Drake is weird. This conclusion isn’t based on his recent NSFW video leak or the ability to pop up with a new persona for every album; it’s based on his skewed contempt for women, particularly Black women. This time, his latest display of disdain was offering misguided support for fellow Canadian artist Tory Lanez.
In August 2023, Lanez was found guilty of shooting rapper Megan Thee Stallion in the foot during an altercation the two had in the summer of 2020. The controversial trial was met with much scrutiny. The public questioned the credibility of all involved, including Megan as the case’s victim. However, the rapper’s fate was sealed with the 10-year bid.
While whispers of support for Lanez still circulate on social media, Drake is taking it upon himself to be the loudest of the bunch. In the early hours of Feb. 26, the rapper posted an Instagram story with an image of Lanez captioned “3 You.” As expected, Drake received backlash for his call to “free” Lanez.
One X user posted, “Men that bond over dislike of someone else always been weird to me. Especially when it’s dislike of a woman. Drake and Tory used to diss each other on songs. Now it’s ‘free my dawg.'”
Another user said, “I swear I don’t be lying to yall. Drake is a very specific and very blatant misogynist and his ‘Free Tory Lanez’ post is only further proof of where he is and may have always been.”
And one user plainly stated, “Drake is really a loser.”
The recent admiration for the “Say It” artist is just another underhanded jab the rapper has taken at Megan. His lyrics on 2022’s “Circo Loco,” possibly addressing the Houston rapper, were drenched with victim blaming and misogynistic rhetoric.
“This b**ch lie ’bout getting shots, but she still a stallion/ She don’t even get the joke, but she still smiling,” he raps.
He took it a step further by liking a social media statement that Lanez released following the 2023 verdict.
Not to be silenced, Megan responded with her fiery lyrics on her latest single, “Hiss.”
She rapped, “These n***as hate on BBLs and be walkin’ ’round with the same scars/ Real curvy, no etchin’, n***as fight to get in my section/ Don’t speak on my body count if the d**k ain’t worth comin’ back for seconds/ Cosplay gangsters, fake-ass accents.”
While Megan can hold her own lyrically, the consistent disregard for her mental and emotional well-being leads to a more extensive conversation.
Drake has a long history of attacking women who operate in their autonomy, with lyrics ranging from emotional manipulation to objectification.
The 37-year-old artist often focuses on a woman’s worth being tied to her sexuality, including her comfort level in expressing it. His strange obsession with reducing a woman’s value based on these qualities made Megan a perfect target.
One could question that his constant fetishization of women and seeing them as something only for male consumption is enforced by the music industry’s toxic hyper-masculinity.
Following a seven-year stint as an actor on the teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation, Drake emerged on the music scene in 2006. His sing-songy lyrics about love and missing his ex gave him a “nice guy” persona that resonated with female fans.
His 2011 album, Take Care, featured several emotion-fueled tracks, including the lead single “Marvin’s Room,” featuring the artist leaving an alcohol-influenced voicemail to a former lover.
While his softer approach to hip-hop seemed a breath of fresh air to the industry, it left Drizzy open for an ambush from male artists. During his 2013 cypher freestyle for the BET Awards, Kendrick Lamar took a shot at Drake.
“Yeah, and nothing’s been the same since they dropped ‘Control’ / And they tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes,” he rapped.
Seven albums later, Drake actively participates in the same bravado that once ostracized him. With such a large platform, Drake should be speaking on the protection and uplifting of women rather than the opposite.
While the widespread misogyny in the music industry is no excuse for Drake’s passive-aggressive taunts toward Megan, it proves that his weirdness conceivably spawns from a place of weakness.
