Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
My homie texted: How over is Drake? (I haven’t gotten a Drake favorable response yet).
I texted: Not over at all. Drake is fine. It’s probably hurtful to him personally to be embarrassed in public given how important image is to him so he may need to talk to his therapist about that, but careerwise, he’s good money. For sure, Kendrick has taken over the culture. He’s the central figure nowadays. If the culture is a high school, Kendrick is the most popular kid in school by far. Drake was once the most popular kid in school but right now it’s all about K-Dot. He’s got the song of the summer in “Not Like Us,” maybe even the song of the year, and the video hasn’t even dropped yet. He just did the concert of the summer. He can’t be stopped right now. But if the culture is a high school, Drake still goes to that school. He got beat up in the parking lot and everyone saw, but he didn’t get expelled. And if the culture, as in Black culture, is one high school, then we have to understand that Drake is someone who attends two schools at once. A large portion of his fans aren’t in the culture, they’re not Black, and they don’t care about hip-hop the way the culture does, and Kendrick dunking on Drake doesn’t change how they feel about him.
He texted back: For sure. Not over as in Ja Rule over, but I guess where do you go from here in the male rap game when a big part of your success stems from your perceived roughness and place within the game?
I texted: I think for the most part, Drake fans and Kendrick fans are different people. Like in the lunchroom at that proverbial school, they’re at different tables. They don’t even sit on the same side of the lunchroom. There’s not a ton of overlap because they see the world in different ways, and they want different things from music. And, as I said, many Drake fans go to other schools. I think Kendrick’s fanbase is mostly Black and male and serious about hip-hop. I think Drake’s fanbase is Black and white, it’s male and female, it’s some who are serious about hip-hop and some who are pop music fans and may not care about hip-hop. It’s surely bigger than Kendrick’s fanbase, and I don’t think losing the battle has cost Drake many fans.
Among Drake fans, there are probably three camps. Some think Drake won the battle. Some think Drake lost the battle but they don’t care, they still love him. They probably think that Kendrick and so many others going at Drake proves that Drake is the man or, as my kids would say, it proves he’s the main character. And some don’t really care about the battle. Kendrick won the battle, obvi, but that doesn’t mean Drake fans have stopped loving him. When he drops another album or goes on tour, they’ll be there for him.
He texted: It’s hard to take someone seriously who raps “last name ever, first name greatest” after an ass beating that bad lol.
I texted: That’s how we feel because we’re on the Kendrick side of the cafeteria. But over on Drake’s side, things are different. They see the world differently. It’s almost like how something bad happens to Trump and it doesn’t really impact his standing among his base because their love isn’t based on logic, and liberals are apoplectic — like, how can that not make you rethink your love for Trump? But love is illogical. People love Drake and losing a battle won’t shake that. Now is not the time for Drake to drop new music because this is the summer of Kendrick. The school belongs to him. But in time, that’ll cool down a bit and Drake will put out a catchy banger that makes people want to dance, and he’ll be back to doing his thing.
He texted: That makes sense.
Toure is a host and writer at TheGrio. He hosts the TheGrio TV show “Masters of the Game,” and he created the award-winning podcast “Being Black: The ’80s” and its upcoming sequel “Being Black: The ’70s.” He is also the creator of “Star Stories” and the author of eight books, including “Nothing Compares 2 U an oral history of Prince.” He also hosts a podcast called “Toure Show.” He is also a husband and a father of two.
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