Drake Redefining What it Means to be a Genius Rapper

Over the course of the semester, we have investigated the meaning that musicians reflect in their music through the themes of genius, sexuality, disability, and gender. During our section on genius, we collectively critiqued the previous notions of genius and discussed how this has certainly changed over time. As Sara Haefli talks about in her article “The Problem with Geniuses,” there are several key flaws to the parameters that were previously set for musicians to be considered geniuses in the past. The racial and gendered “norms” that were set in the past made the perceptions of who could be considered a musical genius very exclusive and limited¹Sara Haefeli, “The Problem with Geniuses,” in The Avid Listener, July 24, 2020, https://theavidlistenerblog.com/2020/07/24/the-problem-with-geniuses/. These limitations were very clear in the past, with the term “genius” being reserved exclusively for male, white composers of classical music. As perceptions of musical geniuses progressively changed from one generation to the next, it has become significantly more inclusive in terms of being open to musicians with different racial, gender, and musical genre backgrounds while still maintaining its distinction as being reserved for musicians who distinguish themselves from others in their respective genres. I think Drake is a perfect example of the progress that has been made when it comes to labeling musicians as geniuses because of his nonconformity to the notions of musical geniuses of the past, his ability to redefine the expectations that previously influenced who could be considered a genius in the rap genre specifically, and his unique sound and use of sampling to reflect his musical genius.

People have long been trying to fit Drake’s music into the category of rap because of how he started his musical career and because of racial stereotypes that are clearly still influencing the music industry. Drake discussed these unfortunate realities in an interview with Britain’s DJ Semtex about his Grammys wins, which included his song “Hotline Bling” winning the Grammy for best rap song and best rap/sung performance. In that interview, Drake said “I’m apparently a rapper, even though ‘Hotline Bling’ is not a rap song” and added “the only category that they can manage to fit me in is in a rap category, maybe because I’ve rapped in the past or because I’m black”²Britanny Spanos, “Drake’s ‘More Life’ Playlist Is Redefining Borders of Blackness in Pop,” in Rolling Stone, March 20, 2017, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/drakes-more-life-playlist-is-redefining-borders-of-blackness-in-pop-111729/. Drake’s commitment to avoid being labeled as a rapper is indicative of his attempts to redefine past expectations within the rap genre and express his musical genius in his own ways. Perhaps the most obvious and poignant examples of Drake’s ability to redefine how musicians who have rapped in the past can elevate to the rank of genius in ways that break the previous norms in that genre are expressed through his lyrics.

Many previous generations of rappers have made their living and gained popularity rapping about subjects that often included drugs, violence, and sex in ways that more often than not were very misogynistic and objectified women in horrible ways. For example, Eminem, one of the most famous and well-known rappers of all time, is known for his explicitly misogynistic lyrics in many of his songs. In “Love the Way You Lie,” Eminem raps about tying one of his exes to the bed and setting the house on fire and he objectifies women terribly in his song “Shake That.” The popularity of previous generations of rappers was largely dependent on how they were lyrically able to represent their masculinity and toughness in their songs and in their demeanor. Drake, on the other hand, is one of the leaders changing these norms regarding rap lyrics by being vulnerable, open, and honest about his feelings of love and admiration for many of the women he has known in his life. Drake has certainly flipped the narrative in the rap world with albums like “Take Care” and “Certified Lover Boy,” and songs like “Marvin’s Room,” “Laugh Now Cry Later,” and “In My Feelings,” just to name a few. Even the album cover for “Take Care” reflects the way Drake conveys vulnerability in much of his music. On the album cover, you see Drake sitting alone at a table, looking reflectively, and almost sadly, at a golden chalice. The reflective, if not sad, depiction of Drake on the album cover of “Take Care” could certainly be representative of the vulnerability and raw emotion that he conveys through the lyrics of many of his songs.

Drake’s “Take Care” Album Cover

Being able to write such vulnerable, emotional songs in the rap/hip hop genre is very unique and atypical of what prominent, past rappers who are largely considered to be musical geniuses like Eminem, Dr. Dre, The Notorious B.I.G., etc. have done. As Drake’s longtime producer, Noah “40” Shebib, has said, “the hard thing to do is be vulnerable and honest. [‘Marvin’s Room’] opened the doors for artists in Drake’s position to make music from their heart and not be so confined to self-imposed rules and regulations”³Josh Glicksman, “Songs That Defined the Decade: Drake’s ‘Marvin’s Room’,” in Billboard, November 21, 2019, https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8544118/drake-marvins-room-songs-that-defined-the-decade. Drake’s vulnerability in his song “Marvin’s Room” isn’t only reflected in his lyrics. The soothing, softness of Drake’s voice in “Marvin’s Room” and most of his other songs contrasts strongly from the vocal tones used by previous generations of rappers. Soulfully singing about his continued infatuation with one of his exes in “Marvin’s Room” allows Drake to connect with his listeners on a unique level because of its honest, emotional nature.

Drake expressing his vulnerability through his lyrics so early in his musical career shows how his divergence from the past lyrical norms within the rap genre helped lead the way to different expectations for what rappers can/should be rapping about in their songs. Even though Drake has received criticism from some rappers from previous generations for being a “soft” rapper, his success as a musician despite the former expectations that musicians in the rap genre were supposed to conform their music to is very admirable⁴Safa Saleh, “How Drake Impacted The Rap Game and The Black Community,” in Medium, September 13, 2019, https://safasaleh383.medium.com/how-drake-changed-the-rap-game-and-the-black-community-ab81f64b9415. Drake’s musical genius was cemented in history when he won a record 13 awards at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, which is the most ever won by an artist in the same year, eclipsing the record previously held by Adele of 12 awards won in 2012. Keeping in mind that Drake accomplished this feat while not accepting the attempts to label him exclusively as a rapper makes the success that Drake has enjoyed throughout his musical career that much more impressive. 

Drake’s use of sampling throughout much of his music is an example of how he uses his genius to differentiate himself from many other musicians in the rap/hip hop genres. Drake’s range of sampling in many of his songs throughout his career reflects his genius in his ability to convey the meaning in his songs in unique ways. For example, in “Marvin’s Room,” Drake uses a sound sample from a phone call with one of his exes where she repeatedly asks him if he’s “drunk right now” while he is calling her. Incorporating this sample in “Marvin’s Room” adds to the realness and genuine emotions that he is invoking through the lyrics and the meaning of the song as a whole. Another example of Drake’s use of sampling to reflect his musical genius is found in his song “Do Not Disturb” on his “More Life” playlist, where he “took the soulful vocals of Snoh Aalegra in her ballad, ‘TIME,’ speeds them up and loops them over and over, creating a beautiful background to set his rap in”⁵Chelsea Cheung, “Drake Takes Diversity in Music to a New Level in ‘More Life,’” in The Spectator, April 21, 2017, https://www.stuyspec.com/ae/music/drake-takes-diversity-in-music-to-a-new-level-in-more-life. The amount of musical diversity that Drake weaves into his “More Life” playlist is another exhibit of his genius and the way he continues to re-write, or, better yet, shatter the expectations of how a genius rapper’s music is supposed to sound and be created.

Besides his use of sampling to complement the meaning of his unique lyrical style, Drake combines both singing and rapping into a special blend that is performed in a soft, smooth vocal tone, which is very different from the more common rap sound that was the standard in the past. Drake has been able to effortlessly share his musical genius with his fans because “he was able to be tough and tender, write chest-puffing boasts that felt shocking and also the catchy hooks that made them go down easily; [He] also knew how to render bravado using soothing coos, and intimacy using stern barks”⁶Jon Caramanica, “Rappers Are Singers Now. Thank Drake.,” in The New York Times, November 24, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/24/arts/music/drake-rap-influence.html. This delicate blend between singing and rapping offers a new direction for the rap genre and diverges from a common trend that was popular over the last several decades, which was the collaboration between a rapper and a singer in the same song. “Empire State of Mind,” by Jay Z and Alicia Keys, is an excellent example of how this collaboration would look and sound. In the song, Jay Z is responsible for the rapping while Alicia Keys performs the singing parts and that is then combined to create the song. Drake’s ability to both sing and rap within the same song meant it was no longer a necessity to have singers and rappers collaborate in the ways that they often were forced to in the past when each had their individual responsibilities/roles in the creation of the song. 

When we consider which musicians should be considered geniuses, we need to be aware of how these perceptions change over time. As our meaning and interpretation of what makes a musician a genius continues to change, it will be important to consider why these parameters are changing. Understanding the differences in the way we determine whether a musician can achieve the rank of genius shows how societal factors influence this title. When it comes to classifying Drake as a musical genius, you have to consider the way he was able to redefine the expectations in the rap genre while at the same time refusing to be limited by the characterization of being known exclusively as a rapper. Through his impressive range of using different musical techniques like sampling to compliment the meaning found in his “softer” lyrics, Drake is able to demonstrate his genius while breaking free from the expectations set for the rap genre by previous generations of rappers. Drake’s unique vocal capabilities allow fans to gain a different perspective of what rappers can/should do with their musical talents, combining singing verses with more traditional rap performances by the same artist in the same song. Drake’s ability to achieve the rank of genius in the music industry by not conforming to the former expectations of the word should be an inspiration to possible future generations of not only rappers, but any aspiring artists, that musical geniuses don’t have to sound a certain way, follow a specific style of music, or write songs that lyrically reflect historically popular subjects in any respective genre. Time will tell how the perception of musical geniuses will change in the future, but if the last decade plus has been any indication, artists like Drake will more than likely be at the forefront of this change because of their ability to transform the expectations of musical geniuses in their genre of music.

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