For a long time, it was cool to hate on Drake. He blew up in the aftermath of gangsta rap ruling the airways, where being tough was the rite of passage towards legitimacy in hip-hop. Sure, Kanye West never claimed to be hard, but he was also one of the most arrogant rappers imaginable. Moreover, he made College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation, and 808s & Heartbreak by the time Drizzy started making waves.
Meanwhile, the Toronto MC was a lot softer. He made delicate songs for women and he didn’t tout a street background. People teased him for being lightskinned, Jewish, and acting on Degrassi. By this point in his career, he’s weathered all of the criticisms and the several beefs he’s taken on over the years. Sure, Drake still has his war scars from beefing with Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar but he remains one of the biggest rappers in the world anyway.
In 2011, though, he was still relatively fresh in the game and inherited problems with Pusha T just by standing next to Lil Wayne. He had to grapple with all of the memes making fun of him. During a cover story with Complex, the Take Care rapper felt like people were making fun of him for anything.
Drake Opens up About All of the Haters Early on in His Career
“They nitpick at everything,” he sighed. “I can’t do anything. All they want me to do is dress so they can make fun of me. Otherwise, it’s hard for them. I don’t give people many reasons to dislike me. They have to find sh*t. They’re like, ‘Aw man, sweaters! He wears sweaters too much.’ Like, what?”
Despite this clear exasperation, he wasn’t inclined to let people just walk over him either. Later in the conversation, Drake made it abundantly clear that he wasn’t hiding from any confrontations. “If somebody wants to bring a problem to me, it’s strictly based off of their immense amount of hate for me,” he said. “It’s never because I’ve sparked that using my voice, my image, or my outlet. I never use my outlet for confrontation or negativity, ever. I always try and give people music to ride to and music to enjoy. All I ever ask in return is that it’s mutual love.”
His confidant Chubbs shared similar sentiments with the outlet. “Everybody wants to poke and jab at Drake because they don’t feel like he will throw back,” he explained. “But nobody around here is going to let something happen to him at any time, especially me. I’m not ever going to let nothing happen to him. If it’s going to happen it’s going to happen to me first.”
The post Drake Candidly Reflects on Why So Many People Hate Him as a Rapper: ‘They Nitpick at Everything’ appeared first on VICE.
