The hip-hop pioneer who labelled Drake a “genius”
Grandmaster Flash emerged from the South Bronx in the mid-1970s. DJing funk and soul at block parties around the Bronx, Grandmaster Flash realised that the drum break was the most popular part of the track and found a way to extend the drum break with ingenuity. Alongside DJ Cool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash is considered one of the creators of hip-hop music.
However, despite being a hip-hop purist, in a conversation with Billboard magazine, the Bronx legend considers Drake a genius and believes he has changed rap music for the better. In 2023, as hip-hop celebrated its 50th anniversary, Grandmaster Flash performed at the Grammys alongside the likes of LL Cool J, Questlove and new-generation artists such as GloRilla and Lil Uzi Vert. However, before his performance, while on the carpet, he highlighted his admiration for other contemporary MCs.
Drake is known for his singing style of rapping and his seamless combination of hip-hop and R’n’B. However, he is also known for his versatility and bold beat choices. Grandmaster Flash expressed his affinity for the latter while speaking to Billboard.
Opening up about his opinion of Drake, Grandmaster Flash unveiled, “He is probably the only rapper, and I want to speak on his talent because he’s a great rapper, but he’s the only one, in my opinion, that’s daring enough to rap on a trap beat, to rap on a disco beat, to rap on ballad beat.”
He continued, “I would call it like a Prince formula. When Prince makes records, it does not sound like his last record. Drake is daring enough to rap on all different types of beats. I think he’s a consummate genius.”
Drake may be brave in his decisions to fuse rap music with other genres. Still, in recent years, he has started pushing the envelope in unwelcome and ridiculous ways. From tracks such as ‘Wah Gwan Delilah’ featuring Snowd4y to his 2022 album, Honestly Nevermind, many of his fusions have been met with disappointment.
Many golden-age rappers, including the likes of KRS-One and Ice-T, have been critical of new-school artists like Drake, and many believe the culture has regressed. Some hip-hop purists wouldn’t even classify much of Drake’s music as rap music but would instead say it’s a modern twist on R&B.
Fortunately, for hip-hop, one of the genre’s pioneers doesn’t share these opinions. Fortunately, for hip-hop, one of the genre’s pioneers doesn’t share these opinions. Grandmaster Flash is not unique in loving Drake. Former frontman of the Wu-Tang Clan, RZA, has spoken publicly about his love for Drizzy’s 2016 project Views and believes that some of the music he has released over the years is magic.
That said, the late DMX wasn’t a fan of Drake, and, in 2012, during a now-infamous Breakfast Club interview, he expressed how he wasn’t impressed with Drake, Rick Ross and even Lil Wayne.