I’m pretty sure Drake isn’t using THIS Ghostwriter.
Canadian rapper Drake told Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg that he has used a ghostwriter in past songs. In an interview with SNL comedian Pete Davidson, Pete Rosenberg said,
“There’s one. I told him this too. And he didn’t write it. It was from the first album run. It had that flow. Three rappers were on it.”
You can see the full 47-minute plus video below. The discussion starts after the 32-minute mark, with the actual statement around the 37-minute mark.
In the interview, Rosenberg and Davidson go on to state that being a rapper is the greatest role of his lifetime through veiled insults. Although, they do credit his rapping “acting abilities.” Rosenberg and Davidson were discussing the history of rap. Davidson said that he hasn’t heard a bad Drake verse. Robertson interrupted him and said,
“I forgot what the [expletive] it was…He actually told me he didn’t write that verse, which, by the way, first time I’m saying that publicly. I’m not trying to roast him. I didn’t think anything of it. That’s the funny thing about people getting so upset about things not being written.”
Comedian Davidson went on to say,
“That [expletive], that [expletive] does bother me, not writing because…it changes things a little. I mean, that doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s dope, but I guess because I’m a comic…like really big comedians do it, too. Yeah, I know, and it’s just like, it, it, to me it tarnishes it a little bit. Like take time…just take some time and write…be very true.”
This isn’t the first time that Rosenberg accuses the rapper of using a ghostwriter. Earlier this year, Rosenberg wrote in his Twitter,
“[Meek Mill]’s always been realer than you..your content is MEANINGLESS.
…@Drake wouldn’t have been the toughest kid in my hebrew school … stop … make hits for the club…dont try to be hard please…EVER”
Drake spoke about the ghostwriting accusations last year in an interview with The Fader. He said that music can be a “collaborative practice.”
“I need, sometimes, individuals to spark an idea so that I can take off running. Music at times can be a collaborative process, you know? Who came up with this, who came up with that – for me, it’s like, I know that it takes me to execute every single thing that I’ve done up until this point. And I’m not ashamed.”
Its funny how the corporate media praises the musicians who steal and surpress real creative musicians… Nothing has change since the begining its sad for people with real talent unlike drake the fake….
Ghost writing/composing is nothing new and it was well known that when EDM was the number one sound a year or two ago that there was a lot of it going on with the making of hit singles.
Sometimes the ghost writer is credited and other times they’re not.. it’s up to the
arrangement they have in place.
What Drake said about collaboration and the value of collaborating I think is very true and you see many instances of writing teams behind many of today’s hits.
Max Martin attributes his longevity as a hit maker to collaborating with other
musicians, also it helps to stop a writer/producer from getting stuck in their old ways.
The rapper community probably has this thing where they like for all the lyrics to
come from the hand of the artist (which I can understand) and that’s why having a ghost lyric writer may be a little more concealed than the more pop market.
such a dumb position. music is one of the most collaborative of arts. if the final song is good, who cares? re: authenticity, what does that even mean? It’s all an act. Do we really think a rapper has killed lots of people/has 3 lambos/1000 gfs just because he raps about it? and how deep should it go — should they play every instrument too?
i don’t know who rosenberg is, but superstar comedians use ghostwriters all the time, jay leno etc. and as for being authentic, i’d be willing to bet that rosenberg’s persona is all fake. Rosenberg grew up wealthy, and Jewish, going to hebrew school, yet he has a hip hop show. Let me guess tho: in his radio show, he slangs it up. How authentic is that? Who cares?
Most of the people complaining about ghost writing in hip hop come from a purist point of view. Hip hop started with those bragging about who was the best when it came to lyrics hence the fact of the early battles in the park upon hip hop’s inception. You couldn’t claim to be the best if you didn’t write your own lyrics. It may seem foreign to those of you on the outside looking in because you don’t see Pop or Rock artists go at each other claiming to be the best. The Sugarhill Gang, “Rappers Delight”… though they sold a gang of records.. they weren’t really respected on the streets because everyone knew they didn’t write their own raps. Witness the battles between Krs-1 and MC Shan or LL Cool J and MC Shan, Kool Moe D and Busy Bee, Spoonie G and Spoony D, etc. Hip hop was never like other GENRES of music. Part of your credibility was due to the fact that you wrote your own lyrics. Those on the outside looking in probably would never get it.
Not so with this new generation. Hip hop has basically become pop with ghost writings strewn all over the place. While to some of you, only the song matters.. there are plenty of us where that’s just not the case, especially for an artists like Drake who prides himself on being not just a great artists but a great lyricist as well.
Him and rapper Meek Mill have been battling recently and the records that he spawned during this battle where very witty and had more than a few “oh shit” moments. But now.. knowing that he’s been utilizing ghost writers… the authenticity has been lost. You don’t know if that line that you loved so much was written by Drake or one of his ghost writers. The feeling is not the same.
So YES it does matter to those of us who still subscribe to a true hip hop mentality… to the rest of you… probably not so much!