OPINION: In Defense Of Drake Pt. III (By Chris Shaban)
Ok, here’s the deal. Chris Shaban has put together this dope piece on Drake. The thing is, to experience it in its full glory you need to read it HERE (true FootNotes style). Reading it here is cool too but we can’t seem to get the coding right on our page to allow the FootNotes (pop-ups) to work. Alas, here is Pt. III of In Defense Of Drake by Chris Shaban. FootNotes are after the jump and correlate to the roman numerals:
Part III
Out of the gate, I’d like to thank you again for coming back to Cityonmyback to continue reading this blog [i]. As you’ll notice again, I have cut and pasted the FootNotes right after the citation in an effort to encourage people on this site to read the blurbs. I think that even Ty and Digi would agree though, if you want to take it in nice and smooth and in a way that is VERY EASY to read, click here (it takes you to FarBeyond.ca). I want to take a brief moment to clear up some potential misconceptions that have arisen since Part I if you don’t mind [ii]. Not really a big deal, just more of a reminder about the nature of this article. It is more than fair to say that this weblog has been quite one-sided since it began [iii], however, it’s important to remember the point of why this article was written. Yes, as I have consistently mentioned, I’m speaking to corporate partners and Post-Secondary programmers in an effort to help us all understand this genre a little better. However, over the past two weeks [iv] it seems that I have adorned another cap that I never really intended to wear. You see, if you’re not feeling Drake, then this piece is meant to try and provide you with enough solid and potentially new information to sway your opinion. To help in relating, it would be most safe to compare this writing to how a criminal lawyer would defend the position of his client in front of a judge and jury [v]. I’ve tried to steer clear of many obvious references that folks would think necessary to speak about when writing such a long piece on one topic [vi]. But the fact remains, I have to keep it real [vii], so until Part IV, never was heard a discouraging word. Back to the lecture at hand…
Whether you’re reading this through HHC.com, Cityonmyback.com, blog.farbeyond.ca or any of the other great sites that are running this, it is truly a treat to be able to communicate with you [viii]. I promised to make Part III strictly about the lyrics because, for better or for worse, that is truly what ‘authentic’ fans of Hip-Hop music appreciate the most [ix]. While to most people that generate income from the music business, a rapper whose overall best quality is being lyrically ferocious, usually provides them nothing more than entertainment; but to real Hip-Hop fans it separates the men from the boys. Metaphors, similes, double entendres, wit, all tied together and delivered in the cleverest[x] punchlines; now that’s a REAL rapper. Well, to be completely honest, and I’m truly sorry if this is the first you’re hearing of this, that stuff usually doesn’t mean anything if the beat, melody, momentum, and more, are not on point in the song [xi]. Although the whole cipher may scream and yell, the fact is, if the song is only lyric deep, then it usually doesn’t register where it counts [xii]. However, the jury I am speaking to today holds lyrics in the highest regard, as do I, so that is why it is our next topic. You see, although I say that lyrics[xiii] aren’t very often the most important part of a song, the best Hip-Hop artists can balance the fine line between writing hit records and speaking strictly to the heads and the dreads [xiv]. Is Drake soon to be one of those types (already changed) of rappers? I think you know my answer on that, On Wit Da Show[xv]…
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