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As an artist, one of the reasons why I support Drake is because his music is gratifying. I do not compare him to other artists to appreciate his brand fully. His new playlist, “More Life,” clearly indicates this fact. I can say firsthand that Drake’s music is enjoyed by many people worldwide. His “Views” album proves he is the Boy George, Prince, or Michael Jackson of this era. The only difference is he is a crossover Hip Hop artist. He’s a Hiphopppa that’s great at Pop when every Pop artist is terrible at Hip Hop!
I lived in Canada for a decade. I naturalized, wrote several books, released several albums, and garnered a Grammy nomination. I visited the country’s most talked about provinces and cities. From what I experienced there, musically, when it comes to entertainment, most Canadians are into Hip Hop music. Hip Hop is also a mighty Kulture. And this Kulture is driven by its music, fashion, slang, and the potential that it has to make its entertainers rich. It is a black culture that dominates by changing the mentality of other people. Even so, the Canadian scene has different elements that make it more difficult for Hip Hop to take root.
Diversity & Versatility
One of those elements is diversity. People represent different cultures from all over the world. In Canada, regardless of the public demand, people complain about biases when one group receives more attention than another. Canadians are pretty anal about the equal distribution of resources among gender, race, sexuality, or cultures there. In this police state, where most people are either Caucasian or East Indian, you will find that the rapid progress of African-American or African culture is quickly sabotaged. Caribbean literature has its genres; like Hip Hop, they also have battles to fight. This means, as a people, they won’t have time to fight for Hip Hop.
A second reason is a feminism. The Canadian feminist community does not respond optimistically to maleness. Men’s activities denounced feminism, where the majority who do not adhere to Reggae, Soca, and Hip Hop culture become somewhat passive. This is also barren ground for Hip Hop since groupies, thots, models, prostitutes, and other openly loose females who adore the masters of this craft play a vital role in this Kulture. Anything masculine that attracts women because of its male state is quickly undermined in Canada. It should be redefined as a neutral characteristic before acceptance, but it is invalid for feminine things. This is fundamental in Canadian culture.
The only setback most local artists face in Canada is that the mainstream media does not recognize their work until after a foreign media do so first.”
The Culture & the Rap Game
Remember Pink? She entered the music industry years ago as a Hip Hop artist, but once famous, she switched to Rock and Roll. Today, Pink is an accomplished Rock artist. Well, I’m willing to bet that Drake, a Canadian, is very adept with diversity. He understands how to disguise his masculinity to seem vulnerable to feminists. The only setback most artists face in Canada is that the local media does not recognize them until after a foreign press does so first. Canadian communications often ignore new talent only to claim it after it has blossomed elsewhere. Drake overcame this setback when he got his contract from Young Money Records.
Now, let’s look at Hip Hop and see how it has eradicated most, if not all, of its predecessors or counterparts. For now, it should be safe to say R&B has merged with it. Before discussing that, look at “Top of the Pops.” Hip Hop turned off the lights on this once massive showcase of the world’s most famous Rock and Pop bands. Musical legends like Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Prince, and many other great musicians who ruled the industry before the appearance of Hip Hop suddenly became “been” watching from the sideline.
Legendary Classics
Let’s leave our musical legends alone. After all, Hip Hop respects and honors them all. We often sample their songs, remake their hits, include them in our work, and so on. What about the genres themselves? The Caucasians had identified Country, Pop, and Rock and Roll as their type of music. They used it to represent their way of life. But today, Country, Pop, Rock, and Roll songs have to have some elements of Hip Hop in them, or the band could fail. With all the sabotage of progress, negative press, and police harassment of Hip Hop fans and legends, this Kulture considerably influences other genres. This influence is more profound than I can express with words.
Here comes a dangerous and annihilating situation for the culture of Caucasian music. No one is buying Jazz, Classical, or Opera music, and nobody is checking for Folk music. White and Asian teens who study Country, Pop, or Rock and Roll are easily attracted to Hip Hop because most of the content in their music culture are ideas borrowed or stolen from Hip Hop. It’s all Hip-Hop. And here comes a Canadian rapper that appeals to Country, Pop, and Rock and Roll fans—one who understands the emotions of atheists, feminists, and even gays.
Drake, as a Pop Artist
It would be great for the Recording Academy if Drake sang R&B and rapped only to Hip Hop beats. This would be safe for the other genres. Instead, he wants to sing Pop, and his songs are hitting. He’s outselling Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift and closing in on Adele. Justin Timberlake has disappeared, Beyonce and Rihanna have had to disguise themselves as Pop when they are R&B artists, and Drake is still outselling them all. The “More Life” artist promotes Hip Hop by attracting fans of Country, Pop, and Rock and Roll. And he’s the perfect guy to do this since his Canadian upbringing has prepared him with a clear understanding of how Caucasians relate to music, fashion, and entertainment.
This could be why when Drake releases an outstanding Pop album, the Recording Academy or the Grammy Awards deliberately refuses to slot the record among other Pop artists. The Recording Academy is afraid to honor Drake as a Pop artist because he can change the genre from what it is. As I pointed out earlier, this has happened before. Hip Hop has a Jesus effect that has wiped out many legends in music. They may not admit it, but they know this. This is the reason why the Academy wants Drake in Hip-Hop. So he can be vulnerable to the misconceptions of the Kulture and protect those other genres from being annihilated.*
