Drake rebrands himself
Craig Sanislo
Of all the rappers in the industry today, Drake is one of the biggest names out there. Drake is attacking the rap game, and he is determined to make himself into one of the biggest stars the world has ever seen.
In December, Drake’s new album, “More Life” is set to release. The album is somewhat of a surprise considering that he just released, “Views” in the spring of 2016. Drake prior album, “If you’re reading this it’s too late” was released in February of 2015. Three albums in a two years is a rapid flow of new music, considering that comparable rapper Kanye West had a three year gap between his two most recent albums, “Yeezus” and “The Life of Pablo”.
The new album is highly anticipated as Drake fans patiently wait to see what direction Drake takes his music. It seems that Drake is in a constant state of rebranding himself. Most people see Drake as a soft rapper, someone very in touch with his emotions and open sharing them. The problem is, Drake did it to himself. Instead of beginning his career like his fellow rappers in an inner city or with a bad childhood, Drake starred in a preteen MTV show called Degrassi. Strike one.
On top of his coddled roots, Drake doesn’t rap about his money or guns, he mostly raps about women who are no longer in his life, and for some reason it always seems that Drake was the one who got dumped. Drake’s complex emotions dominate his lyrics and they are often sensitive and soft. Â Strike two.
For some reason, Drake is friends with lot of professional athletes, and he is always cheering them on. Drake is repeatedly seen at NBA games cheering on his friends. Earlier this year Drake was widely criticized by the internets for ruining what could have been a historic photo. In the photo, LeBron James is guarding Kobe Bryant at the three point line, but Drake intrudes in the middle of the photo clapping for his friends. Strike three.
While Drake says the dispute was natural and not provoked by anything, many suspect that Drake himself cooked it up so that he could be a tough guy and make some hardy rap to diss his enemy.”
Part of Drake’s rebranding effort occurred in the summer, when he had a dispute with another rapper called Meek Mill. Meek Mill reported caused the dispute by claiming that Drake didn’t write or produce all of his music, and was a fraud in the industry. Drake quickly fired back to Meek Mill on Twitter and fueled the fire. The internet got involved, with people tweeting about it and creating memes. Drake ultimately ended the dispute when he made a “diss track” in which he insulted Meek Mill to embarrassment in his song, “Back to Back”.
While Drake says the dispute was natural and not provoked by anything, many suspect that Drake himself cooked it up so that he could be a tough guy and make some hardy rap to diss his enemy.
Lately musicians are making music that will quickly become wildly popular, but is quickly forgotten. Drake did this last summer, with his song, “Know Yourself.” It will be interesting to see whether Drake releases music to get him attention quickly, or music that will have a lasting effect on people.
The trajectory of Drake’s career depends on his new album, and his fans can’t wait to listen to it.
Craig is a senior at Stillwater High School. He's a very social guy and loves to talk to people. He enjoys all kinds of activities and is active in sports....
Hannah Drake • Feb 13, 2017 at 8:53 am
I genuinely enjoyed the lead. Great way to draw in readers. It shows his competitors in the industry which I found very interesting. It shows why he chose to rebrand himself and how. Talk about his previous albums and how he is trying to make his next one even better and different. The ending makes the reader want to follow up with Drake once his new album is released.
Sam Johnson • Feb 12, 2017 at 11:38 pm
I like how the writing is very current and the writer seems as though he’s having a conversation with you. Writer also did a good job of getting a lot of background information and knows or understands the material he is writing about
Linnea Phillips • Feb 10, 2017 at 10:11 am
Very well written, and shows an interesting perspective about a very well known musician.
Gideon Bimpey • Feb 10, 2017 at 8:26 am
The article is an attention getter for sure. It really goes in depth of Drake’s career from the beggining of the article, explain when his albums dropped. I liked the Meek Mill diss track paragraph. It brings a comedic element to the article.
Jack Reinseth • Feb 10, 2017 at 7:55 am
This is well put together and even though i’m not a huge fan of Drake it was still an easy read. I liked the quotes used and the contrast of older albums and the newer albums.
Quinn Kuslich • Feb 9, 2017 at 4:32 pm
From the point of view of someone who dislikes Drake this article was very interesting and informal it was interesting to read about how his career evolved.
Kayla Gjerde • Feb 9, 2017 at 3:46 pm
I like how after every step in his career you put “strike one, two and three.” There was a lot of good information about his career.
Thomas Johnson • Feb 9, 2017 at 12:52 pm
I think this is a very interesting article in that readers can learn about Drake’s career, and why he chose to rebrand himself. Also, I like how the article is very relevant because of Drake’s popularity in the music world today.
Kevin Thole • Feb 9, 2017 at 11:11 am
This article was very well-written and provides a good timeline of Drake’s career so far. I would have liked more analysis as to why Drake chose to rebrand himself.