A Drake Fan Manifesto and Retrospective
Look. I LOOOOVE Drake. Year in and year out, despite my most valiant efforts and my euridite/eclectic taste, he remains my top Spotify artist. I shudder to think how many of his lyrics have been permanently branded in my mind.
But I'm not that kind of Drake fan. You know, the kind who quotes him unironically, capes for him, and idolizes him as the epitome of personal success. I wouldn't describe the my interest in him as ironic either. I have a fascination with his pop culture imagery and a genuine respect for his artistry; he has a countless number of straight up BARS. I’ve never been one to discredit an artist’s impact and enjoyability on the basis of popularity. It’s a tremendous achievement to build a musical catologue that can appeal to so many different people over the course of more than fifteen years.
I’ve been following Drake’s career with delight for over half of my life (at the time of writing, fall 2023). While his flow might get more sophisticated, the production more slick, and the features more varied, there always remains the Drakeness of it all. Drakeness is at the core of all of Drake’s music; it’s his Jekyll and Hyde duality, the Certified Lover Boy and the Dawg co-existing in the same space. It could be when he goes all serious and reminds us he’s got mob ties who’ll spin the block at his behest. In the same breath, it he could be crooning a lamentation about how he’s never treated well in relationships. It’s his self-aware goofiness contrasted with his immaturity and egotism. It’s the unstoppable force of his vulnerability meeting the immovable object of his pettiness and bravado.
Being from Ontario, I have a special connection to Drake. He popularized calling Toronto the 6 and his music was omnipresent, blaring through just about every university party, car ride, shop, restaurant, or bar I set foot in. He is the unifying force; I fuck with him, my family fucks with him, my homies fuck with him, frat bros fuck with him, and maybe your mom fucks with him too. This summer, I finally saw Drake perform live and I was struck by the variety of people in the audience. It really was the Drake featuring Drake show. Tens of thousands of people all getting super lit while honed in on this one dude with his surreal props making cameos through the show (including floating sperm). Drake is SO funny, by the way. I can’t help but giggle every time I hear him proclaim “I blow a half a million on you hoes, I'm a feminist”. If you’re gonna do misogyny, at least make it funny!
I remember the first time I ever heard a Drake song quite vividly. It was summer ‘09, and I was sitting on the deck in my parents’ backyard listening to what was once the Toronto station Flow 93.5 (Canada's first Black-owned radio station, and first to carry an “urban contemporary” format). Hearing “Best I Ever Had” that day was a visceral experience; the opening notes immediately shook my bones, and the melodic chorus latched onto my brain. I knew I was witnessing what would become pop culture history, particularly since I was already a Lil Wayne fan prior to learning about his new protégée.
So Far Gone rocked my world for real. I was so there for the singer slash rapper combo that Drake was getting dunked on for. They just don't make R&B tracks like “Sooner than Later”, “Houstatlantavegas”, “Brand New”, and “Successful” anymore... and “Uptown” was a goated Drake x Lil Wayne (and Bun B) moment. It's strange to be at the age where I can look back on the shockwaves that came with discovering sick new musicians as a teenager, and to recall those emotions so strongly while also feeling like it all happened in a very distant past.
As evidenced by the tweets scattered throughout this post, I was once a very prolific poster. I followed Word on Road and a wide array of music fans, journalists, and industry workers, so I was very tapped in to every Drake conversation du jour (emphasis on was - I couldn’t tell you every nuance of the Kendrick beef). There were endless crossovers with other pop stars that I loved; his flirtations with Nicki and his flings with Rihanna; the YMCMB era and the epic collabs that it produced, including “Bed Rock”, “Forever”, “Money to Blow”, “I’m On One”, and “Fuckin’ Problems”; his tiny cameo (together with Tinashe) in Justin Bieber’s “Baby” music video, and their collab on “Right Here” which came shortly before the Biebervelli era; and his wishing Zayn a happy birthday was a huge moment for me. And of course, I survived the wave of fake corny Drake quotes that accompanied the snapback and silly band era.
Every time Drake dropped a record, it would come to help define an era of my life. I remember listening to his second album Take Care at the Toronto Pearson Airport while on the way to Florida for my family’s first Disney visit, replaying the heck out of the title track, “Shot for Me”, “Crew Love”, “Practice”, and “The Motto”, in particular. The whole thing still slaps, and it remains my favourite Drake album ever.
Nothing Was the Same came out while I was at my high school library, laughing at the cover art along with everyone else on Twitter (including a meme series by Tyler the Creator from his posting era). I soon collaborated with some friends on a jack-o-lantern of the cover as part of our school’s annual contest with the ulterior motive of getting Drake to NOTICE MEEEE. Once again, front to back bangers on that album. “Own It” and “Worst Behaviour” back to back = god tier. Honourable mentions to “Come Through” and “Furthest Thing” as well.
RUNNING-THROUGH THE-SIX-WITH MY WOES! Drake’s 2015 to 2017 releases were the backdrop of my hypebeast era and the start of my university career. I heard those tracks at both parties in Toronto condos, and house parties at Western University in London (Ontario). And of course, I also heard them non-stop in my earbuds.
What a Time to be Alive delivered silly little songs that got me through the day and also had me turning up at night (“Jumpman”, “Diamonds Dancing”).
Views came out two days after I completed my final exams in first year, and I remember really needing that pick-me-up. This album featured two of Drake’s biggest hits: “Hotline Bling” and “One Dance”.
More Life gave us the wonderful melodies of “Passionfruit, “Teenage Fever”, and “Blem”, alongside another Drake-y anthem in the form of “Fake Love”.
Drake is a character full of contradictions who always has a finger on the pulse and stirs the pot at just the right time. He is simultaneously the jokester and the butt of the joke. With each release and each meta-ironic move, Drake inspires a myriad of memes and cultural moments, and he knows what he’s doing. A quote from this interview with his “Hotling Bling” choreographer Tanisha Scott cements this:
I was brought in to do choreography with dancers and whatnot, but through it all, when we got to set, we decided to just focus the video on Drake having fun and letting loose. I have to applaud Drake for stepping out of his comfort zone to just have fun and be unique and not care. He went from "Back to Back"—he's a genius lyricist—to this, so at the end of the day, why not just shake things off and lose all inhibitions and just have fun with this video? It's him championing everything he's done. Nothing was rehearsed, nothing was choreographed, it was just him doing his thing.
Nothing was rehearsed?
Yeah, I was just a coach. That's what made this so fly. Nobody was going to expect him to dance, and we were like, "This entire video has to just be you." And all those memes and [mashups], he knew that was going to happen! We were looking at playbacks, and he was like, "This is totally going to be a meme." He's borderline brilliant. He knew what was going to happen.
Around 2018 we were approaching nearly a decade of Drake dominating the charts, and that year proved to be no different. He dropped some mega hits including “God’s Plan”, “Nonstop”, and “Nice For What”, in addition to features on Migos’ “Walk It Talk It” and Travis Scott’s “SICKO MODE”. Scorpion was among the music I had downloaded on Spotify while visiting Kurdistan for the first time in the summer of 2018. So picture a flock of goats passing by our car in the mountains being soundtracked by Drake singing “Kiki, do you love me?”. Also, that run between “Peak” to “That’s How You Feel” goes so hard. 2019’s Care Package wasn’t as big for me, but I’ve gotta shout out “Girls Love Beyonce”.
Certified Lover Boy feels like it came out yesterday, but it's been two years now. “Girls Want Girls” and “Way 2 Sexy” are the album’s highlights, emblematic of the goofiness and vibrance previewed by its cover. The silliness continues in Drake’s 2022 releases, with two albums gracing us much like back in 2015. Honestly, Never Mind (a very Drake-y title) displayed experimentation in house music, with the explosive pairing of “Sticky” and “Massive” placed back-to-back. His collaborative record with 21 Savage, Her Loss (again, very Drake-y), cemented Drake’s yassified girly pop purrrr status and spawned endless memes with its iconic opening line:
“21, can you do somethin’ for me?”
Drake’s most recent album For All the Dogs dropped on the same day as his Toronto tour stop; I was a little salty because my siblings went without me, AND he paid an audience member’s tuition. But anyways. Whenever he shares new music, my sister Dillan and I love to send each other quotes that we find hilarious. Our mutual favourite off this album was: “I swear to God, you think I'm Shakespeare, that's why you always wanna play, right?" Also of note is his continued fixation on the Turks and Caicos, Uncle Snoop’s radio host outro on “7969 Santa”, and his suggestion of forming a support group for people who have dealt with one of his exes.
There's no ribbon given to anyone that you dealt with
No badge of honor, no ceremony or benefits
I gotta start us up a support group with a membership
As indicated by the title, this album really shines a light on Drake’s scummy side and childishness. The paternalistic intro to “Slime You Out” is sooo annoying:
I don't know
I don't know what's wrong with you girls
I feel like y'all don't need love, you need somebody who could micromanage you
You know what I'm sayin'? Tell you right from wrong
Who's smart from who's the fool
Which utensil to use for which food, like I got a schedule to attend to, though
I can't really...
(6ix)
Maybe his upcoming hiatus will encourage some introspection and provide a perspective beyond being in the spotlight.. probably not tho lol. It’s strange, I learned about the hiatus after having written the bulk of this post, not knowing that we’re about to face the longest time Drake’s gone without dropping music. It’ll be interesting to see how he attempts to maintain relevance during his time away from music.
Interlude
While it’s not among my favourite Drake releases, For All the Dogs soundtracked a cozy day of doing whatever my heart desires. It gave me a moment of lightness when I really needed it. I listened to it over and over again, picking out my favourite tracks (“Calling For You”, “Tried Our Best”, “IDGAF”, and “First Person Shooter”) and laughing at a new line with Dillan every time I came across one. I spent the day browsing midcentury modern furniture on Facebook marketplace, watching cooking videos, then proceeding to cook all day starting with cheese sauce for the mac and cheese I brought to a friendsgiving dinner. I brined some chicken legs and then roasted them with some butter and garam masala. And finally, a tomato confit.
I've been feeling inspired to cook more lately since attending a retreat where I enjoyed farm to table food the whole weekend, and also on account of listening to Anthony Bourdain’s reading of Kitchen Confidential (thank you to my friend Magdalena for reminding me to get into this book). The retreat came after a spell of ordering a lot of bad delivery food and feeling too burnt out/physically strained to cook often. It's been a breath of fresh air to tap back into my love of cooking and in so doing, remembering my deep connection to the earth.
I’ve been trying to eat as in season as possible and source the best meat and eggs I can find. It just hits so different when you cook and eat from a place of love and gratitude versus any kind of resentment, impatience, or mechanism. When I take the time to cook something excellent for myself, I’m able to feel gratitude for my health and mobility, and a sense of tender care for myself. I enjoy what I cook every day, and then freeze a portion to take care of myself in the future when I’m going to really need it, and it feels like a hug. Writing this is reminding me of a conversation I had with a lovely colleague last week about cooking being a meditative act of self-care.
Anyways, it was great to have this album playing in the background to keep me upbeat on a rainy day, with nowhere else to go and nothing else to do but listen to music, tidy up, and cook in my beautiful, warm, inviting kitchen.
here’s my favourite Drake meme, just for funsies
I’m a fan of being entertained by Drake much like I’m a fan of eating cake. It’s not the best thing to have all the time, but it’s really good in the moment, whether that moment is a normal or a celebratory one. I look back fondly on times like when the Raptors won the NBA finals for the first time and the streets were flooded with people blaring “God’s Plan”, smiling to myself with appreciation for the unifying and euphoric power of music. To me, Drake encapsulates the essence of a popstar, and every year I find myself wondering What’s Next. Dialled the fuck in.
Thanks to my friend Masheyla, whose text message below was my inspiration to write this! It’s been a while, and it feels good to be writing about things I care about after my own hiatus (law school really sucks the soul out of people). We are sooo back.
