Why do you like Drake? Why does anyone like Drake? Well, in short, because he makes music that is catchy and also feels relatable to a large amount of people. But why exactly is this? How exactly is a guy who grew up as a child actor, made millions as a rapper, and rides around with some of the most sought after women on the planet so relatable? Who can relate to that? The answer is simple, really; Drake has crafted the average man's fantasy into a reality.
It didn't really start to hit until Drake released his 2013 single "Started From The Bottom". At first, everyone was baffled. How exactly did Drake ''start from the bottom''? He was on TV from a young age and grew up better off than most, especially his peers in the rap industry. But Drake saying those words appealed to something in everyone who didn't grow up in the worst of conditions. That something was a desire to have their struggles recognized too, just because they didn't grow up on the corner selling drugs doesn't mean they hadn't had their own hardships in life. Further more, the writing of the song was ambiguous enough to appeal to both sides of that spectrum, the people who had their own personal struggles and the people who really did come from "the bottom" in the more widely accepted sense.
Now of course everyone wants to relate to a rags to riches story, but the typical narrative in rap was so harsh. So filled with sometimes excruciating detail that some just could not put themselves in the shoes of the story teller. But now there was Drake, making it sound relatable. This guy came from his own unique struggle and made it to the money. From there we get the narrative of this sometimes rather comedic Toronto native being painted in his music as the guy in the center of the room counting money, sometimes surrounded by his friends with guns because he's "got enemies". The further detail of this image shows Drake somewhat paranoid that those who wish harm on him will make good on their threats, because you don't get that rich without making enemies. But wait, isn't this the same guy that does goofy attempts at dancing throughout his music videos and makes funny faces in front of women's butt's on screen? The same guy who made a T-Mobile commercial spoofing his own song about getting calls on his cellphone? The same guy who even turned his album cover featuring himself sitting on top of a building into a meme generator that allows you to put him in any picture you choose? How is this guy able to get away with declaring "I mean besides Ricky Ross, Aubrey the biggest boss here"?
I'll tell you why, because Drake appeals not only to the fantasy of being the guy in the action movie on the "safe-house nights out in Calabasas" waiting for his enemies to come for him, but also to the desire to have all of that money and power and still be a regular human who likes to make jokes and speak in funny accents. The duality of Drake's image is what makes him so magnetic and also seemingly untouchable. You can't beat Drake because Drake will capitalize on his own weaknesses before you and poke fun at them himself. He is somehow simultaneously the guy who can brazenly rap "I hear fairytales bout how they gon' run up on me, well run up when you see me then and we gon' see" but then appear on Saturday Night Live to spoof his own feud with rapper Meek Mill. Drake essentially puts himself in check every so often in the eyes of the masses by appearing to not take himself so seriously. On songs he may sometimes paint the image of a man looking over his shoulders for hidden enemies far more dastardly than Meek Mill, saying that "the higher ups have all come together as a collective with conspiracies to end my run and send me a message", but then he'll put on a wig on late night television and impersonate his celebrity crush Rihanna singing her hit single "Work".
