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I'm putting all the allegations to the side about both parties because I can come to my conclusions without it. Of course, I'm a Kendrick Lamar supporter since his mixtape Section 8.0 and whether he won the battle or not I still would've been a supporter because I love Kendrick's music. To be honest I wasn't confident that Drake could win from the start because I know how intricate and creative Kendrick is with a pen on lyrics alone. I can also admit that I haven't indulge in many Drake albums but from the songs and music I've heard I can say he does great at creating some bops.
I 100 percent agreed with Yasin Bey aka Mos Def when he stated that Drake is pop. For whatever reason fans take offense to this. Why? I'm not sure seeing as though the very reasons that classifies you as pop is the fans reasons of why he's the G.O.A.T. Fans credit Drake with having more Billboard charting hits; having a larger fan base; having a broader reach; and simple songs you can bop too.
Pop music is a broad term that refers to any music that is considered popular by today's standards. Some characteristics of pop music include:
Structure: Most modern popular songs have a verse and chorus structure. The chorus is designed to be memorable and singable.
Harmony and melody: Many popular songs use a simple, formulaic selection of chords that are pleasing to listeners. These chords often contain a blend of major and minor chords.
Rhythm: Pop songs have a danceable tempo.
Lyrics: Pop songs have easy to remember lyrics.
Simple notation: Pop music uses simple notation.
Repeated choruses and hooks: Pop music often includes repeated choruses and hooks.
Short to medium-length songs: Pop songs are short to medium-length.
Pop music is commonly found on mainstream radio stations and across a range of countries and cultures.
I'm not against pop but if you're someone like me you want to hear music that'll make you think, make you aware, and give you the substance that feed the soul pass a bop and surface messaging. So when I heard Drake dropped 'PUSH UPS' I wasn't impressed with the size 7 shoe and short shots. It was ineffective because while he was picking at Kendricks height, I knew Kendrick was coming for the alignment of his spirit and soul. I also felt like Drake should've taken a Jay Z approach by only addressing the people who were important in this battle such as; Kendrick and maybe Future.
I also wasn't a fan of the 'Taylor Made' diss because of the A.I., it seemed desperate and corny. However, because his fans explained it was Drake's way of taunting Kendrick to hurry and respond, I guess I can let it pass. When Kendrick dropped 'Euphoria' and basically brought his authenticity into question, it shined a light on whether he contributed to the culture or taking from the culture? When Drake came back with Family Matters....eh. For one I wasn't a fan of the beats Drake was giving in these disses. For him to be the bop king he fell short to me. Secondly the melodic singing was clever to start with since Kendrick told him he like the Drake with the melodies but once again I felt like he dropped the ball addressing everyone instead hitting Kendrick head on like Kendrick did him.
Now, one can believe why he couldn't challenge Kendrick straight on, is because he didn't have anything on Kendrick, which brings me to my second point. He kept speaking on the same allegations about Kendrick's wife and gave us nothing further that would have the listeners questioning Kendricks character. I thought it was smart for Kendrick not to respond to those allegations because it would've had him on defense rather than offense. I also believe it wasn't so smart for Drake to entertain the allegations in his song, he should've taken a page out of Kendrick's book.
It's clear that Drake didn't study Kendrick like Kendrick studied Drake. In my opinion, Drake lost from the start by him moving based on how the internet responded and not strategizing based on Kendrick. He tried to use the information on Kendrick based on his album 'Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers' but that failed short because he gave misinformation. When Drake tried to capitalize on Kendrick's relationship with his wife, like it's trouble at home, it didn't land because Kendricks fan listened to Mr. Morale where he addressed they had issues. Or when in 'The Heart Part 6' where he mentioned Kendrick being molested, and it didn't land because his fans listened to Mother, I Sobber and knew he was speaking on the traumas of his mother's assault.
Now maybe he intentionally took lines and tried to manipulate the people by misinforming them of what he actually stated in the songs. And if so that means he was too busy feeding his fanbase rather than exposing Kendrick. Going back to my point of him being focused on the reaction of the internet instead of understanding and studying his opponent. Drake walked right in to Kendrick's narrative of him being a culture vulture when he said Kendrick raps like he's freeing the slaves, showing how out of touch he is to the culture by making that reference. Trying to spend the narrative that he planted all this information to trip Kendrick up was a fail landing. How if you're online responding to the very traps you set him up on? And it's all suspicious seeing as though the fans started that narrative and conveniently he uses it in his song.
Overall I believe Drake lost from the start because his arrogance and cockiness got the best of him. He allowed the perception that people saw him as (THANOS....yeah...okay) get to his head instead of grounding himself and finding an angle that would've had him at least neck to neck as a worthy opponent. He should've switched up his angle of speaking on peoples wives and women and found a way to get Canada on board as his town. I still enjoyed the battle. I believe it was good for the culture of hip hop and moved it into the direction of shining the light on the depth and substance of hip hop.
Tell me your thoughts in the comments and check out the my commentary above.
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