Doin' the classic Cacausian Chicken-Wing Arm Flap, giving absolutely no fucks. You go, Drake.
You can track the roots of Aubrey Graham's superstardom back to at least 2008. That was the year that fellow alpha it-factor's 50 Cent and Kanye West had their infamous, massively publicized "beef" in the press. 50 Cent, who's entire celebrity and musical subject matter is based off the uber-popular "street thug, gangsta rapper" subset - claimed that he would retire if Kanye West sold more copies of his (same-day releasing) new album than him. Kanye was going on album #3 in 0-8, 'Graduation'. His entire image was based off the very antithesis of Fiddy. 'Ye wasn't rockin' pink Ralph polos anymore (BUT THE FACT THAT HE ROCKED PINK RALPH POLOS AT ALL, YO) - he'd toned-down the soon-to-be personal trademark, "anti-gangsta rap" status; but was still super into fashion, super into being sensitive AF. So ,this so-called beef (I still hold claim that the entire thing was staged for sales, 'cuz duh) was pretty damn interesting because it was positioning the very ying and yang of modern-day Top 40 hip-hop. It was machismo verse emo, truly.
Well we all know how that battle ended. Kanye surpassed 50 Cent, but even more-so it was 100% a sign o' the times, to borrow fellow gender role-bender, Prince's album title. The era of 90's thru (most-of) the 00's reign of hardcore, street, gangster-rap was over. A new sheriff was in town, and he liked to wear his heart on his sleeve (or cardigan, if your 808's-era Yeezy).
It's simple to see how it happened. The majority of the ACTUAL music-buying public was, well, hella white, bro. Like 80%, some sources have claimed (and it's probably exaggerated...but not by much). And they finally realized their purchasing power. So it's only fitting that the majority group of music-buyers would be attracted to, dare I say, desire, someone like themselves. And no, I'm not talking in terms of skin color - although that has proven itself an effective marketing tool, for obvious reasons. I'm talking about how white people are inside, not out. You know. The feels.
Let's play a game of "Who Doesn't Belong In This Picture?"...basically me if I was taking a snap with Bron Bron and Dwyane Wade (idk if that's good or bad...probably bad but whatevs).
It's no secret that white people are a sensitive bunch. I should know. Yeah, there's still some John Wayne and Chuck Norris MF's out there. But for the most part, we're pretty emotional. And we're not good at hiding it. I think the word I'm looking for is...awkward. Yeah, white people can definitely be pretty awkward. Basically, we're not known for being street-hard, hardcore fools. That's why we invented guns. And And conquered entire continents. (Yay, Imperialism!) Really though, for a decade-plus, white people (see: males) had spent their (probably easily earned, see: stereotype) money on music by artists who represented what they wanted to be. Now, in 2009 moving forward - they wanted to buy music from artists who represented what they truly were.
And Drake's only gotten bigger with time. But it's lazy man logic to claim that Drizzy was uber-successful simply because of his upbringing in a white, lower-class household. He's obviously got raw talent, to boot (eh, Canada!). Melodies for days, flows, wordplay (when he wants to try....hate hate hate). There's a lot of ingredients to the recipe for Drake's success, let's be completely honest. But his upbringing definitely helps.
Now, I'm a 100% Drake Stan - I can't lie. I'm obviously a little biased. But that's the entire point. You see, and it might sound completely crazy, but when I listen to Drake - I feel like he's ME. That already-mentioned lower-class white upbringing? Me. Those crewneck sweaters and cardigans? Me, too. Those awkward dance moves? Again, me. Drake's me, homie. And I'm not alone. It doesn't even need to be a white thing. Let's talk about all the sensitive MFer's worldwide. Millions of suburban, nerdy kids; fitted from Diamond Supply and J's to Abercrombie and Vans; fux with the dude.
It might sound weird, but whenever Drake succeeds - I feel like it's ME who's succeeding. When he's out there in the 'Hotline Bling' music video, dancing super weird-style ands straight feeling himself? Oh yeah - that's most definitely me, too. When Drake's snapped by paparazzi courtside at the Raptors game in his latest OVO J's. When gossip spreads that Drizzy's dating Rihanna again - I'm right there sideline cheering him on, vicariously livin' it up. I chalk it up to just another notch on the success post for all the sensitive dudes out there. And if that's you, too; then grab a pom pom, my dude. Drake probably would (indeed, I just ended on a male cheerleader joke!).
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