Yasiin Bey calls Drake’s music ‘pop.’
Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, made an appearance on The Cutting Room Floor podcast, where he asked about his view on the current state of hip-hop. During the conversation, host Recho Omondi asked him about his opinion on Drake’s music.
“Is Drake hip-hop?” she asks. “Drake is pop to me,” he responds. “In the sense like, if I was in Target in Houston and I heard a Drake song, it feels like a lot of his music is compatible with shopping. Or shopping with an edge, in certain instances.”
He then explained how Drake’s music is good for buying things at a mall, and then stated that the Toronto rap star’s music is “likable.” He then asks “what happens when this thing collapses? What happens when the columns start buckling? Are we not in some early stage of that at this present hour? Are we seeing the collapse of an empire?”
Yasiin Bey(Mos Def) says Drake’s music is pop and is compatible with shopping at Target.
(🎥 The Cutting Room Floor) pic.twitter.com/RBQtk77bg7
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) January 13, 2024
Check out some reactions below.
People like to label Drake as Pop due to the amount of success he’s been able to achieve. It’s lazy.
Majority of his discography is rooted in Hip-Hop.
— Ronald Isley (@yoyotrav) January 13, 2024
Missy Elliott Hip Hop but Drake isn’t Hip Hop? Make it make sense. They are BOTH Hip Hop. Hip Hop isn’t just ppl rapping like Black Thought or some sh*t. Y’all continue with bad Hip Hop takes because you don’t like an artist but forget their resume & facts. Facts don’t matter.✌🏽
— TONYDaDome (@EnterDaDome) January 13, 2024
Mos Def basic said Drake makes elevator music… I wanna see if Drake is wise enough to ignore this. Because I know he knows that he should… The end was so shady 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/PoXed3Pc5Z
— 6 Mile’s Own (@SeanTheTerrible) January 13, 2024
Mos Def was in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a very popular film. Made $100M at the box office. Definitely pop. IJS pic.twitter.com/1vGx02W6B2
— 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐞 (@exavierpope) January 13, 2024
Drake about to post on his ig about Mos Def 😭😭😭😭
Hopefully he check Mos Def history beforehand cause he’s a real lyricist pic.twitter.com/Q4d5PssGSY
— OPINIONATED_TRUTHS_PODCAST™️ (@O_Truths) January 13, 2024
Mos Def calling Drake a pop star doesn’t make him a hater, yet many are going to miss the point here. Hotline Bling is not hip hop. pic.twitter.com/4ks7fAXXsE
— 🤴🏾Plant Based Papi🥬🥦🥒☀️ (@PlntBasedPapi) January 13, 2024
