Earl Sweatshirt Says Drake Exploits Young Rappers

Earl Sweatshirt Says Drake Exploits Young Rappers

There’s been a lot written about the so-called Drake effect, in which the Canadian superstar boosts the careers of young rappers by jumping on remixes of their songs or otherwise endorsing them. But there’s also something to be said for the idea that Drake is benefitting from their work by subsuming it into what he’s already doing. They get a bit more of a name from the association, but he gets to ride their buzz, and sometimes more. His current hit “Hotline Bling,” for instance, is its own song, but it sounds more than a bit like Virginia sing-rapper D.R.A.M.’s “Cha Cha,” and D.R.A.M. has noticed.

More recently, Drake posted an Instagram of himself dancing to the teenage Florida rapper Kodak Black’s new song “Skrt.” And yesterday morning, as Pitchfork points out, Earl Sweatshirt jumped on Twitter to talk a bit about “wave riding” and to call Drake “a bit of a vulture.” Here’s what he said:

Maybe it shouldn’t be a story when Earl has an opinion, but since he’s one of the few people in rap who isn’t afraid to have one, it is anyway.

more from News