WRITTEN BY: Stephen Schuyler
I don’t even know WTF happened, but I just saw a Vine of someone throwing a stack of Meek Mill albums in the garbage and that Drake has come under fire for ‘ghostwriting’. Let me start off by saying I don’t really know or care what Meek said, because 1. He probably yelled it, 2. This has been on my mind for a minute.
Collaborative writing, trading off lyrics, using someones lyrics/poetry WITH their permission, bouncing shit back and forth in a studio. None of these things are equivalent to ghostwriting. Any line/lyric/phrase/hook that Drake DID NOT write with thine own holy hands was properly credited, and most likely hand picked by Drake himself for specific reasons. Sharing an artistic vision is a beautiful thing. Any time artists can contribute to each other, we as consumers usually benefit. In any case his collaborations have usually (I can’t imagine it not) helped the other artists. Drake often uses his influence to provide a platform for music/artists that HE likes. HE explicitly mentioned the poet on his project himself, because it was a collab he was proud of and someone he wanted to shed a light on. We haven’t heard a full fledged project from any new OVO artist yet, but both PartyNextDoor and Majid Jordan’s EP’s were two of my favorite projects in a long time. He also has solid, long standing relationships with those he works most closely with. With out sounding preachy, Drake is doing a lot of good in the industry. If Future is #1 right now, Drake is a very close 2nd. To be honest ( don’t flame me Future-hive) ONE COULD ARGUE that Drake MIGHT have that number 1 spot MAYBE. (I didn’t say it.)
I’ve been a Drake hater in the past, but one thing I can’t argue is the musical contributions he’s made over a relatively short period of time. Yes Wayne cosigned him, yes he was Wheelchair Jimmy, sure he might be kind of goofy and his songs might be a little soft. But he’s more honest (with his content) than most other artists on his level, and he’s CONSISTENTLY delivered top tier music since 2008. He changed the whole hip-hop/rap landscape in a couple years. Plenty of people wouldn’t have a foundation to stand on if Drake hadn’t shown people the soft side of rap and how good it is. I don’t think the man could live with himself if he had ghostwriters. He’d feel like Lance Armstrong should have felt after winning however many tours on roids.
