“while still credible enough in the streets to be respected.”

Is that a fact.

Great Fucking Read Ski and Congrats on Freddie Gibbs Movement!!!!!!

my Bad Great Fucking Read Skee!!!! Typo King i am!

I don’t think Drake is “credible” in the streets. In all honesty, other than Tupac, the streets don’t listen to good Hip Hop. Drake’s sound is redundant…

Drakes buzz has evaporated. Cash money and wayne are going to use him until he doesn’t have no value. Drake is their money to blow

I knew since he’s been with Cash Money he wasnt gonna get the proper promotion and regcognition. I’m not a Drake fan but just saying. I’m starting to see more of the 360 deal where music labels are signing artists and hyping the fuck outta them only gaining nothing towards the artist and money are coming to the labels. Drake never had credibility. I think rappers/MC’s shouldnt even need or require it. Its like trying to apply for a Visa card. You kno at the end of the day they gonna reject you. Dudes like Drake, Wale, Gucci Mane, OJ Da Juiceman, and countless others are involved in 360 deals that dont mean shit and people are steadly believing the hype.

damn i hate his ugly ass go back to degrassi please you are fucking up hip hop drake

another drake blog? YAWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

dude is MAD overrated

He sounds too much like Kanye without the guts to say fuck the man to his face, people may think ‘Ye is a baby or an asshole but he says whatever the helll he wants at any time

Great drop Skee. I see you have some great ideas of where to go from here for the artists and the industry…

I think when you look at Drake it is pretty much in his character to go the safe route. Dude is mad talented, but usually plays it safe

It might be time for Drake to shake up his management team. A good manager wouldn’t drop the ball as much as what happened in Drake’s case. Drake can’t do it all, don’t care what he says. All movements need good, aggressive management to keep things moving. Cash Money (or Young Money or whatever) is distracted by other issues right now and they can’t make Drake a priority. And yeah, the industry as a whole is stagnant too.

It sucks, but that’s the way it is at the moment. Skee, you on point with these blogpost. Props.

Drake is a great Rap/r&b artist. He should sing more though since that is how he came into the game; As a singer/rap artist (Best I Ever Had). That song “Fear” is tough too. What I like is that you never really know what you’re going to get from him. He’s versatile and spontaneous.

This is a great entry Skee. Loved seeing your perspective on this.

good article i like how u use him as an example to change the biz cuz the way it is i dunno whats gunna happen to music

I see ya’ll tryin to start another Drake machine, real heads see right thru him. One mixtape is not paying dues and the fact that he got wit Weezy right off the bat with no Toronto cosign is kinda fishy. I’m betting somebody in Toronto gonna expose something about him.

I see ya’ll tryin to start another Drake machine, real heads see right thru him. One mixtape is not paying dues and the fact that he got wit Weezy right off the bat with no Toronto cosign is kinda fishy. I’m betting somebody in Toronto gonna expose something about him. 2nd post

Drake blew it like Baron Davis missing that wide open break away lay up last night. Had the ball in his hands. All he had to do was dunk it and he would still be in the game. But he missed and now time is running out. SMH.

cash money definitely fucked up this guys buzz. this guy was in a lane going a 100, and suddenly crashed into a tree. what i find funny is that there are still endless mixtapes coming out from him all with tracks that are a year old. i remember a blog on this site debating if drake had the largest buzz in hip-hop history. that talk is over. in this industry you have to strike while the iron is hot, and like here in n.y., that’s on ice.

Bomb ass blog Skee.

For y’all who know how I rock, click the name I have a forum open on 360 deals. In the comment section I also have links to refer to for info, so you might wanna clipboard them while you read my blizzog.

Drake contradicted his own success by signing a deal, he would have been better off getting a bank loan to put out his own album, which would have BEEN out…the Sprite commercial is a strong, valid reference point of failure on Drake’s behalf.

what does it say about the music industry when they drop the ball on even a teeny-bop nickeleodeon rapper??

Drake go bar for bar against ANY rapper?? wow i dont kno about that one

great blog. presumptuous and speculative certainly… but that’s what blogs are for.

Comment-ers say the darndest (dumbest) things.

For one, nobody has dropped the ‘proverbial’ ball. Drake is going to be WILDLY successful. He will release an album THIS year and will be one of the top-selling music acts of the past five years.

Let’s gauge the current barometer. Prior to releasing a full-length album, Drake has collaborated with Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Timbaland, Eminem, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. The list is limited to top-sellers but I could go on. He’s been nominated for and performed at the Grammy’s.

How is he being mis-managed? Did I hear someone say he should “shake up” his management? Nomination for multiple Grammys and performing there too isn’t “proper recognition?” Do you live under a rock?

Also.. some of you need to reevaluate what it means to be ‘hot in the streets.’ It does not mean you present yourself as a street character. It means.. you ask a random person on the bus, walking down the ave.. who Drake is and what their favorite Drake song is and they can answer immediately. Drake is VERY HOT in the streets.

I’m not a Drake fan, but I am a fan of So Far Gone. If his first full-length studio effort matches the creativity and dopeness of that mixtape, I will be a fan. His flow and content have seemed a bit repetitive on leaks lately so I’m on the fence as yet. Some of you, however, are delusional.

i love your take on the industry, so refreshing, nobody talks about it like this. everyone is so hungry, they think a “deal” means they’ve made it. music industry lies.

good read and i co-sign. me and my homeboy was having this conversation the other day and i said somethin similar about how drake has already had his peak and when his album does come out its not gonna do so well. i really hope i get proven wrong tho..

good blog? didnt understand certain details, but i get it…i mean just an artist owning all of his own sht n doing his own thing, i think dats what all artists want….n things do need to continue to grow n get better, n he had da chance to be that leader n change things….welll, it’ll come again hopefully

We haven’t listen to his first official release yet and we already talking about him dropping the ball. The kid appeal to the masses. from a rollingstone magazine reader to a bill o’reilly viwer. You just have to laugh at things like this….

drake is a blatant homosexual here today gone tommorrow

Not that I’m a fan of Drake, I think calling him “Nickelodeon” is perfect. Dont see him doing anything unique, new or special. I’m not a fan.

That said I can tell you that he most certainly will drop an album this year and it’ll do very well. Sadly he signed that deal to cash in on the buzz of a mix tape and now its Drake Inc - another musical act that needs stamps, signatures and approvals from a list of people at the label before anything can get done. Spontaneity is out the window and, as the article states, original ways on cashing in are gone. One person at the label may think its great and there’ll always be one person who thinks its stupid.

Funny thing about “buzz” and going 0-60 or 60-100 is that you’ll still slow down at the same rate. When your momentum is based solely on buzz you’ll slow down pretty damn fast. You can be the next big thing and peoples grandmothers might know your name but when you’re an artist and your buzz isn’t based on your art - you are fucked! Wayne will be locked up, Jay-Z is off being Jay-Z and Alicia Keys is a product…they’re not going to spend time worried about Drake.

I dont know how credible Drake is and I don’t think he can go bar for bar with anyone I have no idea where skee got that idea.

But I don’t think he ever had a chance to be mega successful like that. I think alot of his situation was luck. He said himself that best i ever had and success were not even going to make the so far gone mixtape until someone told him to put them on there.

Not to mention to he is affiliated with the hottest artist in hip-hop whe his mixtape drops. I think he is average rapper and a average singer hes not bad just not great.

Great artist do great things. He going to burn out he will blow it the ninth!

Drake will successful no doubt and even though his skills are overrated they still can’t be denied but the fact that he came out big out of nowhere, oversaturating the market, big connects and all is hard to believe that this was all grind as opposed to a creation by the industry, a Frankenrapper of sorts, is just not organic and it really seems forced.

Skee’s been on fire, lately!

I agree with General. The guys has been taught his entire life to play it safe. I believe he has talent, it’s just a shame that he took the same route as everyone else.

I am still unsure about Drake i want to hate him because he looks like a sneaky ass fake douche, but then i want to hate him cause he looks like a big ass tool hidden in cashmoney cosigns with a whole machine to back him up so then he can claim there is no such machine….strictly music though, he´is OK, but not the NEW JAY-Z like XXL said YEAH I REMEMBER THAT NEWS HEADLINE

I honestly think Drake is HIGHLY Overrated!
good rhymez here n there but I think he’s gonna end up being another Fab or Nelly… yeah he’s made collabo’s with great artists but so has Gucci Mane & Soulja Boy lol, nah mean….

I think calling him da future is way too much, unless they mean 2020 future…
The present is Em, Nas, Jay, 50, Wayne, Snoop, etc…
the future is Kanye, Game, Luda, even T.I… All in their prime right now, let em’ shine & see who’s da next king of their coast or even hiphop!

[...] Read the whole thing here. [...]

letyoutellit.com thinks the same thing

Dude..i got it at mixtapetorrent.com, fail on ur part to sit through the BS.

On a side note..he gonna prob flop anyways..still that mixtape goes hard. pause

whoever wrote this, can you get at me?

I’d like to discuss something pertaining to this entry, thanks…

info @ tgood.com

“who would have thought a Canadian half-Jewish singer-rapper hybrid who grew up in a wealthy neighborhood and played a disabled kid on a Nickelodeon show would get requests for features without an album, all while still being respected by the toughest critics in the hip-hop blogosphere.”

Jimmy pushed “Forever” thats why it was so big….come on, you should know if Jimmy has Em do something he will put his all into it!

[...] CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE. [...]

Drake is good - but he is not street.

DJ Skee ARE YOU SERIOUS??

Pardon me for not knowing you but where do you DJ if you can be so naive as to think he really did that shit on his own.

Like you said, in June he “officially” signed that Cash Money deal.

If you don’t think he was already signed and being officially promoted, then you are brain dead homie.

Radio does not play songs because they like them. That secret was let out over a decade ago. That nigga DID NOT BUILD THAT BUZZ HIMSELF.

The Universal machine was already at work. He couldn’t walk away after that money was spent. He was already bought and paid for by the time you heard “Best I Ever Had.” Just like every other artist in the music “industry.”

“I don’t mean to give away the secrets on what I’m working on, but imagine going to company X, who cuts a check to have Drake be a spokesperson for the brand, then pays to create a music video that features and can also be cut into a commercial for company X that’s shown on TV to millions of people thousands of times. To top it off, the consumer has to go to Drake’s website to get the entire song (or mixtape/album) for free, where before they download they’re forced to watch that 30 second music video/advertisement about the product.”

Seriously? This could go horribly wrong.
1st. This would only make since, from a corporate perspective, for established artists or artists that had already had a substantial buzz that lined up with their target market.
2nd. once they write the check, you better believe they are going to want to a say in the lyrics. Albums will start to sound like those old st. ide’s commercials. The next time you listen to a Game song, replace the words “Aftermath” with the name of a corporate sponsor. Imagine Snoop singing “Hewlett-Packard is the label that paaays me”. Is this really what you want?
3rd. Exclusive deals will be the norm. Corps will want to lock up entire business segments of artists and they will be managed like professional athletes. An artist who signs an “adidas” deal for a commercial/video may be forced to stop wearing sportswear from any competitors in public. You better believe Lebron’s contract forbids him from ever being caught in shelltoes.
4th. what happens for the second or third single? If company x finances video 1, how are they going to feel when 2 weeks later, the artist is advertising company y (a direct competitor) in his new video? That would be a no-go for any decent business. Even assuming Company X finances the videos for an entire album, what about album 2? The value in an pitchman is his ability to generate sales. That ability is diminished if the pitchman isn’t believable. If an artist flip-flops every time he opens his mouth, soon people will stop listening. Kind of like the boy who cried wolf. Additionally, once an artist has “sold” a segment to company X, that segment has less value to any other company going forward. An artist’s management team would have to be world-class (IMG level) in order to appropriately position their client.

Did Yall Even Read About His Deal?…If Thats Safe route thats a Hell of a route

Under the unusually lucrative agreement he struck with Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money Records distributed through Universal, Drake received a $2-million advance. He retains the publishing rights to his songs and cedes only around 25% of his music sales revenues to the label as a “distribution fee,” his managers said. By contrast, the overwhelming majority of new artists sign financially restrictive “360 deals” that sap their touring and merchandise income and offer much more restrictive profit-sharing.

“The record company doesn’t have any ownership of Drake,” Bryant said. “The label does not have participation on profits. They don’t have ownership of his masters. We control his entire career. Those deals don’t happen anymore.”

http://makingthemogul.com/2009/07/inside-drakes-record-deal/

So Basically that means he has P&D Deal more than Typical “Record Deal”

lol what reality do yal live in where a rapper has 4-5 songs in regular rotation and fresh off a grammy performance is ‘losing his buzz’?!?!?

u aint got to like dude all u want but lets not be silly and say some dumb shit like that people.

“Maybe I’m looking too much into it and the rebel side of me just wants to see something new shake up everything, but I really think Drake could have revolutionized the music game, and to some extent, the entertainment and advertising industries.

For someone with so much against him yet was able to do it all himself to just drop the ball at the buzzer disappoints me. I just think of what could have “

Who said it wasn’t cold in here?

I just hope it too. And he’s going to do it real.

Greetings from Seville.

Drake aint really the kind of guy thats gonna take risks, the minute a proper deal appeared he took it , shit l cant hate on that, he thinks its the best deal for him. He gotta do what he gotta do to survive.

Dont worry, our rap saviour is out there, ready to take the game by the scruff on the neck! You gotta go thru the darkness to get into the light!!

Q says: Drake’s buzz was credible as being a talented new artist with a fresh sound. Skee is not hinting that Drake was a hard street artist, but that he had talent that was unaltered by label B.S. and that talent could have propelled Drake far while keep his artistic value intact. He had the mainstream appeal (probably still does) and could have done everything independently and came out with more cash in the hand than dealing with a label. hopefully Cash Money/ Motown will let Drake make the kind of music that got the public’s attention itn the first place

Your post is solid but here are a couple of points that don’t add up.
1. Drake is not a self made guy. There was too much money spent, with too many major cosigns to say drake just came into his current success on his own grind and merit even with degrassi money. That is just not how the industry is run. Radio promotion is still payola driven and you know it skee even if you can’t agree for job security. That is like the ridiculious assumption that exihibit c is getting on all these radio stations without serious backing GTFOHWTBS. This dude got some had some rich connects to start with and he is probably a ghost writer hrmmm. But he definitly did not pull off the coup of the century just based on a combination of clean cut looks and skill because somebody had to market that with serious capital beyound a unknown manager.

2. To prove my point dude has no grassroots cred. No following outside of the fans he came in with upon his overnight success. Where are the smug bastards online saying I told you drake could flow back when he first got on Degrassi. You Know where they are? They don’t exist because Drake has no following that wasn’t generated by his music industry elite ties. Now Soulja boy as garbage as he is would be an example of a grass root phenom that was like watching a train wreck to heads but resonated with fade whores and dance fans/casual listeners. Drake is a manufactured attempt at creating a new artists archetype but he didn’t come from the bottom up.

he’s right. but thats mainly because he signed to Young Money instead of some huge, talent based, pop label. they could have made him more of a commercial dude… but wayne seems to be waiting too long and not really hopping all over his hype. he could have been bigger, rite now all i see of him is cash money’s hook man

If you didn’t know Drake has creative control over all his albums. That means that if he releases the wrong single or too late or too early it’s not the labels fault, it’s his. So basically he put himself in this situation.

He might end up more successfull if he starts puttin more shit out where’s hes snappin off instead of all these bitches money stupid ass club songs. You gotta appeal to more than one audience muthafucka.

Drake got all yall to comment on him somebody(Birdman) must be doing something right! Most shit on xxl get 20 comments max! he already at 60! Darke will def sell a milli so fuck the haters its young money!

i don’t like how he be on interviews talking proper and be like he respect women… then on a song calling them the B word and all that stuff…. rappers act like that’s the only word they can use… i don’t know why women buy their music…

I have to agree with yoprince above, well said…and of course, the article made some very valid points.

I don’t think there has been an artist that has kept my ears and eyes on the internet and blogs since the 50 cent blow-up and thus, I feel the comparison’s between the Drake and 50 cent are valid. However, 50 cent just like Drake, stirred things up via the mixtape circuit but reached higher popularity when being signed to artists like Eminem and Dr. Dre. Drake on the other hand gained popularity without being signed under a major artist but reached greater heights with Lil Wayne.

I think what’s been a constant argument in this blog and others has been the signing with Lil Wayne and I don’t see why it isn’t a great move for his career. He’s said from time to time again that he hasn’t lost his creative free-will and Wayne has also been of great guidance to him. He’s surrounded himself, like 50 cent did, with business moguls Jay-Z and Lil Wayne. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Drake is the next artist to take on a label of his own in the near future like 50 cent did with G-unit records. So despite the fact that he had done it all independent himself, who’s to say he won’t in the near future again?

The point is whether he went solo or signed to a label, he has SOLIDIFIED his spot as an artist to watch for the following decade. Some artists spend their whole career trying to appeal to different audiences by switching all sorts of lanes, and Drake has come in being appreciated for his versatility in hip-hop, hip-pop, r ‘n b, or whatever class you put him in as a listener of his music. Point is, while you may feel that you’re losing interest as a hip-hop listener, somebody might be gaining interest as a r’nb listener. He has solidified himself as an artist with versatility as a singer/rapper and that’s why his buzz will remain like Kanye’s.

The REAL title of this blog:

DO YOU BELIEVE THE HYPE? OR DO YOU PEEP GAME…

This was a greatly composed article I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. And I couldn’t completely agree w/ you more. Finally someone that sees what I see. Drake could of really change the game.

im sorry but what are you saying? he made it to the big leagues without a fuckin record deal! hes rapping with the greats and he was barely even signed. what more do you want. why would he make it to the big leagues and then go back down to where he started without a major label. i think what your saying makes no sense and your just saying it to have an opinion who ever wrote this shit.

[...] through out the Sprite Slam Dunk con­test hosted by King James and Drizzy. This is a huge move, or was it? Check out the 2nd behind of the scene footage below. Respect [...]

[...] bust to an independent success. He’s gotten tips from Curren$y so its possible. Check out DJ Skee’s guest blog. Khalifa man might be moving in the completely other direction. You decide but in the mean time [...]

[...] Drake Teams With Sprite for ‘Spark’ Campaign Related: The Disappointment Of Drake: Could He Be More Successful? addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fcontent.onsmash.com%2Farchives%2F33357′; addthis_title = [...]

[...] The Disappointment Of Drake: Could He Be More Successful? [...]

“By the time “Best I Ever Had” reached the top of the charts, Drake had already successfully done everything a major label could by himself (even if Cash Money/Young Money and Drake’s team did put some paper behind him to promote the single at radio, and gave him a huge platform with Wayne on tour).”

Thats a contradiction. How did “Drake successfully do everything a major label could by himself” if he had the backing of a major label, managers who are connected with a major label & on a major label tour?

Thats not doing everything by yourself.

I’m gonna finish reading, but right now, it just seems like your typing fuckery.

Didn´t homie sign exclusively to bryan cortez management company and NOT directly to a record company? and they were gonna do project deals / or distribution deals with universal, just for the extra push? when i read about it awhile back i thought it was quite a revolutionary business model. But im sure skee has better info. so he signed a traditional artist deal (or 360) with universal? Thats extremely dumb with the buzz hes had… but good insight, skee

DAMN SKEE I FUX WIT YA… I AINT GONNA LIE, I JUST LEARNED A WHOLLEEEE LOT!!!…. KEEP SHEDDIN DAT LIGHT MY BROTHER!!

Great Read SKEE! I agree with you “humble opinion” of Drake. I actually think your opinion is pretty much a common and well known “fact.” I never saw the benefits of Drake signing with ANYONE. He really could have set the tone for the up and comings who are grindin hard and developing a buzz. *sighs**kanye shrug* Oh Well…..Maybe the next artist will…..

[...] extremely well-written article by DJ Skee for XXL Magazine in which he analyzes whether Drake would have been better off continuing on his independent route [...]

Really dude? Yes, you are an incredibly talented DJ and I respect a lot of your work with Pill and Gibbs but a FOUR PAGE BLOG about a french canadian “rapper” who is already all over the clearchannel owned radio? Why don’t you give some shine to some dudes who actually have talent and weren’t chosen to be popular by record companies cause he’s easily sold to the waiting masses? This blog could have consisted of nothing but MP3s of his songs and you wouldn’t of had to re-title it. This is a major disappointment to me, and I am personally shamed of you, Skee.

Great read . Thanks SKEE

idk about yall but if it wasnt for drake i wouldnt care for young money. but yall must not listen to his lyrics im young and and dont kno much but to me he kills it on so many levels he can sing he can rhyme his shit is mad ill to meb but im young im a kid cudi and wiz fan so im into the new shit and drake is def one of the top dudes up there even if ym fuks up his career hes good enough to put it back together he has the potential to be better than wayne when hes featured on like fuck da bullshit that nigga kills it “young angel if ya hate me tell me burn in heaven” this nigga is young and raw not a risk taker but like all young pple hell make mistakes and hopefully learn from em all im sayin but im anticipatin his thank me later album pretty much got all his other songs hasnt disappointed yet