One year after all the ghostwriter accusations, tweets and memes, Meek Mill and Drake, to no surprise, still hate – and are going at - each other. Subtle jabs and insults are situated on the majority of Meek and Drake records currently being released indicating that this beef is not going away any time soon. While this feud is still blatant, both artists have approached 2016 with new music and strong ambitions trying to make summer sixteen theirs.
While there are no instances of dedicated songs solely focused on the conflict, Meek and Drake have both released multiple songs that contain a few subtle jabs and verses aimed at each other. It seems as if every song coming out between the two has some sort of remark against the other, and because of this, Meek and Drake appear as if they will continue with this beef for the time being. The constant insults will be something we have to get used to as an audience of Drake, Meek and rap. Drake will constantly boast about how he obliterated Meek last year and Meek will continue to accuse Drake of using ghostwriters. I am not complaining about this at all, their beef was a defining moment in both of their careers and the culture itself; it is a rap beef that escalated to the wax, with two artists going directly at each other – full dedicated songs with no assumptions or hidden messages - something fans of the genre have not seen in years. With the majority of the mainstream music audience believing Meek’s career was over when Drake pranced around his OVO fest stage with memes and an aggressive record in Back to Back, Meek has slowly recovered from his demise and has gradually accumulated himself a handful of wins. Meek has put together a slew of singles and jumped on several remixes that had the rap community buzzing with interest. Meek was featured on Young Thug’s Digits as well as the remix for Fat Joe and Remy Ma’s hit All The Way Up. In addition to this, Meek has been releasing singles like War Pain, Pray For Em, and Trap Vibes as he has fans anticipating the release of his next project Dreamchasers 4. I believe DC4 will be a success if he can captivate the “hood” audience he has always been known to attract. He may never be commercially accepted in the mainstream – because of Drake’s inability to take a loss and Meek’s lack of musical versatility - but if he can continue to find success with the audience that enjoys trap beats and aggressive vocals, he will have a successful summer. Regarding the slew of successes in which Meek has accumulated this year, another surprising victory was his win at the Billboard Music Awards. He has somehow edged Drake, Future, Kendrick Lamar and Dr.Dre for Top Rap Album (which has me confused; TPAB and IYRTITL were the best rap projects of last year). While he may never gain the recognition he deserves on a mainstream basis, all of these wins are starting to change the perception of Meek in the rap community. It is only a matter of time until Meek announces some sort of tour, especially since his house arrest is almost over. Drake, so far in the year, has released his highly anticipated album Views, and is now in the preparation process of his Summer Sixteen tour with Future and opening acts dvsn and Roy Wood$. Drake’s album Views has received a very mixed reception. Even with the ambiguous reaction to his album, Views is breaking records in terms of streaming and is on track to being certified double platinum. In addition to these successes, Drake garnered his first number-one single in the United States and Canada as a lead artist for his single One Dance. His album Views has been regarded as a highly mainstream album filled with cringe worthy lyrics (e.g. key chain go jang-a-lang & got so many chains they call me Chaining Tatum), and has even added fuel to the accusations of Drake being a “culture vulture” with his dancehall influenced tracks such as One Dance, Too Good and Controlla. Even with the success and accusations, Drake has not forgotten or forgiven Meek, songs like Hype, Weston Road Flows and Summer Sixteen illustrate this; and even with audiences labeling Views as being mainstream and basic, Drake has heard the criticism and released a more lyrical track in 4 PM in Calabasas. Drake is making sure we do not forget about his lyrical skill, 4 PM in Calabasas would no doubt be the most lyrical song on Views if it were to be included. Eventually, all of us, especially the rap fans, who chose a side to this beef whether it was favouring Meek Mill or Drake will come to realize that these are two artists that can both be enjoyed simultaneously. Both are releasing quality music and are having success in their own lane. You can be a Drake fan – as I am - and appreciate Meek’s verses of Digits, War Pain and All The Way Up. You can be a Meek fan and still appreciate 4 PM in Calabasas. To disregard their music based on artist loyalty, hate or trends is ignorant, especially regarding how both of these artists are approaching the summer of 2016 aggressively with quality music. If you are a fan of the genre, you have to appreciate what they have both have done so far this year. Summer sixteen might prove to be just as instrumental to their career just as last summer was.
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