Like the above-mentioned “She Will,” Drake completely dominates this track. Midway through, his verse ramps up to a fever pitch, before bottoming out into a hard-edged-yet-melodic chorus.
His opening verse is his best use of this sung-rapped hybrid style to date. It features Lil Wayne and Rick Ross, both equally forgettable, and a dazzling double-duty performance from Drake. The best example of how Drake is out-stylin’ everybody in the game right now is “I’m On One,” that DJ Khaled posse cut from earlier this year. He drops these moments like sonic anchors into the minds of his listeners, cleverly ensuring that there’s at least a few bars in his verses that they’ll easily remember. He smartly imbues his verses with strong melodies, deftly shifting from a standard rap flow to a tuneful, memorable sung-rapped hybrid.
His style is easy to sleep on because it’s unconventional. Emceeing is about style, charisma and clarity. He’s no Eminem, but over-the-top wordplay is not a prerequisite for being a rapper. Httpv://And contrary to baseless popular opinion, Drake is an engaging and unique emcee. How many emcees are capable of this kind of songcraft? The melody, the lyrics he wrote that whole song. Remember that really good Alicia Keys song, “Unthinkable ” basically the only really good song off her last album? Yeah, Drake wrote that. are lyricists they write rhymes, which makes them songwriters by default. Httpv://In tandem with his melodic skills are his abilities as a songwriter. Lil Wayne’s “She Will” is completely unremarkable without Drake he provides a hook that perfectly underscores the dark, sexy, faintly malevolent core of the track. He’s like a self-contained hit-making machine. But Drake doesn’t need an R&B singer to provide his hooks. Most emcees struggle with melodies, often enlisting others to provide the melodic component to their songs. And get comfortable.īecause Drake is coming into his own and he’s about to go to the next level.ĭrizzy’s most engaging quality is his knack for melody. He’s almost the exact opposite of what our concept of an emcee has always been.Īnd that’s what’s so interesting about him. I know so many Hip Hop fans that really just don’t like Drake. Now the easy answer is folks just ain’t feeling his music. Drake is clearly the most divisive figure in Hip Hop today.