Drake is Trump (and Kendrick is Anderson Cooper) “Euphoria” analysis
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- Опубликовано: 30 апр 2024
- Gatekeepers at the broken gate.
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Attention is currency in the marketplace of ideas!
That was the quote I was trying to find
@@professorskye used to be a big fan of his! Have that quote ingrained in my head haha
I check in on his work from time to time. He’s gotten kinda bitter in a way which is unpleasant, but still has some great insights.
What ever happened to Coffin? Was one of my fav breadtube dudes lol. Never hear about him anymore which makes me go 😳😳😳
As a black rap fan, I think telling drake he can't say nigga no more is less about him being biracial and more about him keeping his art outside the space of blackness not addressing black issues and taking advantage of his blackness to falsely portray a gangsta image when it suites him. Yes he's biracial and that does probably play a part, but the fact that he ain't never did nothing for hip hop and black culture other than gain from it, yeah he can't say nigga no more
I disagree. I don't see context enough in that bar to make that assumption. I think he literally said what he said.
@@drugstocope I think that the rest of the song was enough context, like when he says I make music that electrify, youvmake music that pacify, or how Kendrick said the culture was behind him. There were various jabs that all compounded with the N word line really make me feel like the attack wasn't just on biracialness but drake as a rapper and public entity
@@drugstocope the context is literally the entire song SMH
👏🏽
@@drugstocope The song gives the context bro
He's not saying Drake cant be in the house. He's saying Drake cant be king in this house. Not bc you're mixed but because you're not authentic.
"Drake makes music for groups of boys who are scrolling through their phones and not talking to each other" - Professor Skye
Honestly, if Kendrick could word this well, that would be a devastating bar
…and for the girls who aren’t having sex with said incels.
It bothered me so much that everyone thought Kendrick saying Haley Joel Olsteen was a mistake. I think it's on purpose, he uses it as a portmanteau to mention Haley Joel Osment and Joel Olsteen at the same time spare syllables.
And it accentuates the Ai vs ghosts bar abour confusion, he doesn't know if he's fighting ghosts(osteen) or AI(osment)
It’s definitely on purpose
@@afrosamourai400Joel osteen isn’t a ghost he’s a mega church pastor from Houston who famously refused to shelter unhoused people in the immediate aftermath of hurricane harvey and lost the respect of an entire city because he didn’t want “muddy carpets”. Calling him Joel osteen is calling him a fake Christian who doesn’t serve his community and is not respected by the culture.
@Prince_Luci Osteen is noted for using AI, which is y he used him, n Osmond for Ghosts n AI saying that he doesn't know if he's battling AI or his ghostwriters.
Yeah, Kendrick would never make a silly mistake like that. How do you remember the lead actor in A.I and Sixth Sense are the same but not remember the last name Osment vs Olsteen
Kendrick ain't gatekeeping hip-hop. He told Drake to keep making hits... he just told him to stop faking and stay in his lane.
EXACTLY
This was NOT about skin color how do people listen and not understand this
I dont know if Kendrick is a gatekeeper or just a truth teller. A rapper who has done black face and used the hard r and has ghost writers will always have that haunt him. Thats just how it goes.
Kanye is considered the best he uses writer. in fact, many who help make hip hop what it is today did the same.
@@jameslight4391 okay…
@@jameslight4391 stop with that lame excuse kanye was never a mc him dr dre and diddy were producers not mc's yall are embarassing!!!
@@jameslight4391 Kanye is a producer first. Tell me you don't understand the genre without telling me.
@@jameslight4391no one considers Kanye a top rapper. Never have.
Thank you for not humouring AI music. It should get no oxygen.
What’s wrong with AI music?
@@artvandelay94it's existence
@@artvandelay94 It's not real
You say that about plenty of music that isn't AI created. You say it's fake and artificial and produced artificially you say it's not real but now you say AI music isn't real either. I don't think you know what is real and what isn't. I think you've been completely destroyed by the internet and now you have no idea what's real@@YetiCoolBrother
@@artvandelay94AI music is the music industry’s means of making musicians unnecessary, eliminating the ability to make money as a musical artist. This is not a good thing.
If Kendrick is legitimately trying to gatekeep to kick Drake out of hip hop, then yes, he has lost. But I don't think he's trying to do that. I think he's trying to comprehensively discredit Drake in order to be an example to people. To say "hey, there's some people out there who have power and abuse it. You may not be able to change them or their hold on people, but you can change yourself." He's made it very clear he judges people harshly for aligning themselves with Drake; now they have to pick a side. Whether or not he's losing that battle has yet to be seen, but he certainly could never erase Drake at this point.
this didn't age well lol. drake is cooked
that’s exactly who Mr. Morale is (the reply made me cackle)
He is, Black's love policing other blacks.
Never said drake wasn't black. Just not of the heritage of the persona he's trying to cos play
I don’t think Kendrick was really being homophobic. I guess you could say that he veers in that direction, and only misses those on technicalities, but I think Kendrick personally recognizes that calling Drake soft, misogynistic, immature, and vain does not necessarily even imply that he thinks Drake is gay, in 2024.
Thanks it has nothing to do with drake's sexuality or race..
@@afrosamourai400 exactly it's about his values (or lack thereof) as a person and being a culture vulture
I think Kendrick is trying Drake to the manoshpere movement happening. A male who ties their masculinity to using and abusing women sexually. Drake does give me heavy Andrew Tate vibes
also after listening to Auntie Diary's i doubt that Kendrick would go with that angle since in the end of the song he outright compares the f slur to the n word
White academics lecturing us on who should or shouldn’t be allowed access to black American culture was unfortunately on my bingo card. Drake’s issue isn’t that he’s mixed, J Cole is also mixed. His issue is that he cosplays black American culture when he has ZERO claim to it. And it’s because his audience knows that he’s just cosplaying that they then elevated him to the peak. Kendrick is saying what the culture (NOT WHITE CONSUMERS) have been saying for years. It’s Elvis in brown face.
Just to add that Eminem was allowed access because he never attempted cosplay. He merely borrowed the art form and not the culture. If y’all are so concerned with mixed identity why not push for their acceptance into whiteness instead? Blur those color lines. Because when allowed into blackness they become the substitute for black people. We’d like to end this situation where the most successful “black” people are actually mixed people because the gatekeepers (WHITE PEOPLE) have willed it so.
THIS!
Facts!! People missed the point!!! Lmfao
a black man is a black man. a black man from canada vs a black man from america might not be the same but they’re still black and still face very similar things. black man in ireland. black man in france. etc. same thing
@@ajlance9536 you're missing the forest for the trees. Again nobody is against drake because he's mixed or from another country. If that was the case then UK rappers wouldn't have been so welcomed in by most prolific rappers.
Drake has never been for the culture, he's never brought black issues to the forefront, he's never spoken against anything . That's fine, you can avoid that stuff but you can't act like you have the throne, just means you're on the same level as Ludacris. Reread that Elvis in brownface line, it's about how chuck berry's style was stolen and marketed more by elvis
Hey Skye, AVAA, big fan here, but I just think you’re off on this one.
Sidestepping the conceit of Drake being Trump (which I disagree with, I think Drake has contributed some quality music to rap in his time and blaming him for the state of rap feels like a mix of misunderstanding structural capitalist forces and oldhead scapegoating), the idea that in any way dissing Drake means Drake wins immediately feels hollow and fatalistic. Consider the Pusha Ts diss. Drake did not benefit from the beef with Pusha T. It didn’t kill him, but it altered his course massively. To survive, he became a pop star first and rap beefs don’t kill pop stars.
Before that diss, Drake wasn’t just gunning for streams and numbers, he really was gunning for critical reception too. Look at If You’re Reading This. That record has artistic merit, it took chances that were not informed by how many streams it might get. And no matter what old heads say, at the time he was considered by the community to be a great artistically and on the charts. IYRT is entirely different from the cynical, uninspired, dead inside flow we’re getting now, and we’ve been getting for years.
That beef dented his legacy as a rapper, negated the credibility that his beef with Meek had won him, and tarnished his status among the greats. That attention didn’t win him anything. It left a scar, and that beef is why Drake is lashing out now.
I think Drake sees this as an opportunity to win back what he’s lost and more. His veiled jabs at Kendrick over the years make it clear that he resents Kendrick’s critical acclaim and believes he’s on the same level artistically. If he can beat Kendrick in the biggest event hip hop has seen in a decade or more, he will overshadow his previous loss and win back that respect he is yearning for. But, if I had to guess, the end result of this beef is going to be another clear defeat unless Drake has the “red button” he’s talking about. Drakes position is that he is the bigger artist, but Kendrick’s track has already overshadowed Pushups.
To be clear, the reason why Drake is not Trump is that his motivations aren’t wholly focused on wealth and monetary power and the desire to build a cult that worships him. I don’t think his end goal is more streams. He’s got all the streams. He’s MJ chart wise. If you listen to what he’s saying and how he says it it’s clear his goal is respect and acceptance from a community that might play his songs but will look down on him as an artist. And critically, unlike trump, all attention is not good attention when it comes to him achieving that goal.
I don’t think this beef will earn him respect. I don’t see him profiting from the attention rn. I see him watching the thing he wants the most slip through his fingers yet again after a desperate and ballsy attempt to win back what was lost falls flat. If anything, he’s not Trump, he’s closer to Putin.
Anyway, this is rap beef and not that serious lol but fun to discuss. Have a good one man.
This comment aged well by the end of this beef
Hey great comment. Just wanted to tack on that Drake actually lost a huge deal with Adidas because of ‘The Story of Adidon’. Not sure if it’s mentioned in this video and that’s why you left it out… but to my understanding Drake was going to announce his child’s identity along with releasing a product line named after him. It was confirmed later by Adidas executives as well as Pusha T himself that the timing of the diss was intentional so as to undermine the deal. So he did suffer from the diss in a much more tangible way as well.
Ultimately though I agree with your assessment. Drake isn’t a scape goat for the fall of the rap industry he is just one of the more prominent products. A significant part of Kendrick’s criticisms of Drake come from this idea that he was once in a position to create amazing, culturally relevant and novel music, but he abandoned that side of his career for mainstream success. He could’ve been a landmark figure for Black culture, and a voice for millions of Black Americans, but instead, Kendrick asserts that he sold out.
Jamaican music industry is on a smaller scale but has some similar issues. Young men end up getting exploited for their unique brands of authenticity until they are either dried up or join the mainstream.
Wow, this rings truer almost two weeks and 6:16 in LA+meet the grahams+not like us later.
This aged perfectly after Juneteenth
Wow, BOM! You should get some kind of hiphop prediction award. This vid was so off and your comment was spot on. If only the passionate lyricism of an authentic artist could be enough to also defeat the IRL Putin
Lmao body shaming is funny since Aubrey brought Dot’s height into it.
Facts
And said Rick Ross was using Ozempic then got exposed himself for using it
7:28 I think you're wrong. Kendrick knows Drake is in the house. He also knows that Drake, personally, has never felt welcomed in the house. No matter the success, no matter the numbers, that has been his greatest insecurity in his career.
You're not part of the culture because you're not black enough, you don't write your own rhymes, you're not man enough and you're in bed with the same exploitative labels hip hop has denounced for years.
It's true that Kendrick can only win in the eyes of people who believe there needs to be gatekeepers. But Drake, deep down, is one of these people. As FD Signifier said, Drake's Kendrick diss is aimed at winning over Drake fans. Kendrick's diss is aimed at Drake's heart.
THIS!
many rappers are signed to the same label drake is signed to. Jay z even has a partnership with them same with Kanye. I think the label thing is a stretch.
@@jameslight4391 Drake made a goofy ass ai diss without permission nor care. But I think there’s something deeper in his reason to make the gross ai diss; I think there’s a direct line between him and Lucian G. Aka head of the label Drake is a part of.
Lucian has stated that he wants to get rid of a lot of artists on streaming services via ai songs and I have a good hunch that Drake putting out an ai diss the way he did is to normalize & display the “good” in ai replacing all this independent artistry on streaming services aka more control>money for the label. Drake was probably promised some of that money too.
So, yes many artists are in bed with labels but unliked Drake more than most artists draw the line when it comes to toxically exploiting the culture and artists, like Tupac, for personal gain.
“Confused always thought you weren’t black enough, afraid to grow it cause your fro wouldn’t nap enough” is referring to a Drake interview and is the same sentiment, not about him literally being black but being afraid to be his genuine self and biting the culture to make up for insecurities around his race, such as his hair
Black Americans are WOKE and we snatching back our culture, Kendrick won it’s OVER
Speaking on “black features”…I don’t think Kendrick is dissing him for being biracial, he’s pointing out that Drake is insecure in his own identity and overcompensates by saying nigga so much (and unnaturally), the braids, etc. then there were also rumors about him getting cosmetic surgery to look blacker, tanning…and then literally having black artists featured on his songs to promote this image of “blackness”. It’s all a facade and Kendrick’s calling it out
a lovely morning spent listening to the soothing stylings of maestro skye. what a treat!
they know "nutin bout that"
Thanks!
One point against the Drake-Trump analogy. Trump has never cared about acceptance from the institutions. Drake has always, even at this current stage in his career, despite his artistic direction, cared. So to be rejected like this by the culture, will hurt him on a personal level.
And unlike Trump, who established himself as anti-establishment by turning rejection into validation, Drake can't do something similar with this rejection. He's not an anti-establishment figure. He's very much part of the industry. This loss of respect will hurt. He'll keep receiving attention and running the numbers up, but publicly being called out and beaten by a rival? Will hurt him.
AAVE but has it been acknowledged that Drake is only Drake because of his affiliation with Supernova Lil Wayne in 2008?
Wayne let him in. Along with the slave deal from Birdman. Now he outlasted the slave deal and good for him, but Wayne was THE kingmaker in 2008
i dont think its jealousy. i think that kendrick just doesnt like drake as a person. im not sure if thats gatekeeping i see it sort of just like telling the person thats acting bad that they should act better and calling them out on their behavior. i also think there needs to be a certain kind of gatekeeping - if there wasnt any there wouldnt be any genres - the gatekeeping is what holds them standing. i feel like calling out someone for being a poor person is valid and not necessarily gatekeeping.
Slightly surprised you're coming with the analysis this fast but the speed is exciting. Excited for this video
AVAA - thanks for waking me up on this beef, how much am I stanning for kendrick when I interpret the line about not like women not Drake being gay but his general mistreatment of women and constantly beefing with them
That line of reasoning is supported by the text as well as outside sources including drakes own lyrics lmao ppl will def call you a stan but that's just projection imo
I’m of the same opinion. We’re talking about the same dude that made ‘Auntie Diaries’ after all.
Don’t think he was making a homophobic joke
He says "you might pop ass with them" so he is saying drake is feminine, I don't really care tho, it's a fucking rap beef, caring about whether or not that's homophobic is goofy
Professor Skye, did you receive any clarity on the hater verse. I think a lot of people didn't realize it was a reference to DMX’s interview on The Breakfast Club.. If you understand that the references the bars are actually INSAAAAANELY CLEVERR 🔥🔥🔥 21:25
👏👏👏 thank you for bringing this up!! The song really has so many tie ins to things that others have said which makes the ‘it’s what the culture’s feelin’ line hit so much harder.
Your content is amazing. Thank you for sharing your perspective, Professor!
CIA puppet Cooper is unworthy of being likened to Kendrick Lamar.
Is it safe to say now that Kendrick was NOT interested in gatekeeping?
Yep, I think so. You got a shoutout on the next video you thought should have waited.😀
@@professorskye Damn, I had to dip, I missed a live premiere shoutout :'(
The review I been waiting for!
AVAA Prof, I wish you hadnt compared kendrick to anderson cooper but I can understand why you would try to draw this conclusion in the context of drake being trump.
lol 😂 I thought the same 🤣
The FD Signifier glazing is crazy😂
Also the concept of gatekeeping in Hip-Hop hasn’t been destroyed, Drake sent a cease-and-desist to French Montana and to Future for “Like That” - as Kendrick mentioned on “Euphoria”; and one of the definitions for the word gatekeeper in the English dictionary is a person who controls access, which is what Drake had been doing with those cease and desist letters - controlling access. Drake has become a gatekeeper himself for the wrong reasons hence why people are calling him “Rap Thanos.”
I like fd but he kinda lost some points for me when he joined in on the pointless and unfounded ganging up on Shark from CORNbreadtube all those black leftist youtubers are corny as hell to me after that
“Hurrr durrrrrrr you said this guy did one good thing??? Lololol what a glazer! 🤣”
Literal negative-brain ahh
Yay I’m finally on time to watch this live, how delightful!
Top work, your most insane thumbnail yet! 😎
I can agree with people should be paying more attention to the SchoolBoy record, to an extent. But rap disses aren't only the backbone to the genre, but its rare in modern hiphop. It's even more rare to have two of the top artists go at it. We have been wanting this for well over a decade, so I understand why people are so into it. Plus, beyond that, drama sells.
I believe the whole you can’t say the n word stuff is more about him being a so called culture vulture, instead of him being from a mixed upbringing.
That "ooooh" at the end is the hardest thing that hit me the whole beef. Even more than MTG. Dope you picked that out
I thought the hate woman line to be more directed towards the beefs Drake has had with women artists in the past but with the sexy red bar the homophobia could be a possibility too
Pretty sure that line was in reference to drake liking young girls as opposed to grown women
Calling drake a bad bish is not homophobia it's trolling drake's pathetic immature need for attention
Drake is a bad bish cuz he's desperately looking for attention, dissing women,talkin about money sales materials items like instagram models
I think all 3
yeah, I agree. at this point Kendrick wasn’t going all in on the pedophilia & SA angle; he’d been actively warning Drake not to push it to that point. But it’s clear, in retrospect, that he was heavily hinting at it from the jump.
So while the lines could very well be transphobic/homophobic, I think Kendrick was counting on his later songs to make the context of them completely clear. It’s a false double entendre basically; the surface level meaning is a misdirect for what he actually wanted to say.
I could, of course, be wrong; but I doubt Kendrick would actively engage in homophobic/transphobic insults if the reflection he does on Auntie Diaries is to be believed.
Amazing video Professor!
This is a phenomenal vid unc
"you make music that pacify them , i can double down on that line but spare you this time , a random act of kindness " Euphoria
Thank you for your take
Great videos! Can you do an analysis for Meet the Grahams? That song sent shivers down my spine
Since when does the word hate have any connotations with jealousy? Also the use of the word "pacify" is meant to insinuate that Drake preys on young girls, followed immediately by "i could double down on that line but i wont", and the specific use of the word "pacify"
AVAA professor! was not expecting a reference to the blob lmao. they filmed some of that at my hometown diner. maybe not a point of pride, but it’s interesting to me
I just watched that movie on mute while doing a review. Super underrated.
@@professorskyeI’m just piggy backing on this stuff too, because I’m really just appreciating your analysis work in general. The scope and magnitude of art and entertainment experience you bring in is such a breath of fresh air. It reminds me of my art history courses; where I finally got to synthesize a bunch of my political/philosophical and creative studies. (We usually just watch the rap reviews so I’ll have to check out others). Anyways, we work on production and recording here, and are considering doing some podcast type material down the road. Basically, I’m analyzing your analysis style as a reference (and bottom line) to critique our efforts and plot other endeavours. This is a long-form compliment that feels most appropriately located as I imagine you watching The Blob while doing a review 😂. Always grateful to hear your perspectives!
Geez, I knew I should not have watched this video. I’m going to be trying to to grasp the analogy between Kendrick and Drake to that of Trump and CNN’s cooper all day.
I do believe that both Kendrick and Drake would understand but disagree on who’s who.
As always great work professor!
What was the book you mentioned when talking about hate/ jealousy? It sounded interesting to read. AVAA CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Peter Coffin reference in 2024? Never thought I'd hear that name again. 🤔
On 2nd thought, I don't think meet the grahams negates our mild disagreement on if Kendrick is gatekeeping. I think it's clear the initial diss tracks were meant to misdirect, they were meant to make us have conversations like this so Kendrick could have a public platform so he could have his Hannibal Buress moment and make sure the charge sticks in the public's mind.
You were right about J Cole’s position.
I hope this battle has pushed the professor’s racial understanding further. I made similar comment on the company man crossover video.
Like the kneejerk reaction of sympathy for Drake’s culture card (not race card) getting pulled. And the lack of depth around analyzing what’s on the other side of a Drake exploiting culture only when it suits him; what of the people who don’t have that privilege and have to look out not only for white racism but turncoats like Drake who are willing to do the work of infiltration.
Those last 2 sentences. Damn you said that well! And of course, I think you're so correct!
00:57 Mark Twain never said it but Jay-Z did
"A wise man told me dont argue with fools, cuz people from a distance can't tell who is who" from Takeover
Jay said that line yes, but he altered it from Mark Twain "onlookers may not be able to tell the difference"
I like your analysis as an outsider, its a perspective I can never get
This is a very interesting video in the wake of the Juneteenth concert can’t wait to watch the rest of your reactions
The only thing I disagree with, is that I think Kendrick would've become a superstar without Drake. I'm not sure Drake would become a superstar without the help of Lil Wayne and others in the industry
In one sentence: It isn’t Drakes LIVED EXPERIENCE and Kendrick wants him to stop pretending it is.
You are very brilliant.
Hatred is a combination of rage and contempt. I've never experienced hatred to be about jealousy in my life.
I think this video has a strong point. but looks like it aged quite poorly. Kendrick might have actually done it.
I don't think so, I know you wrote this in the past but at this point it looks like Drake is back to business as usual
Wow you were actually spot on with the Cole thing, he just posted a pic of him on the beach and yeah taking some heat for a bit for a more peaceful and better future for yourself was definitely worth it! Like what Drake is facing in millions times worse then being called J Fold
I can appreciate your contribution to this saga because you add literary references and your own spin on things. I love when people of different walks of life weigh in on the same subject. That said, I instantly disagreed with the Trump/Drake equivalence when I saw the title. However I listened and kept an open mind.
Like any good teacher would, you bubbled up a discomfort in me that on instinct made me defensive. You laid out your points well, you have something interesting and different to say. I think something inside of us revels in seeing the destruction of the “villain”. Maybe because we all have a “Drake” in our lives…or maybe he represents our own shadow.
Drake is a Scorpio, symbolizing death & rebirth…transformation. They themselves go through a series of deaths/transformations and they can ignite the same in others. He is also a Libra cusper. The Libra learns his/her identity through identifying with other people. They try on personalities like clothes until they find their true self. I am a Libra, I’ve been through this process.
Of course this type of chameleon nature makes us appear to be fake, phony, ditsy and indecisive. There may be truth in that, but it is our way of getting to who we really are. Both him and Kendrick share a Gemini Chiron, generally meaning their biggest crux in life has to do with childhood trauma. How interesting that the theme of early experiences appear in their tracks. That Gemini Chiron is the biggest challenge to overcome within their lifetime. It seems Kendrick is a bit further along than Drake in this matter.
Back to what I said about there being something within us that wants to see the villain fall. There’s a villain in all of us. Is it really good vs evil? Or…should we be seeking to understand the purpose of both. Sorry for the lengthy comment. Night night ✨
It’s not about Drake “not being black enough”. It’s about him not FEELING black enough, so he has to steal from black street cultures, from around the world. It’s not a race thing from Kendrick, it’s cultural. It’s about Drake using his blackness to his advantage in music, stealing from authentic black artists actually talking about their real experiences, and using his whiteness when he needs to.
I get the point, but it doesn’t really stand. Kendrick never called him white boy or said he isn’t black. That’s all Rick Ross.
And saying “this just brings [Kendrick] down to their level” is crazy. He spent 6 minutes systematically breaking down Drake’s authenticity, integrity, and morality. He’s not gatekeeping, he’s Truth-telling.
The title alone is epic 😂
Given that lyrics like this exist on the song:
1. I like Drake with the melodies, I don't like Drake when he act tough
2. Keep makin' me dance, wavin' my hand, and it won't be no threat
I don't think it's true that Kendrick is trying to gatekeep.
To keep it succinct, Kendrick is trying to turn Drake into Flo Rida.
That is technicially gatekeeping because Flo Rida music is not considered hip-hop.
@@garrick13 If you're tripping over Flo Rida as an example replace it with Rae Sremmurd instead. They're undeniably Hip Hop.
@MrAB2357 rae sremmurd is hip hop. Drakes music is already in the world of Rae sremmurd, he's even collaborated with Swae lee already. The flo rida comparison was more accurate.
I agree with what you're saying, but the act of Kendrick shifting the public perception of Drake IS gatekeeping the culture. As he should.
@@garrick13i wish he’d go back to the Nate Dogg shit. Singing the hooks.
@@Prince_Luci me too
Hey Professor Skye, I wonder if you heard about the new Cindy Lee album? Its currently making waves on rym and i really love the album. I think you would have something interesting to say about it.
My problem with Drake is he never speaks his Blackness or pride and struggles of being black in his music at all. it's weird for someone to use the black card when they seem to not identify as being black. In fact he drops more references about his jewish culture than anything.
Idk how the algorithm did not bring me to thia channel
AVAA but the point with drake saying the n word (from the point of view of a black student in Atlanta) is much less an issue of colorism of him not being black enough because he has a white parent but more dismantling how drakes upbringing and portrayal of himself in his music is. drake grew up in suburban Toronto with a single white parent going to a Jewish private school. in the sense of it there is no deep connection with the black community (moreover the African American community because being American is a decent part of it) but his exaggerated accents and his coopting of inner city black culture is a mask he's putting on to gain popularity for himself it's pure exploitation. the reason people consistently go after drake but not after j Cole despite them both being biracial is because Cole has actually lived the life he raps about and it comes from a deep personal connection with struggle.
now had drake not been trying to almost steal from completely separate cultures and meld them together to create an image of himself and instead related himself to the black community by talking about the isolation people can feel (think someone like Earl Sweatshirt) then he would be 100% more respected as a black figure
sorry for the rambling structure I'm typing this on my phone but I hope I conveyed the idea adequately
Just want to bump this as it is how I understood it too and you explained it really well.
I think the commentary around framing one of Kendrick’s themes as him being critical of Drake for participating in the culture is far less today with Kendrick not viewing him as ‘black enough’ (Kendrick’s wife is mixed, as is j cole and in a later song addressing drakes son he refers to Adonis saying he is black) and far more to do with theme of inauthenticity and being a culture vulture in the sense portraying a lived experience that is inauthentic.
Eminem for example as a white man does not have this argument bought to him because is deeply embedded in the lived experience which he makes music about and as a white man shows reverence for a music style that he participates that is a is a black cultural cornerstone. To me, Kendrick’s second critique is about that lack of reverence Drake has for the genre and inauthenticity in who he portrays himself to be in his music, not about invalidating his blackness. Where Kendrick does have commentary around Drakes blackness or calls out he is code switching, to me it feels so much more of a frustration and him rebuking that by Drake not being who he is and saying who he is proudly, while also acknowledging the inherent privileges that being a lighter skin black man is incongruent with much of the music he makes which references violence particularly but more generally speaking the lived experience that Kendrick sees as part of his identity. Kendrick specifically calls this out, he likes drakes music when he is making bops but not when he is trying to act tough. That is inauthentic to him and I think the racial element is far more nuanced that Drake can’t participate in hip hop because he isn’t black enough to be accepted.
Not sure if this was your point... But "Talking about how you don't like somebody is useless. You should just not give them your attention" is a very bad take when it comes to politicians who actively hurt entire groups of people1
"gatekeeping" he accused him of pedophilia, thats considered not letting a bad apple in, aint nothing about euphoria is gatekeeping.
Skye have read Fishers essay on Drake? if so what were your thoughts
This is not gatekeeping. This is about the artform. This is real hip hop vs hip pop.
There’s no vague homophobia it’s about drakes misogyny
Exactly-- Blade should be mixed and represented as an Antihero/Antivillian. We should question his motives and actions, while simultaneously liking him.
I realize this is perhaps the least important part of your video, but regarding the Civil War analogy you decided to make (even if you decided not to use it as your primary framing device):
Wouldn't aligning with Kendrick be aligning with Iron Man and Drake be with Cap, rather than the reverse as you suggested?
You spend the video describing Kendrick as wanting to be a gatekeeper, wanting to restrict what does or doesn't qualify as rap, wanting to control the culture and put checks on power and opportunity in the space to those who get approval by the culture, the system. That sounds much closer to the Iron Man side of needing people with powers, with success, registered and controlled vs Cap's side of using powers without answering to anyone, unbeholden to gatekeepers or bureaucracy.
Again, I recognize this doesn't matter in the actual culture skirmish happening here, but I couldn't get it out of my head that it felt like you were flipping the sides in that comic analogy given what they stood for.
Appreciate you giving no oxygen to AI music and your thoughtful analysis at the time this came out BUT I'm glad you were proven wrong about Kendrick losing by choosing to fight. When it was all done, he won by choosing to fight. Drake has been fully exposed. He can never escape this annihilation. And that's important, not only for hip hop, and culture at large, but for art, victims, and humanity itself.
Considering what Kendrick is alluding to I don’t believe he’s in a losing battle for playing along with Drake.
The title is referring to the show Euphoria, a show Drake was an executive producer in that received a lot of criticism for its over sexualisation of teens. Drake even went as far as to disarm any diss about the Millie Bobbie Brown grooming situation on Taylor Made Freestyle yet anything regarding that is surprisingly omitted from Kendrick’s diss track. In fact a large critique about Kendrick’s diss is he didn’t go as far as to say anything new about Drake that wasn’t said in other disses towards him. I would argue he did.
He insinuates the truth about Drake would somehow be worse than the lies about him, but also that these truths about Drake are not already public information. Otherwise it would make no sense to say something like he ‘spared’ him a random act of kindness but not elaborating on the ‘pacify’ line if he was about to say something already known about Drake like the grooming allegations. There was also a very brief bar about a ‘remote island’ and I believe it’s clear that Kendrick is subtly hinting to Drake he knows about his Hollywood ties and friendly relationship with P diddy because he was also brought up in the diss, albeit to be used to reference how he slapped Drake. There were also just so many empty threats about how he was a liar and a manipulator, but they only appear empty to us but probably truly threatened Drake if he believed that Kendrick knew something about him the world doesn’t already know like PushaT did with his son.
Kendrick repeats throughout the track that he simply wants things to be friendly but he could push it further if he wanted to. Every time he says this he’s calling back to the first verse and I feel it’s an intentional attempt to remind him of the dirt he has over him.
While I do agree with the Trump analogy to the extent I don’t think it applies to a musical artist who relies less on being controversial and more on approval. If it came out that Drake was a pedophile and went beyond inappropriately texting minors like he did with MBB then his career and respect as an artist will never recover.
Exactly this! In many ways Kendrick was being 'kind'. It can get uglier if Kendrick wanted.
the MBB thing is over blow she even came out and said people need to stop sexualizing things.
Drake paid 500 k to avoid legal action for sexual agression...he dated a teen or two at least once(sza or hailey bieber), even if he's a groomer his stans won't care they are ill..
Are you talking about Bluelips? I'll give it another listen! It didn't pull me in like Blankface or his earlier work
Can't believe ten years ago I got to see Kendrick, Kanye, and Drake performing at the same venue on the same night for 50 bucks Canadian on Ticketmaster lol
On to the Drake stradling two cultures theory, I'd actually argue Drake and Obama occupy a third space. Your fellow Massachusetts-born and raised academic (MLK-biography Pulitzer Prize winning author) David J. Garrow makes the argument (in his 1 000-page plus tome "Rising Star," that it's not until "Barry" arrives in Chicago after his Columbia studies that he "adopts" an African-American identity (to put it in more crass online lingo "ADOS" or "American Descent of Slaves").
Prior to that (given him being raised primarily by his white grandparents, spending part of his youth in Indonesia, and growing up in the relatively less racist state of Hawai'i) Garrow argues Obama's identity is more in line with that of an "international" one; at Occidential and Columbia, his friends are mostly international students from South Asia or the children of diplomats who also had transient upbringings.
Indeed, Garrow makes the argument (although never doubting Obama's love for Michelle) he knew that marrying an African-American woman would be far more beneficial in his career in Chicago politics than marrying someone non-black. In e fact, before he met, and even shortly after, he was dating Michelle, he was seeing the woman he had proposed to twice before meeting Michelle was a half-Dutch/half Japanese (now current academic) Shelia Myoshi-Jager.
Likewise, although Drake's father was an African-American with roots in Memphis, Tennessee (someone where Drake would spend his summers) growing up in the predominately Caribbean diaspora first-/second-generation black community in Toronto would've have meant adopting an identity/person to blend in/be accepted by that community even excepting his bi-racial Jewish idenity; even if he were (as Gary Sheffield once infamously said about Derek Jeter) "all the way black."
I think that's why Drake (a gifted actor) and Obama are such great ship shifters and code-switchers and why people question their authenticity: (indeed, Garrow concludes his book noting of 44: "While the crucible of self-creation had produced an ironclad will, the vessel was hollow at its core.")
I think that extra hurdle of having to conform/be accepted by a group and then a group within that group (African-American for Obama and Caribbean-Canadian for Drake) has (and will) always meant (as the lead character in the Broadway musical "Dear Evan Hansen laments) "On the outside, always looking in...tap, tap, tapping on the glass...waving through a window."
Someone like a Wab Kinew, the current New Democratic Party Premier of Manitoba who is bi-racial as well (First Nations and white) and went to private school but also was involved in street life and getting arressted, is able to exist and talk to both sets of people of his heritage but without that extra hurdle that could deny his authenticity (since he is Ojibwe and there's plenty of them living in Manitoba despite him being born technically next door in Northern Ontario).
So... It's your belief that he lost because he's bringing himself down to make a point?
I get the analogy but calling him a Day Walker is wild hahaha
I think, at this point of the beef at least, Kendrick was just playing the role of the rapper.
He wasnt actually trying to "win" the "meta" in the sense of truly re-establishing the role of a gatekeeper
“Kendrick made you think about it, but he is not your savior” - Kendrick Lamar
Man, I like some of the points you’re making, but you’ve missed the mark on a couple points that you’ve said about Kendrick’s track. It seems like you don’t get it. What rings true is the fact that Drake may not go away entirely from this, but within the culture, Kendrick is widely considered the top dog even before this beef commenced. Therefore, he is the only person that could play gatekeeper. My hindsight is 20/20, so this may also be a factor in my opinion.
AVAA crossover ep between you and FD signifier would go crazy 🔥🔥🔥
i dont think the "i know they call you the boy but where is the man coz i aint seen him yet" bar is an angle on homosexuality but more on the way drake refers to himself as "the boy" and "certified loverboy" and saying that even he doesnt think hes a man.
I want to know if you still feel this way after Not Like Us.
I think you’re wrong on the n-word issue, while it may have been thrown against him, the attack is that you shouldn’t get to benefit from both whiteness and blackness. Kendrick is trying to put drake on the white side. This issue can also be seen from heritage lines of him being Canadian and having less claim to the culture of a word that came from southern black American culture and dialects.
I think the answer to the lack of gatekeepers in the 21st century is returning power to the audience, as I believe that when we finally become conscious and aware of the material we consume, we will take more action to become the gatekeepers as a collective, but this idea will take time and will take people to get fed up with bs
I’ve known something was up with Drake for a decade now. Dude gives me Andrew tate Vibes.
Plus the last great bar he had was “last name: Ever, first name: Greatest. Like a sprained ankle i ain’t nothing to play with.” Haven’t heard him say anything of that quality since Eminem killed Forever.
27:07 so i disagree with this take mostly cuz of things that DRAKE HIMSELF has said.
He has said before that he didnt experience racism in Canada.
He has said that, that didnt come into play for him until black americans spoke about him.
He hasnt only walked on both sides, but hes also been seen speaking down on a culture that hes later on adopted.
Also i think that Kendrick might have been referring to this old video of Drake casually saying the nword with a hard r.
And, in this song at least, he isnt making a statement.
Hes questioning Drake in response to what Drake has said about him doing features with white artist
24:28 "Why does your black sound like business to me?"
I think you’re very insightful. I don’t think it’s just about gate keeping versus not gate keeping. It’s about someone who is being genuine about their experiences, and someone who isn’t. It’s an about inspiring a culture of truth, versus inspiring a culture of personas and ego when it suits you. And I have hope that people will stray away from inauthenticity as time goes on. Maybe I’m wrong.
I think it’s a good song tbh. I don’t think it’s Kendrick’s best work, but I really did enjoy it. The beat could have been better tbh. I could made a better beat.
Kendrick called drake out his "toxic masculinity"
I disagree with almost all of your points but I appreciate your deep thinking and clear comminication of your salient points and logical argumentation
Hey professor when r you going to talk about millyz?
Have you heard of Millzy? He is from Boston at that....
However the reason I bring up millyz in you comment section for a video about Kendrick and drake. Now I watched this video and the drop n give me 50, back to back. And I've noticed that you brought up the topic of race, I do understand it kinda unavoidable In the drake and Kendrick case.
(Side note I completely disagree about your drake out look of him been called the N-word over a million time. And if it was it was mostly by and from the black community. Guys like drake has had and will always have mostly a group of white friends.
Also I don't like that fact that your make drake out to be the bullied and the victim mostly based upon race, and not on the fact that he's just corny.... and that's if he even was bullied, and if he was bullied it was when he was at dad's house in Memphis in the black community, most likely by the black community. Mostly because he was a corny mixed kid who was on t.v and thought he was cooler then what he was.)
Now that brings me back to millyz because it makes me wonder your thoughts on the flip side of the coin witch would be a white guy who lived the "stereo typical" black experience?
To add an observation i had. I follow the creator Dan McClellan and what I've learned from how he gives information. While i believe that there are aspects of the disses that may be misunderstood, like Kendrick calling into question Drake's willingness to claim blackness and the lack of authenticity in that. (It being a culture issue)
I am ultimately just negotiating with what im hearing in euphoria. I could explain how I feel about the disses towards Drake's masculinity. But that may not be the actual intent, and we have to look towards kendricks music to make a good guess about that. Do i think there is weight to my thoughts? i do, but it's not the only view to have. I am inspired by these songs, though.
Q is so slept on. When he used to do interviews he would often say he is a better rapper then slide his phone to the person and say call him right now on air and Kendrick will tell you. He is a favorite
I appreciate your take on “the rap battle between Kendrick and Aubrey. Great contribution to the broader American community. My thoughts listening to you is that there is so much cultural context that you are missing that it’s not even funny.
As a fellow scholar of literature and art I do understand the difficulty of examining black-centered culture from a white lens. That has been my entire experience in the American education system.
I’ll just leave this here: Black consciousness is not a monolith.. Kendrick doesn’t have nor do I think he believes he has the reach spiritually to gate keep hip-hop.
What we just witnessed was a rap battle. It is a sport. That is it. 😂
Lmao did he call kdot a racist ? And compared him with a white sup ?
what does he mean when he said that the black community created the word ‘hate’? 20:00
“Hater” and the way it’s been used
Sure, Push Ups might be harder or a better song, but euphoria is more targeted and lyrical and has a lot of hidden entendres and metaphors. I think Drake’s mistake was attacking too many people at once, when you’re being attacked by multiple people you incapacitate them 1 by 1 you don’t just punch all of them in the face once and expect to walk away