Earlier this year a pretty unpredictable beef emerged. Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def was asked a somewhat loaded question about Drake during an appearance on a podcast. But his answer didn't necessarily sit right with people. He claimed that the music Drake makes is closer to pop than actual rap. He justified the claim by saying that it's the kind of music you hear while shopping. The comments weren't exactly hateful towards Drake, but they still rubbed a lot of his fans and even some other rappers the wrong way.
NLE Choppa was one of the first high-profile rappers to come to Drake's defense. That was before Drizzy himself responded, first with a clip from an old Method Man interview discussing rap being about the culture. He doubled down on his response a few days later when he took to his Instagram story to call Bey a "crackhead." Bey caught even more flack later when he performed during a Paris Fashion Week show. Clips of his performance, which predominately featured him singing instead of rapping, were widely criticized online. Now Common is weighing in on the beef and taking Drake's side. Check out the full interview where he discussed the beef below.
Common Stands Up For Drake
When discussing Drake's genre, Common referenced back to the rapper's early days. “To me, I think Drake comes from Hip Hop. When I first heard him rhyming, I was like, ‘Yo, this dude rhyming.’ And if he goes out and makes songs that are popular, then that’s what it is. He’s still an MC," he explains.
“The dude is an incredible songwriter, he’s an incredible artist. You can’t touch that many people, for as long a time as he’s been doing. This man has touched different aspects of culture and been able to continue to do it. You gotta have some respect and know that this dude is a very talented artist” Common concluded. What do you think of Common's defense of Drake? Do you think his music is closer to pop than rap? Let us know in the comment section below.
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