- Shaun Evans
Kryptonite From The 6ix
"Kryptonite From The 6ix"
We all know the story of the 30 year old male from Toronto, Canada. Aubrey Graham, also known as Drake, went from being wheelchair Jimmy on Degrassi to the little kid complaining about his mother not buying him the correct sandwich to taking over the airwaves of the Hip-Hop and Pop industry. Drake has become a household name ever since transitioning from acting to rapping and has created a fan base so large that it has become a lot like Eminem’s or Beyoncé’s fan base. You know that fan base that if you bashed someone’s favorite artist, they would come for your head. That same fan base that Drake has created has also helped him stay afloat after a couple of beefs that should have ruined his career. It would have for others.
The Six God has been a part of some beefs, some which he has responded too and others that he has ignored, but one beef showed how strong his fan base was. During 2015, Meek Mill released his first number one album with “Dreams Worth More Than Money” which featured Drake. While it all seemed great, Meek Mill put it out there that Drake used ghost writer after Drake didn’t tweet out his album link. While this is something that has hurt the reputation of others, it didn’t hurt Drake. The Hip-Hop community chimed in with their thoughts while Drake was planning a response. Drake released “Charged Up” to give a response and didn’t let up because shortly afterwards, he released “Back to Back”. And this is where the fan base comes in.
Fan bases are a powerful thing. They can quickly build or destroy someone. Following the tweet from Meek Mill about Drake using ghost writers and Drake releasing “Charged Up”, followed by “Back to Back”, the fan base quickly rose to the front. A career-threatening statement from Meek Mill quickly turned into a joke. Drake’s fan base turned to memes and social media to show their backing for the Canadian artist. They quickly flipped the script and made it seem as if Meek Mill did something completely wrong. Meek Mill was the one who went into hiding, didn’t release any new music or followed up after releasing a number one album. But Drake went on a roll and released more music and had a top selling tour all thanks to his fans that stood beside him. But that wasn’t that last beef for Drake or his fan base.
One more artist took a swing at the plate and one who made it known that he would go toe to toe with the OvO general. Slaughterhouse lyricist, Joe Budden took his jabs at Drake, which at the time seemed to be completely random. After hearing a snippet of French Montana’s and Drake’s “No Shopping” track, Joe Budden knew shots were being taken. Joe Budden did not let up either. Releasing “Making a Murder Part 1”, Joe Budden returned the shots to Drake and didn’t stop. “A black cloud all over the 6, check the overview. You’re so indirect, shit wasn’t real clear. Either Jimmy actin’ or he really miss a wheelchair” lyrics from “Making a Murderer Part 1. Five days after the first diss, Joe Budden released “Wake” while waiting for a response. Taking shots at Drake, his label situation and asking the same thing Drake asked from Meek Mill with “Don’t send a text, I don’t care ya’ll mad. Shit, I waited 5 days n*gga, where y’all at? For real, I’m calling Stunna, cause all summer ’16, aint heard a hot ’16, bout all Summer”. Drake never did but his fans came for the battle instead. Besides the memes and calling Joe Budden “irrelevant”, a couple fans decided to bother Budden in a neighborhood. An incident that almost turned violent. This was another beef that highlighted Drake’s fan base instead of the actual beef itself.
From actor to artist, Aubrey Graham created a fan base so strong that he can do no wrong even if the evidence is there. Going from being exposed to using ghost writers by Meek Mill to not responding to one of Hip-Hop’s most lyricist artist in the industry, Drake still sits at the top and it seems that he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon due to his fan base. A fan base that quickly turned the ghost writing incident into a joke and putting Meek Mill in hiding has shown how powerful they are. When Drake made diss tracks of Meek Mill not responding, Drake did the exact thing as Meek and never responded to Joe Budden. But ask his fans about it and they would have told you that it was alright because Budden wasn’t on the same level. Some would have claimed the same for the Drake and Meek Mill beef. But once again, this is the power of the fan base. One that every artist shoots for and would open the door for that kind of support. The kryptonite towards other artists.
