Said Drake, in 2019, quoted in a new article, "Drake’s Era of Masculine Frustration/On his new album, 'For All the Dogs,' the star rapper wallows in his discontent" (The New Yorker).
I had to look up "wavy." Didn't know if it was good or bad. (It's good.) And "dusty" (it's bad. I remember when "dust" meant money (1970s)).
Anyway, about the new album, the New Yorker writer, Carrie Battan, says:
Across the album’s twenty-three tracks, Drake returns to the same hardened sentiments. “I don’t like the tone of your replies,” he tells a woman on “7969 Santa.” Later, on a single with SZA called “Slime You Out,” he delivers an almost comically disdainful riff: “I don’t know what’s wrong with you girls,” he announces. “I feel like y’all don’t need love / You need somebody who could micromanage you.” ...
Ah, it's not for me to explore the sexual politics of Drake, and the New Yorker writer didn't serve up any of the kind of pithy feminism the headline seemed to offer. "Masculine Frustration"? Wallowing in discontent? I got my hopes up.
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15 comments:
This morning on my Sirius radio, I heard "Miracles" by Jefferson Starship. Marty Ballin, Grace Slick and Paul Kanter. What voices. What lyrics. And the musicality with great production values; horns and everything.
Cf every rap "star" ever.
Or compare Carole King to Taylor Swift.
Devo was right.
Groovy
Sorry, but I'm still listening to Ice Cube tell women he'll "kick them in the tummy" if they get pregnant and lie it's his. And then there's Too $hort saying "Bitch bitch bitch bitch make me rich." But then, a personal favorite, there's also Ice Cube AND Too $hort saying "a bitch is a bitch" if the message didn't get through. But the most apt reply to this post has to be from the billionaire, Jay-Z:
"If you havin' girl problems I feel bad for you, Son, I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one."
I highly recommend watching that video. It is now taught in law school. And you get to see the producer, Rick Rubin, show white guys how to look cool when out with black guys.
The idea that black men are disrespected by black women has a long, long history.
Aretha Franklin had a monster hit with "Respect", so most people don't realize that it was written by a man (Otis Redding) who sang it as a man. He is afraid his wife/female lover won't give him his propers when he gets home from work.
Who finds rap reviews by the New Yorker useful? I do find their Somali / Irish Folk fusion band reviews helpful, though.
The correct pronunciation of 'Rap' is cRap.
They sound like sex-reversed Taylor Swift songs.
Rap's peak was in the early 1990s- it has all been downhill from there.
Dave Begley said...
"Cf every rap "star" ever."
Go break some Rock 'n' Roll records, Grandpa. Or show me on the doll where the rap artist touched you.
Aggie said...
The correct pronunciation of 'Rap' is cRap.
Anything Rock can do, Rap can do better. Compare: Here is the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper album.
And here is Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet.
Rappers took that shit and barbecued it for a picnic.
I don't think I've ever heard a Drake song. I may own one. I live in a whole different musical universe.
Is Drake still sniffing his elbow?
Yancey Ward said...
"Rap's peak was in the early 1990s- it has all been downhill from there."
Or you're just not keeping up.
Journos have to be careful their criticism is not interpreted as the first cancellation domino. The first Katyusha rocket. Accidental cancellation are probably the worst.
Crack, a diamond in a sea of dogshit doesn't get rid of the dogshit. I can still find good rap today, but I don't have enough time to sift out all the dreck, and it is 99% dreck.
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