Drake simps again

Tuesday 21 June, 2011 at 10:50 am bomani Blog 16

A few months ago, I asked for help understanding the masses’ love for Drake. I recognize there’s a generational disconnect between he and I, but still…it can’t be that huge. I’m not that old.

I am old enough that I don’t keep up with the kids musically anymore, so today was the first time I listened to “Marvin’s Room.” Suckas are in style, ha? Whiskey.Tango.Foxtrot, people?

I don’t have anything positive to say, other than this song could have been fantastic if the rapper behind it had a modicum of dignity. And yeah, I’m going that hard, and this sort of stuff is what annoys me so much about Drake and leaves me confused about why people are all over this dude.

My problem, as stated before, is that he’s soft. That’s not to be confused with him being emotional. Emotional I can live with, and emotion is what I’m in music for. The feeling may come from a sound, an aesthetic or something raging inside the artist, but I’m not down for anything that isn’t evocative. I want something to move me, to make me better understand something about myself while hearing from an artist.

All I learn from Drake is that I don’t do enough volunteer work to instill the right values in the youth.

Go back up and listen to this “Marvin’s Room,” man. I’m fighting the urge to enumerate my gripes because individual issues — like the basic premise of spittin’ game that so prominently involves another man — because they don’t matter that much. For me, what matters is the overarching air of phony emotion we get from Drake.

Awww, he feels bad cuz he misses a girl. So what does he do in such a situation? He gets on the track and whines. Just whines. That wouldn’t be so problematic except there’s nothing behind it. So the song’s about him being drunk in a club and thinking of what he lost.

OK, so what’s next? Nothing, from what I can tell.

Here’s the part that really bugs me: part of why I don’t listen to as much rap as I used to is a lack of vulnerability. The music based so much in outsized manhood. The refusal to allow a woman to make one weak, the nobility of being intractable and other blaxpoitation-esque calling cards of hip hop often make it difficult for me to find things I can relate to after being through enough life to say I know what’s going on out here. I’m more into melodies and stories that speak to the sort of life I live now, where loving nary of ‘em has precarious long-range consequences.

But this stuff from Drake isn’t vulnerable. It’s just weak. Being vulnerable isn’t interesting if there isn’t come conflict, some exploration of what makes it so hard for all of us to tell people how they feel. There’s got to be some tension on the other side for me to believe it. Maybe there some frustration with self for coming to this place, or perhaps being overwhelmed by pride that may or may not be foolish. But jeez, there has to be something.

And from Drake, it’s nothing. It’s just sad, an empty stream that sounds more about getting attention than working anything out. He doesn’t seem vulnerable because this is just how he is. When you’re vulnerable all the time, you’re just soft.

And while soft people need heroes on the mic, too, I do not have to glorify it or pretend that it’s not a serious impediment to enjoying Drake’s music. It isn’t just a matter of taste. It’s a structural issue, as long as there’s a narrative he clearly tries to sell.

There is no love song without passion. There is no passion when you’re soft. Passion is powerful, just as love is. Even when it manifests itself destructively, like in this song…

…it’s there. In fact, you can check this one, too…

You can’t tell me “Marvin’s Room” is any more emotional or vulnerable than either of those, and there has never been a rapper more unguarded about his emotions than Ghost.

But, as you can see, Ghost isn’t soft. He doubts, he questions, and he’s prone to insecurity just as the rest of us. But I’ll be damned if he doesn’t make it sound relatable and, even in moments of weakness, strong.

Truth be told, when I do turn on the radio, there’s a general lack of emotional resonance that bores me. Drake’s shit just sounds like something. Whether it’s good or not is debatable, but it doesn’t feel like anything.

And that’s why I don’t feel him.

Tags: Bomani Jones, Drake, hip-hop, music, musical substance, simps

Demetrius Hall

I completely understand your point about Drake’s music. As a 25-year-old married man, I find it extremely problematic when I relate to pieces of Drake songs, which I have occasionally in the past. I’ve found that his viewpoint relates to the most self-absorbed, myopic parts of us all. That juvenile feeling where every big social moment is the biggest and every relationship is “the one” is the foundation of every Drake song. Even his celebratory moments never examine the formula behind success or even the basic path to it, they simply get couched in this faux-weariness that comes from a vague set of life “experiences.” It doesn’t help that all of dude’s biggest beats are supposed to be heard as the soundtrack to introspection but they have these exceedingly vapid words on top of them. It’s funny that Drake’s biggest sound alike, The Weeknd, was just tapped to be the soundtrack to the final season of Entourage..which might be the TV equivalent to Drake mindset. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX9DgavXiN4)
http://twitter.com/JockinEP E

How can you respect any grown man who says “I’m just sayin you could do better”?! This dude is definitely wooing over the teenage hearts of america while making his simple ass breakups seem more powerful than they are. Funny that all the girls who love him are feeling empowered cuz they have dudes cakin’ up to them as well.
http://www.selectism.com/news/2011/06/22/selectism-around-the-web-536/ Daily Roundup | Selectism.com

[...] listened to “Marvin’s Room.” Suckas are in style, ha? Whiskey.Tango.Foxtrot, people?” (Bomani Jones) Related posts: » No related posts This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011 at 1:30 [...]
http://ashtonkusher.com/2011/06/selectism-around-the-web-30/ Selectism | Around The Web | Ashton Kusher

[...] I am old enough that I don’t keep up with the kids musically anymore, so today was the first time I listened to “Marvin’s Room.” Suckas are in style, ha? Whiskey.Tango.Foxtrot, people?” (Bomani Jones) [...]
Pmlawn

Welcome to music in 2011. Maybe Drake isn’t the exception but the rule. And maybe it isn’t just music. People who’ve come of age post-internet rarely seem capable of the kind of introspection required to create art, literature or industry that connects to the human soul in the same way as even their most recent predecessors. You can’t really blame them either, which makes it doubly fascinating. The amount of information and distraction that younger generations are accustomed to retards emotional growth and rewards mental hyperactivity. Just look at the two artists you reference. Both were probably in their 20s the first time they got on the internet. And their approaches to expression are unheard of in today’s younger artists. Some might say that that’s just because saying what you really feel is out of fashion. But maybe it’s simply out of the question. If that’s the case, I’d disagree with you slightly. It’s not that Drake’s soft, it’s that he’s shallow. And he’s popular because millions of people are only capable of the same depth of emotion that he explores in his songs. It’s superficial because everything is superficial. It’s all relative. You could compare it to the introduction of television in the 50s or cable in the 80s, but those shifts feel incremental in comparison to the internet, cellphones and social media. On the other hand, tons of Youtubes of old music.
Drakesucks

also, Drake and this song epsecially just suck. Musically, it’s awful. Ghost 4 lyfe woot woot
IIAC

Rarely do you hear a rapper contemplate the fact that a love rival might have a bigger dick. Maybe ghostface was vulnerable.
http://computer.chinagoodsbay.com/selectism-around-the-web-11/ Selectism | Around The Web | Computer and Electronics Forum

[...] I am old enough that I don’t keep up with the kids musically anymore, so today was the first time I listened to “Marvin’s Room.” Suckas are in style, ha? Whiskey.Tango.Foxtrot, people?” (Bomani Jones) [...]
Birote

i just learned something about why people like drake. i listened to this song while reading your article and because i was more engrossed in your words than his i actually enjoyed the song. thats the revelation i don’t think anyone is actually listening to his lyrics, not really the way you did. and if you relegate it to background noise it doesn’t sound bad, like elevator music almost
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1539214979 Rod Jones

I just post this on my FB account and now fully understand and for the most part agree, your dislike of Drake. Can you now explain why you dislike BEP???
Jsanford87

This is one shitty post. If you feel this is the best you can do, then you should stop posting and start learning things–namely, how to write and how to evaluate music.
http://twitter.com/Petey_Green Peter Bonzani

good shit, bo. hit on the head with this one.
http://twitter.com/Petey_Green Peter Bonzani

oh yeah….GTRG BBB
Collateral

Part of the problem of why Drake can’t show any vulnerabilities is because he doesn’t even bother to show anyone the real -Drake-.

You can sort of catch the shift from Drake the person to Drake the persona in any freestyle video of his. It’s like he goes through a mental process of which rap buzzwords to use to make him seem more authentic. The music is plastic because the persona is plastic.
Jiggz_08

I really enjoyed reading opinions. Let me get this straight…people are mad because he doesn’t rap like artists such as Ghost lol. Not everyone has grown up in a hood or sold drugs or has guns. I remember when music was about self expression, I don’t hear anyone complaining about that shyt poisoning our youth. It interests me that people are mad because he has emotions lol. I would prefer that youth listen to him with what else is out there. “I gotta choppa in da car…” lol people kill me
Jiggz_08

I really enjoyed reading opinions. Let me get this straight…people are mad because he doesn’t rap like artists such as Ghost lol. Not everyone has grown up in a hood or sold drugs or has guns. I remember when music was about self expression, I don’t hear anyone complaining about that shyt poisoning our youth. It interests me that people are mad because he has emotions lol. I would prefer that youth listen to him with what else is out there. “I gotta choppa in da car…” lol people kill me

Drake simps again

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