In the midst of Drake and Childish Gambino’s (a.k.a. Donald Glover) baby beef which stems from the latter’s recent admission that his popular 2018 hit single, “This Is America,” initially started off as a fun Drake diss—popular DJ and Hot 97's Ebro Darden is sharing his perspective on the matter.
During a recent episode of Apple Music’s Rap Life Review, Darden and his cohosts, Lowkey and Nadeska, discussed the recently petty move Drizzy made during a concert stop in Chicago.
As previously reported by The Root, while performing his 2011 hit “Headlines,” Drake flashed “The overrated and over-awarded hit song ‘This Is America’ was originally a Drake diss record,” across the stage.
During their conversation, Darden took issue with the More Life rapper referring to the song as “overrated” due to the fact that it took a position with social commentary and imagery that spoke to the turbulent political climate Black folks in America were facing at the time.
“It was important at the time and it made people feel something about social commentary, and obviously, I’m biased. I like when an artist can do that,” he said in part.
He went on to say: “I don’t know how I feel about Drake, who has never shown up, and y’all know I’m the biggest Drake fan on this show. Drake has never shown up to have anything to say about anything going on in society, with Black folks or anything—other than himself. So now you have an issue—I get you having an issue with Childish Gambino, if what you’re [Nadeska] saying is fact. The song was supposed to be a joke diss. It didn’t actually happen, so why you in your feelings about it and taking shots at a song.”
As for whether or not Drake should go the social commentary route akin to fellow rappers like J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar, the hosts did agree that it’s not something fans have come to expect from Drake in all these years, so it’s probably not something they’d want to hear anyway.
However, Darden’s point does speak to the larger conversation we as a community probably need to have when it comes to the expectations we put onto artists, celebrities and others to speak out on issues and serve as go-to leaders outside of their industry. If I’m honest, I’d rather not hear Drake go full Martin Luther King over an Aaliyah or Whitney Houston sample. Or even try to rhyme “Black Lives Matter” to anything, quite frankly.
That’s not the lane he’s been in and to Darden’s follow-up point in a tweet sent out on Tuesday: he’s not obligated to do that anyway.
I think we can let the J. Coles/Kendricks/Childish Gambinos of the world do their thing and we can let Drake do his own.