OP-ED: Drake, Overrated & Over-saturation

Aubrey Drake Graham is a Canadian singer and rapper who has risen to fame ever since his role in the teen soap drama Degrassi in 2001. He rose to fame as a singer and rapper and has taken Rangeview culture by storm. When you look online, you see Instagram posts and Snapchat stories riddled with Drake songs. Drake is a favorite among many young people today. Graham has earned this popularity with hits on hits, creating consistently critically acclaimed albums since 2009. But a big issue arises surrounding his recent popularity; it seems like more of a bandwagon than anything truly earned. 

Since 2021, Drake has released repetitive and often indistinguishable songs. With the release of his album Certified Lover Boy and all subsequent albums, you notice a drastic change in creative quality in comparison to his older works such as So Far Gone, Views, More Life, and all other albums preceding 2021. Certified Lover Boy was the start of many critically derided albums, whereas his newer albums have been named dull and unfocused by critics. 

A good reflection of this criticism is Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone stating, “Drake meanders through yet another collection of superlong streaming bait.” This highlights that his recent success has not been earned because of the quality of his work, but more so the hype and drama surrounding the albums. The Independent presents another issue: “For better or worse, the album is at its best when Drake’s not there.” His recent albums have heavily relied on features from clearly more creative individuals. Drake has had a clear downfall since his early prime.  

Despite this criticism, fans express their love regularly, even when the quality of the music they listen to is inconsistent. When speaking to some fans, you notice a pattern. They enjoy only a few of the songs on recent albums, knowing that the majority of the songs on said albums aren’t of good quality. They ignore that Drake’s recent albums are uninspired and often lack much substance, continuing to highly praise his one-off viral catchy songs in a sea of filler. A lot of the time it seems that they like Drake only because other people around them like Drake. 

Kalaya Carroll, a Drake fan at Rangeview states “I really like his old songs and the style he created them in, but I don’t really like his newer ones. There are a few good ones like “What Would Pluto Do” though.” Another listener, Zariah Lopez, says, “All of Drake’s new songs sound like every other song, except for like maybe five.” These opinions reflect the consensus of most fans and haters alike, Drake’s recent songs are repetitive and don’t match the quality of songs created earlier in his career. 

Drake has risen to fame, and rightfully so, but when he reached the top he seemed to have lost the creativity that made him. Now, Drake’s music is constantly berated, and for good reason. He has been hyped up to the point where he finds success, even when the music he produces is sub-par and uninspired. 

Drake has lost his touch; fans know this but they continue to bandwagon and support him despite his recent career lacking. Nowadays it seems like Drake is over-saturating the industry with repetitive music, and many fans and listeners, myself included, hope that one day he may find his former glory.