https://create.piktochart.com/output/53416890-drake

That is the link to my infographic, I opened it to the public so anyone with the link can view!

Drake is one of the most well known rappers for the longest time now. It is very fascinating to see how he evolved into the artist he is today. Starting in 2008 is when he released his first album and he has released one new album every year since. Which is what the timeline represents, how he created new music and songs which lead to producing new albums. Other artists do not release a new album every year, most of them take longer than a year or even a break. This demonstrates how hardworking and passionate Drake is with his music. The question is though, why do his fans like old Drake better than new Drake? 

Let’s dive a little deeper, old Drake raps more than he is singing. Drake in 2015 and years prior his fans could feel his passion for music, the need to be the best, wanting to belong in the music industry, to find himself and lastly his lack of not committing to anyone or love. 

Drake’s album Take Care which was released in 2011, was on the Billboard Hot 100 for 98 weeks and was his second studio album he created. This album contains one of his most listened to songs “Take Care” with 2,569,000 downloads. This song is about trying to love someone who has been hurt in a previous relationship. Rhiana is featured in this song as well which made it extremely difficult for Drake because he became involved with and told her to deal with the effects of the abuse of her former boyfriend Chris Brown. The lyrics go back and forth with Rhiana and Drake singing to each other. Drake’s voice sound very passionate when he sings “I’ll be there for you, I will care for you / I keep thinkin’ you just don’t know / Tryin’ to run from that, say you’re done with that.” This is an example of who the old Drake sang and rapped from his heart because he meant and felt the words he was vocalizing in his music for his fans to understand the real him. This is why his old music was so successful it enabled the fans to know him and the artist he was becoming. 

New Drake does not seem to be as passionate as to when he was starting to become popular in the music world. Drake already has had numerous #1 singles, albums and won awards for his music. Maybe his passion is turning into a job and not something he enjoys. Is it just for the money? He has accomplished everything he has wanted so his songs do not mean as much as when he was finding himself at the start of his career. 

Now fast forward to one of Drake’s most recent albums Care Package which was released in 2019. This was his first compilation album which contains songs released between 2010 and 2016 that were not able to be purchased by his fans. This album debuted at #1 on Billboard Hot 100 but was on the charts for only 13 weeks only having about 109,000 unit albums sold. One of the songs featured is called “How Bout Now” and is one of the better songs on this album. This song is filled with different meanings than what his past songs and albums were about. This song is one of the slower ballads on this album he vocalizes his feelings towards a girl “I had no money left from actin’, I was focused on the music / I used to always try and burn you CDs of my new shit / You be like “who’s this?” I be like “me, girl” / You be like “oh, word, true shit?” / Then ask if we could listen to Luadachris.” The one thing that has never changed with Drake was his honesty in his music. At the time, there was drama between himself and another artist Ludachris about a girl they were both with. His meanings behind songs, vocals and style of his music changed. In this song he is singing and kind of talking which makes him not sound as passionate as the old drake was. 

After looking into Drake and his music, as a fan I personally do enjoy his old style of music better. I don’t really know any of his newer music which could be  because he is not as passionate and his song meanings changed. Since new music does not get as many downloads as his older music, people who are unfamiliar with it won’t get the chance to hear it on the radio or any form of media that plays trending songs. I think if Drake had the passion to create songs that really meant something to him it would allow his voice to sound how old Drake was when he rapped at the peak of his career.

The year 2020 has opened the eyes of many on the social injustices that exist between races. The events of 2020 made me want to examine the trends that exist in songs that are written about these injustices.

My earliest choice is Tupac’s “Changes” which was released in 1992. Tupac’s approach is quite different than my other choices, and I suspect it has to do with the time period and how taboo of a topic racial injustices were in the 90’s. If you notice on the chart, Tupac’s is the smallest because his tone and diction are significantly different than the other songs I mention. Unlike Hill’s explicit contemptuous tone for the way that African Americans are treated, Tupac takes a sadder approach in getting his message across. Hill uses the line “Rapings and beatings and suffering that worsens” against the melody of Christmas song “My Favorite Things” to express her obvious frustration with society’s treatment of African Americans. Tupac on the other hand takes a sadder tone and considering the time period, I understand why. In this time period, African Americans were painted as criminals. With this in mind he uses lyrics like, “Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares/ One less hungry mouth on the welfare,” to get his point across.

In “Changes” Tupac’s diction is more laid back, not because he didn’t care about these enduring issues, but because the time period didn’t really allow for social change. Tupac had to adjust his word choice so he uses words like, “That’s just the way it is/ Things will never be the same/ That’s just the way it is.” His diction created a chorus that everyone is still familiar with today. If you also notice, “Changes” has one of the higher points in danceability, which I imagine was done purposefully. Tupac probably felt that the best way for the song to catch was by making sure it becomes popular, hence why the song is danceable, and the others are not. Lil Baby’s “The Bigger Picture” on the other hand literally starts with snippets of media coverage. Lil Baby’s real and honest diction is calling out for a more immediate social change because African Americans are living in a state of constant paranoia.

The last two songs, Eminem’s “Untouchable” and Childish Gambino’s “This is America” are unique as they take a satirical approach to America’s racial disparities. Eminem uses his position as a white rapper to emphasize how society views people like him as “untouchable.” He includes himself in the white narrative by singing, “And just in case a chase might ensue, we got that tried and true/ Pistol drew right at you, we’d be delighted to unload it/In your back, then walk up and lay that taser on the side of you.” Here he is making fun of the excessive violence white police officers use African Americans. Eminem’s satirical approach is obvious in his lyrics, but for “This is America” you need to watch the music video in order to truly appreciate Childish Gambino’s satirical approach. In the music video, Childish Gambino shoots down several different people, but the guns are always handled more carefully than the human lives it just took. I believe that “This is America” is a statement to people who put priority in their guns over the gun violence that is happening against African- Americans.

As can be seen in the infographic, each artist has taken a unique approach to how they view racial injustices. While each song is very different, one thing is for sure, they are all making a heavy political statement.