Drake Shmake?

"OH MY GOD, HAVE YOU HEARD OF DRAKE YEAH? OH MY DAYZ HE IS TOTALLY LIKE DA BEST RAPPER SINCE BIGGIE, NAH FUCK DAT, BEST RAPPER EVAH"

Yes alright people, the guy is good- he has the magic combination of clever lyrics, historical impressiveness of two top 10s without being signed and sweet boy smoothness to appease the ladies (pin-dick apparently though, sad times) but, fuck, it's not the second coming of Jesus. Ironically mid writing this he was signed to Cash Money as if acknowledging the over-hyped simultaneous musical pant-creaming moving from Lil Wayne onto Drake.

Before you hip-hop heads dismiss him for being a sheep herder listen to his stuff...preferably not via a fan video slideshow of vanity shots on YouTube. He can rhyme and he has got something setting him apart from everyone else but he's not even knee deep in his career yet. While you have to admit that his PR is tight the hype may eventually kill any credibility...that said I'm sure the wads of cash will muffle the sound of discontent. The same way if you're not feeling Lil Weezy too tough then you've probably already made the assumption that he's an over-exposed midget with shit tattoos...but int he successful!

Drake is a good example where if you're not in one of two camps then you're just flapping round in the middle somewhere like a big ambivalent fish. One camp hail him as a rap Jesus latching onto his every beautifully marketed move and spontaneously jizzing themselves like a 14 year old virgin everytime a performance is televised . The other camp of hardcore boom-bappers ie. "the best hip hop is from the golden 90s era in which I will continue to live and rarely listen to new music" camp get quite rightly put off by the unfaltering hype and don't give the dude a chance.

I'm going to make myself comfortable on the fence for this one, because as much as I get bored of hip-hoptonians taking in as little new music as humanly possible I also can't fucking stand the mass hysteria that comes when someone is marginally slicker than your average in a sea of mediocre rap acts. But unfortunately isn't that the industry these days? Love of money or music? Big booty hoes smothered in baby oil crapping diamonds at your beckoning or a 9-5 grind? I mean, no matter how 'real' some of your favourite moralistic big artists say they're keeping it they're still picking up a fucking great big pay cheque in the end. Up-coming artists know that as well as not being shit, to make music into a full time career you're going to have to please the dead-behind the eyes, soulless big dog PRs, major labels and press spinning monkeys. Babe...you're going to have to wank off the mainstream.

Where was I anyway? Went a bit off topic. Oh yeah Drake. Ummm well lets just say he's not the Messiah yet...let's see how he fares three albums in.