paterniti, June 2013 Profile of Drake for GQ magazine.
For all the ridicule and memes Drake gets (and if you frequent this site, you know I’ve been a part of that group), he raises an excellent point—everyone has their bottom. Over the years, I think we (or at least I) have become accustomed to equating struggle with things such as crime, poverty and violence. If we look at the pantheon of revered artists such as OutKast, UGK, E-40, Ice Cube, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and New York’s holy trinity of Notorious B.I.G., Jay Z and Nas, these themes are often reinforced. I don’t say that to build a straw man argument for Drake, but because history anecdotally bares this out. I think a lot of artists with ties to the suburbs have historically had their “struggle” questioned. Drake is the most current example, but he’s far from the only representative.
