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| VIEWS from...stolen seats. Please forgive me, Drake. |
"DRAKE!" I shouted.
"IT'S FUCKIN' LIT!" shouted the 40-year old man behind me.
On Friday, I did something I never thought I would do. I saw Drake in concert at First Niagara Center in Buffalo, NY. I have to confess my original dislike of Drake from 2009 to 2015. I remember being a sophomore in high school and a girl I was friendly with in my English class told me she was skipping homecoming to go see Drake and I had to pretend to be excited for her. Why Drake? But time changes us. Screaming and getting excited over Drake are now among normal things for me. I got into Drake by accident. I watched the music video for "Hotline Bling" when it was first released and I haven't stopped watching it since. The worst song Drake has ever made got me into him. I thought "a man just paid thousands of dollars in a studio to sing about how he's not getting a booty call" and thus the Drake obsession was born. There was a solid two-month period where the only Snapchats I received were of people listening to "Hotline Bling" in their car (and I really miss those days).
My relationship with Drake is still complicated though. I still love to make fun of him. But I also don't think I've ever loved a man more than Drake. Drake has never disappointed me (besides when he teased so badly Rihanna was at the show on Friday and I almost went into cardiac arrest when I thought she was about to come out). Drake wouldn't treat me badly otherwise. Drake told the crowd at least thirty times how much he loves the city of Buffalo (it's pretty much Canada and you can see the skyline of Toronto from certain parts). He called the city a second home and said he used to pick his dad up from the Greyhound station there (awwww x2). Buff Drake, mean Drake and emotional Drake all made appearances on Friday night and the concert could not have gone better for both the crowd and Drake himself. The way he interacted with the crowd felt extremely genuine and grateful (he's truly the ideal man). Drake made it seem like he showed up for each of us personally and made it known how much he appreciated us there.
I had the time of my life at a Drake show on Friday night. I never thought those words would ever come out of me. I originally bought nosebleeds for me and my sister but when we didn't find those seats satisfactory during the two openers we snuck down (I'll do anything for Drake) to the first section of seats after the floor and enjoyed a view that was worth triple than what I originally paid. Drake came on at 9:05 and the show went into until 11:30, with Future playing as intermission for Drake. The two performed "Big Rings," "Jumpman," both off of their joint album "What a Time to Be Alive" and "Grammys" off of "Views." Drake's "Summer Sixteen" tour gave us a lot of Drake running around on stage and being all about Drake. It's exactly what we came for. It was a sold out show and Drake and Future could do no wrong.
To me, there's "mean Drake" and "emotional Drake." I obviously prefer mean Drake (I can relate better). Drake is too comfortable with his sadness and it feels like he's writing the same album, the same songs, over and over again (I called "Hotline Bling" and "Hold On, We're Going Home" basically the same song, not just the same idea), but somehow it works for him. He's Drake and we simply just love him.
"Views" is healthy mix of both mean Drake and emotional Drake. The songs find Drake recalling lovers' quarrels at Cheesecake Factory, thinking he's too good to his partner, and saying "dawg" a lot. I can both rap and sing along to his relationship woes, but also Drake's woes about being Drake. Drake is all about Drake in a world where even Beyonce is performing politically infused music. When will Drake catch on that there is more in this world? Whereas Drake's albums will be something we've heard before, it's something we want to listen to over and over again no matter what girl he's crying about. We will always like Drake. Rolling Stone called him the "world's most successful sad boy." Imagine making a living off of being sad about girls. Drake doesn't have to because he already did.
Drake: the artist I love to hate and hate to love. I used to hate Drake for a lot of reasons when he first broke into the rap scene. He wasn't "rapper" enough for me, he was too emotional and not "real" enough. He's both a rapper and a singer, something that would once undermine credibility and "realness," but is something a million girls out there love. I am now one of those girls. Thank you for Friday night, Drake.