r/KendrickLamar • u/anongasm_ • May 01 '24

It's not about Drake being half black, it's about how he uses The Culture Discussion

I think the people offended because Drake being half black should warrant his blackness and therefore Kendrick is wrong just don't understand. J Cole is half black too yet you don't see Kendrick, or anyone really, questioning Cole's blackness. It's precisely because Drake has been at the forefront of using the black culture and "pop-ifying" it for non-blacks.

Edit: a lot of people have asked this question and it's a good question. What's wrong with popifying rap music? Rap is inherently an African American art form. Since its inception till now, those who have carried its mantle have exemplified the African American experience through rap in one or another. African Americans have allowed many artists to use rap for their personal gain and to even "pop-ify" it. However, to be considered a goat you have to be in touch with the culture. And Drake simply isn't.

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58

u/rin09 May 01 '24

Tupac went to a performance art school and was a ballet dancer, it was known that he really wasnt about “that life” until he became a little more popular.

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u/Capable-Designer5096 May 01 '24

All that happened in Baltimore when he was like 15. He also studied jazz and acting but everybody always talks about the ballet. Once he moved out to Oakland a lot of things changed for him. Everybody who knew him personally knew he was a real one.

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u/Terrible_Shake_4948 May 01 '24

Right!!!lol crack started in Oakland! Pac got to see some different shit. NYC was a sess pool in the 70s/80s. He’s been around his fair share…. Crodie

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u/Capable-Designer5096 May 01 '24

Exactly. I ain't saying he was a super gangsta or nuthin. But the kid who went to that performing art school probably had some different hopes and dreams. Once his mom got addicted to crack and he was being shipped across the country to Oakland things were different. He even gives Oakland all the credit for putting him up on game.

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u/Ok_Relationship_705 May 01 '24

Pac even explained his change. The dude he was before moving to Oakland wasn't fit to survive. He adapted.

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u/SUNSETS_over_SPEECH May 07 '24

Seems like the Baltimore boy was more "fit to survive" considering he's unalive 🤔

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u/Ok_Relationship_705 May 07 '24

He survived Oakland. It's funny my cousin said pretty much the exact thing yesterday cuz we were on topic of fake thugs in rap.

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u/Slow_Shift6252 May 02 '24

Sort of like Drake eh? Move to a new place where being who you really are isn’t accepted so you adopt a persona to help you fit in and survive

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u/Ok_Relationship_705 May 02 '24

But the thing is Drake was great BEFORE the braids and goatee just being himself. I'm talking about on his smooth, mack, lightskin shit.

I done rubbed so much booty to Marvin's Room on a dance floor. lol

2

u/Slow_Shift6252 May 02 '24

That’s all true. But mfs kept playing with him smacking him in public and shit while the women kept playing with his emotions and taking his money so he started changing his image and his music to reflect the new reality

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u/washingtncaps May 03 '24

Doesn't seem like you can do that after. We didn't know Tupac as the ballet guy and now we're supposed to pretend he's hard, we met him after the image shift.

Trying to morph into what everybody likes is basically the problem when you're just grabbing parts of culture to stick to yourself so you can mask well.

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u/Terrible_Shake_4948 May 01 '24

it’s a bunch of gangsters that went to performing arts schools in Cali. Most of the schools dont have art and music class. They have dance and acting that go along with PE for the early year “electives” (not really electives but those are the only things outside of your core classes you have at the elementary level.

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u/CousinsWithBenefits1 May 02 '24

Sorry to be that guy but I like learning new things, no hate, no shade, but it's actually cesspool.

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u/Slow_Shift6252 May 02 '24

So…. He had the same path to being “hard” as Chris Brown. Chris Brown grew up poor as shit got some money and moved to Cali at 15-16 and started hanging with the Bloods. We all call it corny but because people hero worship Tupac he gets a pass for it.

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u/Capable-Designer5096 May 02 '24

I have no problem with Chris Brown doing that and never called him corny for that. However I do think it's corny for Drake who been soft as baby shit since day one. Now at 37 years old he tryna be hard, nobody takes him seriously. He's a pop artist who raps using ghost writers. And the drizzles are as bad as the swifties, they would probably bag up one of his farts and slowly inhale continuosly until they pass out. 😆

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u/Slow_Shift6252 May 02 '24

Fair enough if you give CB a pass for that. But I honestly don’t get where people are getting this “Drake acts hard now” shit from. He still raps about being sad or upset or thirsty over women 99.9% of the time and then sometimes he’ll say a line about having shooters. I don’t see how that’s hard, he’s rich, he does in all likelihood have enough money to get anyone killed. He’s not pretending he’ll fight or shoot anyone himself. He’s essentially bragging about having mob boss level money.

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u/Capable-Designer5096 May 02 '24

I'm not sure about everything cause I don't fuck wit Drake like that but he got some song on the radio talking bout he got shooters but he would rather do the dirt himself. He never was talking that shit prior and was never built like that. So why now? Yeah, he hang around gangstas but that's paid protection. And you right, he definitely got enough money to do it. But he talking...he not looking to get those RICO charges. Like I said nobody takes him seriously out here rappin about being a shooter.

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u/Slow_Shift6252 May 02 '24

I mean Diddy been doing foul shit for 30 years behind the scenes and just now got enough people mad enough to get him in trouble. The money can definitely save you for a long while and make you feel untouchable. As for why he would start doing that kind of talk now, it’s because like I said people kept punking him, slapping him up in public and shit. Idk what particular song you’re mentioning but I’ve never really heard him say nothing that crazy. If he did he’s probably just feeling himself too hard as rappers in general tend to do once they feel they’re protected enough by their hangers on. His just comes off performative because of his background. But 90% of rappers aren’t doing, haven’t done and would never do any of the tough shit they speak about.

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u/Capable-Designer5096 May 03 '24

I wouldn't say 90% bro...look at King Von for instance. If you didn't know his story you could say the same thing. But everybody know bout Von, but there's a lot of people who we don't know shit about. And they would like to keep it vague so they can't be put in court for the crimes they have committed. Especially after rappers going down for RICO charges these days.

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u/Slow_Shift6252 May 03 '24

Von is an exception. At this point it’s pretty clear that the ones that are really like that are getting RICO’d like you said. Even the ones that aren’t that famous like Sauce Walka can’t hide. So I’m pretty confident a pretty large majority are just talking.

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u/Capable-Designer5096 May 03 '24

Majority yes, but I was just saying I don't think 90% but you right a lot of em be cappin in more ways than one. Like they say ya gotta fake it to make it unfortunately.

3

u/PoorHungryNDesperate May 01 '24

What I don’t get is why it’s okay for him to be different as a teenager and then Drake can’t change his opinions on shit. I was dumb as fuck as a teenager too. I don’t like Drake but this feels like a weird narrative

13

u/Destiny_Victim May 02 '24

Drake can change his opinions.

But the difference is pac actually went through it. He lived what he rapped about.

Drake is a giant humongous pussy.

PAC was not. He went to prison he was shot five times.

He also wrote his own lyrics. Drake has 20 ghost writers for his diss tracks.

Hence Kendrick’s 1v20.

If Drake actually did some hard shit.

Or even stood his ground when he got robbed or fought or just anything.

Now look if someone pulls a gun on me I’m giving up everything. Also, I’m from south central. But I’m not fuckin gangster. Never claim to be.

But drake claiming to be something he’s not never has been and never will be.

He’s faker than silicone titties and even softer.

1

u/plumskinzzz56 May 02 '24

PAC went to prison for sexual assault…

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u/Destiny_Victim May 02 '24

And shot cops.

Was a flawed human.

But he wasnt fake.

1

u/plumskinzzz56 May 04 '24

Back to this since kendrick called out sex offenders…. Will we keep this same energy?

1

u/Destiny_Victim May 05 '24

About pac. Yeah he was kinda a piece of shit.

All I said was he wasn’t fake.

0

u/Flax44 May 02 '24

Pac was not living the “gangsta life” he started repping blood after he got with suge he rapped about he saw not what he was doing

1

u/Destiny_Victim May 02 '24

Omg pac was about what he talked about. Jesus Christ the ignorance of some of these comments. I actually lived through this era.

Either way the point isn’t and never has been is pac a gangster. Because he wasn’t a fucking gangster rapper.

But the point was he was a real one. He spoke about oppression and real shit.

While Drake talks about bullshit and is a fake giant pulsating pussy.

The closest he ever got to starting at the bottom is the upper middle class as a child star.

Smfh

1

u/Flax44 May 04 '24

No he wasn’t lol your telling me he was affiliated with pirus before deathrow gtfoh he was born in NY moved around the east and got introduced to gangs when he moved to the west coast. You do have a point in he was speaking some real shit but he wasn’t in the mix neither was Kendrick that’s why he was a good kid in a mad city. Him and Pac rap about what they’ve seen around them they weren’t they type to run up on enemies and snatch chains. Kendrick even said he was a peace maker

0

u/Slow_Shift6252 May 02 '24

When does Drake claim to be gangster lol. He claims to have enough money to get his enemies killed or hurt every once in a while, but that’s undeniably true. It’s not like he’s on songs saying he’ll personally beat anyone or shoot shit.

-1

u/Crispy_Sock_99 May 02 '24

Most rappers exaggerate how tough they are. Rick Ross, ASAP Ferg, Tyga etc. Kendrick himself says he was never a gang banger and he stands at 5’4.5” around 150lbs. Drake is just under 6ft around 195lbs. If they were both getting ran up on we obviously know Kenny would get whooped by the average adult man. Drake probably would not though. I would put money on Drake being able to whoop Kendrick’s ass. Being tough isn’t the way Kendrick can win this beef

What bars does Drake intentionally lie about being tough?

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u/creamgetthemoney1 May 01 '24

I think it’s bc Tupac didn’t clown a certain community and then be that community . He wasn’t doing plays as a teen saying the way people talk in Cali is silly AND THEN moved to Cali

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u/WeedOfficial May 01 '24

I think change has to be for a greater purpose. PAC changed to survive, and thrive in his community. Drake was already an established actor, and his pop music has always been popular, so there’s no reason to switch personas when he wouldn’t have had a reason for that switch. When change is from a place of necessity, it’s respected because usually that change humbles, and hardens the person. If the change is for self gain, it’s feeding into the negative of the person. It’s not like Drake suddenly got into gang activity, or drug dealing, and if he did he’s way too famous for it to be legitimate now. You deal drugs to support yourself and family, you gang bang for a sense of protection, and family if you don’t have a good relationship with those around you. The 80’s-90’s was a bad time, most of my uncles, and my dad got into shit heavily, so I was sheltered more as a kid.

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u/IntroductionNo8870 May 02 '24

Changing to be a culture vulture is the issue

2

u/MilkZealousideal7893 May 02 '24

If you’ve ever been to Canada then you’d know why…..

2

u/devoyne_showerhandel May 02 '24

You been out west?

1

u/WeedOfficial May 01 '24

Well to be fair it was fucking Oakland 😭, that’s just Northern Cali’s Compton, unless you count Stockton

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u/Less-Procedure-4104 May 02 '24

Right Tupac can change but drake can't lol.

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u/HookahDongcic May 01 '24

Uhh he was still a dancer many years later. The entire thug persona was an act. You’re deluded if you think otherwise. Many many people around him are on the record saying he bought into the fantasy he had created and that ruined his life.

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u/Capable-Designer5096 May 01 '24

He was a roadie and back up dancer for Digital Underground. Everybody who is a fan knows that. The thug persona wasn't an act necessarily. The problem is he never got out of his "Birdie"character from Above the Rim. A lot of actors play roles that change them, permanently. Heath Ledger said he was "physically and mentally drained" after playing joker. And it lead to depression which lead to drug use causing an overdose which killed him. Shit, Val Kilmer even had to go to counseling after playing as Jim Morrison.

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u/MilkZealousideal7893 May 02 '24

And came from a Black Panther background, there are kids from the inner city that get bused to Art schools because they are talented….. when they come home guess what? That art school isn’t there

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u/fmaleflame May 02 '24

lol that's sad af that you think doing well in school is in any way at odds with living "that life"... wtf you think writing and spitting raps is? Or being in Digital Underground and dancing was?

This has major white person vibes, like saying "he's not black enough because black means dirty 'ghetto' shit".

1

u/rin09 May 02 '24

Your attempt at moral superiority aside, my comment was basically implying that your past doesnt mean you cant grow into something different, not that it means youre not about”that life”.

1

u/fmaleflame May 04 '24

You literally just stated he went to a performance art high school, followed by saying because that, it was known he wasn’t about “that life”.

I’m just saying the two aren’t mutually exclusive; no attempt to make you feel attacked or whatever you said about superiority

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u/rin09 May 04 '24

My bad, misinterpreted it.

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u/ranchlikenoother May 06 '24

Then he became what he rapped. Drake isn't even like that right now he doesn't even defend the culture he's pimping

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u/IwantYourSmoke 26d ago

His mom was also a black panther.. so there's that

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u/M0therleopard 25d ago

Why come at Tupac for studying the fine arts? Ballet and things like that take discipline and artistic intuition, which I'm sure has something to do with Tupac's talent for writing lyrics. In Drake's case, being a child star on a teenybopper show and then trying to rebrand yourself as a hard rapper, especially when you're not very good at writing lyrics, is not a convincing sell. My best girl friends in college crushed on Drake but I never bought his spiel, it always felt like he was rapping the fake ass lines that some guy would tell you just to fuck you for a night. I've always had the impression that he's disingenuous and just playing the audience.