If you just so happen to have been paying any sort of attention in the past nine months, then you have probably noticed a dramatic difference in Drake’s entire sound. With top-charting songs such as “One Dance” and “Controlla”, his desperation to claim West Indian culture has been blaringly obvious to those who know better. To those who do not know better, this catchy new sound is something that Drake has revolutionized mainstream music with and is another reason why he is the most wonderful musician to ever walk the earth.
To those of us who do know better, this new sound is a very watered-down version of dancehall reggae, a unique genre of music that originated in Jamaica before Drake was even born. Dancehall has occasionally been recognized in mainstream music in the past, but only ever by actual authentic West Indian musicians, not biracial Canadians who think that dancing alongside Rihanna makes them qualified to adopt a weak patois accent and begin appropriating West Indian culture. While patois is a popular dialect in Drake’s hometown Toronto, it is only because of the large presence of Jamaicans that reside there. The whole Toronto patois slang thing was not even something that was trending while Drake was growing up, so the claims of him being raised on West Indian culture is a complete fabrication.
Adopting a Caribbean sound is something that Drake is doing purposefully to try and monopolize and sell his image. While his rendition of dancehall may be fun to dance to and appealing, it does not belong to him. He is emulating a sound that is not his and branding it for himself. He even proved this by removing Popcaan, a Jamaican deejay, from the album version of “Controlla”, and by not citing all of the dancehall musicians that collaborated with him on his latest album, which upset many West Indian fans.
Trying to capitalize a movement or a concept that does not belong to you is appropriation. People of color can appropriate other cultures too, despite popular opinion. Drake and his mediocre reggae sound is slowly becoming a pop culture trend. White people are infamous for suddenly racing to consume a way of life that they had previously mocked when it is presented to them in a format that is “new” and “fashionable” and “edgy”. So forgive me for cringing at the white girl that mocked my grandfather’s accent in the past as she now sings the lyrics to “One Dance” and rocks a Bob Marley t-shirt.
I do love Drake and have always been a Drake fan. He makes great music when he is being his genuine self. The alteration in his style is definitely working for him, as he consistently releases hits. Though as a girl that grew up in a Jamaican household, it would be entirely hypocritical for us to crucify Kylie Jenner and Iggy Azalea for their appropriation but stay quiet as uneducated music fans attempt to crown Drake the “King of Dancehall”.
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