June 15 2019, just a day after the Toronto Raptors secured their first ever NBA Championship, the 6
God, Drake, released two brand new songs namely; Money in the Grave featuring Rick Ross and Omerta.
Personally, I found Money in the Grave to be the better song between the two. The song is eerie,
masterfully ominous, has an up-tempo bop and exhibits top tier lyricism from both Drake and Roze.
It’s moments like this that add to Drake’s practically immaculate track record of putting out a hit on
whenever he feels like it. It’s moments like this that leave us scratching our heads, wondering when
Drake’s seemingly infinite run will end. It’s moments like these that cause fans to regard Drake as the
best rapper alive. But is he?
No one doubts the numbers and accolades that Aubrey has amassed in the last decade, that isn’t the
discussion being had here. Drake’s legacy as a top tier MC will always be questioned because of the
“ghost-written” songs that hang over his head. His contemporaries, namely Kendrick Lamar and J Cole
are often regarded as the elites in modern Rap music in terms of penmanship. But what makes one ‘the
best’? I have put together these criteria of what I think makes a rapper superior to his/her peers:
- Wordplay
- Lyricism/ Substance
- Cultural Impact
- Delivery/ Flow
- Record Sales
Of course so much more goes into what makes a rapper the best; however I found these to be the most
important measures to determine that. Very few artists score a perfect 10 in all of the above mentioned
categories, not even Drake. What makes this debate so tricky is that all of the above mentioned
categories are purely subjective i.e. they are based on personal feelings and not hard facts (bar record
sales). However, with the knowledge that Drake’s best metaphors and wordplay probably weren’t
written by Champagne Papi himself is worrisome for a cultural observer like me. It means that he’s not
part of the Top 20 best rappers who have put their blood, sweat and tears into crafting cleverly worded
rap songs simply because he would have to be disqualified from the first two aforementioned
categories. What do you think?
Written By: Sizwe Moyo
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