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21 savage November 17, 2022
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5 things we learned about Drake and 21 Savage on their album ‘Her Loss’

On November 4th, Drake and 21 Savage dropped their first full-length collaborative project: “Her Loss.”

Despite very little promotion mainly nestled within their semi-flippant, mock “press” campaign, “Her Loss” has made a pleasantly unexpected splash on today’s Hip-Hop’s landscape. 

With fans in a chokehold off of the more polemical parcels, this shouldn’t negate the alchemy of “Her Loss”.

From the eclectic, tasteful sonics to the ever-witty bars and flows of both rappers, their respective idiosyncrasies shine bright to culminate in such a salient, yet controversial body of work. 

Whenever two major forces come together, there is quite a bit of nuance that can be retrieved from their work.

With this, let us divulge a few takeaways from one of the best collaborations this year: “Her Loss.” 

Their synergy is unmatched 

Based on the chemistry on ‘Jimmy Cooks’ and previous collaborations, Drake and 21 Savage stress that they’re the best duo.

Bouncing off each other’s energy with relative ease, the duo equally express an open zeal for braggadocious rhymes about the lavish fruits of their labor and whatever else they currently feel inclined to get off their chest. 

Whether it’s Drake on the hook and Savage on the bars or vice versa. They both manage to execute on either side of the token.

Drake wants all the smoke once again

As avid fans and pop culture drama lovers may attest, Drake isn’t a stranger to acrimony whatsoever.

Some of his most notable face-offs include his proverbial “beefs” with Chris Brown, Meek Mill, Kendrick Lamar and Pusha T. Though most of which have dissolved and have since reconciled. 

Seemingly indifferent to his past wounds, Drake evidently has a few bones to pick once again in Her Loss.

There’s a comprehensive laundry list of folx he takes shots at all across the project: Megan Thee Stallion, Soulja Boy, Ice Spice, Ye, Pusha T, Serena Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian. 

As subtle and passive aggressive as they are, these sheisty easter eggs were meant to be discovered. At this point in this his career,  Drake either feels impervious to backlash or simply doesn’t give a f**k. 

Who needs publicity when you can do your own stunts

Leave it to Drake and 21 Savage to defy all the standard conventions of content promotion. In what feels like an unprecedented marketing move, they created their own satirical media rollout. 

Some of their most notable hijinks include indulging in a mock rendition of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, emulating SNL’s ‘musical guest’ segment, cultivating a fraudulent “GQ” segment and reimagining their own Vogue cover, the latter of which they’ve been recently sued for. 

At the moment, the impetus behind this bold move is unclear but it does illuminate their indifference to the powers and influence of the media.

In conjunction with all the shots fired on this project, this decision too was designed to turn a few heads and I’m quite certain that was achieved. 

Texas is really the s**t

Ever since his “So Far Gone,” YMCMB days, Drake has been madly obsessed with the beloved region of Houston, TX.

In fact, his infatuation runs so deep that he even made an emotionally charged track about it back in the day: “Houstatlantavegas.”

On this record, his unbridled love for H-town and Texas as a whole is still very much palpable and he makes it fully apparent. 

Even the album artwork is thoroughly steeped in contemporary Houston culture as it underscores the identity of popular native Qui Yasuka, more popularly known as, Suki Baby.

Fellow Houston native, and photographer Paris Aden, shot the talented nail stylist and professional adult dancer.

The rationale behind why they chose her is still unclear but this wouldn’t be the first time Drake has been ambiguous with his album artwork.

On myriad occasions throughout this project, both Drake and 21 pay great homage to the lone star state. 

Redemption was on the brain 

Contrary to what one would expect, Drake hasn’t been the hottest in terms of reception regarding some of his most previous works. 

According to Pitchfork, he received a measly rating of 6.6 and his sixth studio album: Certified Lover Boy. This dropped in 2021, with its pertinence quickly fleeing the scene.

Given how sublime his discography is, it would only make sense that he would attempt to reach the mountaintop again. 

With the release of “Her Loss,” we can say that Drake has reached his apex once again. 

hip hop July 5, 2022
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Is hip-hop divided? Why the new and old school are disconnected

Over the last 15 years, the increasingly beloved genre of hip-hop has evolved in rapid fashion.

From the advent of Kanye West’s genre-bending 2008 emo-pop record 808s & Heartbreak, which made it “chic” to explore the concepts of vulnerability and the dark side of fame.

To the odd, idiosyncratic inflections of Young Thug’s seminal debut single “Lifestyle,” hip-hop has shifted on a myriad of occasions throughout the last two decades.

Today’s rappers or not yesterday’s rappers

By virtue of this pattern, the traditional, one-dimensional archetype of the “hip-hop artist” has diminished in scale from act to act. Today’s concept of what a hip-hop artist can look and feel like is constantly placed into question and in an active process of redefinition.

With the expansive birth of so many subsections, it has opened the door for a vast range of fresh, unique artists to hop on the scene, willing and able to embrace themselves, embellished with quirks and all.

But perhaps, most importantly, to thrive like never before with Juice WRLD, Travis Scott, Drake, Aminé, NBA Young Boy, Lil’Baby, Gunna, Lil’ Uzi Vert, Kid Cudi to name a few.

While these changes, by and large, have expanded the genre’s appeal to exorbitant heights with hip-hop being labeled the “most popular” music genre in 2018, according to a report from Nielsen, another subtle, more insidious conundrum has spawned out of such radical change.

Young Thug vs. André 3000

During an interview with Southern rapper T.I. on his podcast: Expeditiously, Young Thug was asked about his thoughts on André 3000, who is a cultural icon in his own right and a leading pioneer in the Southern hip-hop movement of the ‘90s.

In lieu of glee and excitement to discuss one of the founding forefathers of “unconventional” rap, Young Thug uttered what avid fans of “traditional” hip-hop would find to be unthinkable: “I can’t rap you two André 3000 songs. I ain’t never paid attention to him, never in my life,” Thug said. 

Following his awe-provoking statement, T.I. attempted to support Mr. 3000, delineating that he is in fact not an enemy and how they are, in essence, allies on the same team. 

“He’s who ally? Yeah fuckin’ right. Why you don’t rap like him? You don’t like him, dress like him, look like him. You ain’t trying to portray none of that.”

Young Thug on the Expeditiously podcast

Where does the disrespect come from?

This situation is not only emblematic of a cold, “spit-in-the-face” antipathy towards an almost indisputable “living legend” that is André 3000 but more so of a major dilemma within today’s hip-hop milieu: There is a lingering lack of veneration for the proverbial leaders of hip-hop.

By virtue of this phenomenon, it provoked a major schism between old rappers and members of the new-aged class of rappers. 

“I think generational chasms are present in every genre of music and in every art form.” 

Keyaira N. Boone, Senior Entertainment Reporter at Insider

Lil Pump vs. J. Cole

In another instance of generational acrimony, J. Cole cultivated a diss track entitled “1985” on his fifth studio record KOD in 2018. The scathing verbal epithet was specifically pointed at prominent SoundCloud rapper Lil’ Pump, who created a track called “F**k J. Cole” in 2017. 

During an interview with Paul Cantor of Vulture, Cole explained his rationale behind the creation of “1985” saying,

“If you exclude the top three rappers in the game, the most popping rappers are all exaggerated versions of Black stereotypes. Extremely tatted up, colorful hair, flamboyant. It’s caricatures.” 

J. Cole, Vulture

With such a massive divide between generations in hip-hop, it warrants the question: Are there any viable solutions that can be made? 

“I think it takes younger artists also embracing and gaining knowledge of where their music comes from. They should seek to know where exactly R&B stems from and how Hip-Hop culture came to be as it is today”

The hip-hop outliers

Between both generations, there are some outliers who openly show love and respect regardless of the time they entered the rap game. Two prominent artists from two separate eras that come to mind are Cordae and Snoop Dogg. 

“I feel like Snoop Dogg is a really good example. He is always able to stay relevant because he is able to adapt to what’s hot right now. He’s not one of those artists that’ll be like “oh, that mumble rap yeah that s**t sucks.” 

Catrise Johnson, Business Development Manager at Billboard

In another vein, Cordae finds delight in embracing his predecessors in rap. Through the nostalgic nature of his flow and his affinity for teaming up with hip-hop legends like Q-Tip (More Life) and Common (What’s Life), the reverence is most certainly present. 

Is it becoming cool to bash the old heads?

Another potential reason why the younger generation might feel less inclined to pay reverence to the ones that came before they are because such a move may or may not be beneficial to their bottom line and how their fans perceive them. 

“It’s less advantageous for a person to say ‘Here are the people who are my contemporaries or the people that came before me that made me into the person I am today especially if those people are still competing in that arena.’

A.D. Carson, Associate professor of Hip-Hop at the University of Virginia

Irrespective of either generation, the media does play a tangible role in how riffs between artists are portrayed to the general public, sometimes exacerbating the situation altogether. 

“Because many old school rappers are executives, agents, producers, etc, I believe there are more collaborations than strife between generations. But the strife will always draw more attention, get more coverage, and instigate more conversation.” 

Patrick Rivers, Associate professor of Music at The University of New Haven

While quarrels do tend to manifest between artists in hip-hop, some feel that it is more of a constructive endeavor to mediate the “beef” rather than perpetuate it.

“I don’t know that the onus is on rappers or rappers alone,” said Professor Carson. “The people who see themselves as stewards of the culture, whether it be writers, executives, artists, teachers, it falls down to all of us to do that engaged kind of work.” 

A.D. Carson, Associate professor of Hip-Hop at the University of Virginia

At the end of the day, even if rappers said they wanted to do it, they still wouldn’t be able to do it alone. It would take a village and there’s simply no escaping that portion of the matter.