Drake took it upon himself to make a pretty bold statement in his new interview with The Jewish Chronicle. Along with talking about his relationship with his mother and other topics, the Toronto-bred artist said the following:
“There were people who incorporated melody before me, but I would deem myself the first person to successfully rap and sing.”
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, to be fair, on a mainstream scale, dude is pretty much the only person doing this without sounding terrible on either end. But there have been a slew of artists who have done this before Drizzy, including Phonte who I personally think completely owns the whole “rapper-singer” thing. But what do you all think? [via]
Update: OK, to make my point clear, dude obviously isn’t the FIRST to do this. That’s not what I meant. I meant that he’s the most successful person doing this right now. That’s all.
EXACTLY MAN. half the folks in canada probably never even heard of K-OZ.
Did noone feel the need to point out that he did an interview with The Jewish Chronicle? That in itself is amazing!
Drake thought nobody would read the The Jewish Chronicle.
Define “successful”…
So….. Yasiin Bey? He is a REAL artist. WTF IS HE TALKING ABOUT?
BOOM!
lauryn hill is the only one who earns my respect as an MC and as a singer , cause drake cant sing for shiit
…..my apologies, but like some of the others who have replied before me I failed to include Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.
Despite the some of the obvious successful artists from the past 15 years who went at least gold both as a rapper and singer on multiple projects (Cee-Lo, Lauryn Hill, Andre 3000); let’s not forget that the ’80s and ’90s existed. Here’s a relatively shortlist of artists/groups that displayed both rapping and singing ability (at least as good as Drake’s own mediocre ability to hold a note) in various works before 2000:
BBD
The Boys
ABC (Another Bad Creation)
Queen Latifah
Pharcyde (Slim Kid Tre sang all throughout their albums)
TLC
The Roots (listen to tracks like “Silent Treatment” and “Swept Away”)
Whodini (they sung on alot of their hooks)
Teena Marie (“Square Biz” in 1981)
Blonde (“Rapture” in 1981)
Chuck Brown (R.I.P.)
and f#ck it…..Ol’ Dirty Bastard! (listen to “Sweet Sugar Pie” on his 1st album)
I respect cats who stick to their own lane and try to go as far as they can with it. But I can’t stand it when they blatantly ignore and disrespect the legacy and accomplishments of others before them who created the lanes for them. Especially when the new cats don’t at least display a level of talent or ability that matches those before them.
Nuff said!
it’s stupid shit like that what makes me hate this guy even more..
And your 15 minutes of fame arrrrrreeee..
Whodini , UTFO Christ young muthafucks think they invented the world. Get off the god damn coke
So we just gon act like Drake ain’t jock his whole style from K-OS? K-OS has been singing and rapping since 1996. This Drake guy is hilarious. K-OS birthed his whole style but I don’t consider Drake Canadian and he probably doesn’t either.
Lauryn Hill says hello.
Anybody Remember PM Dawn?
He should have said “First Male artist”, because Lauryn was the first successful singer and rapper. To be able to sing on an entire song. And rap on an entire song. And be successful in both.
Cee Lo, Andre 3000, The Roots, T-Pain, Akon, even Ja Rule for f#*k sake…
Andre 3000
Lauryn Hill
you’re right, I just thought of Tay first ’cause he’s my favorite haha
CUDI!!!!
Actually i would agree Pharrel was the first success Male Singer/Rapper but N.E.R.D. albums arn’t amazing as they should be considereing how many the hits the neptunes have produced and Pharell’s solo album wasnt that great of a success.
To be fair, Phonte isn’t “successful” in the traditional sense. But Lauryn Hill was DEFINITELY successful. Not sure why he made such a bold statement.
Mos Def
Bone Thugs & Harmony, come on man!
Drake always bigs up phonte on influencing him.
obviously he was meaning on a commercial/mainstream scale. any of these undergound artists making the same numbers/money as him? AND drake last album finished on numerous year end lists
People who hate on Drake are just as bad as kanye haters
lauryn hill
pharrell
Yeah drake….And I am the Queen of England….I think he’s just trying to speak it into existence, like if he says it enough it will become true