So….

It was brought to my attention that the rapper Ludacris took a shot at Drake and Big Sean based off comments Drake made. People have asked my opinion on it so I have taken the time to write up just that MY opinion.

Drake basically said that he didn’t like the fact that artist were using the “Super Flow” because most are using it the wrong way.

Here is what Drake said courtesy of Hip Hop Wired:

“I don’t want to sound cocky, but the best way it’s been used was on ‘Forever,’”Drake said in his AHH interview.

“Those lines just all individually make so much sense. They’re all punchlines.”

“Then a bunch of rappers started doing it and using the most terrible references in the world. I don t want to offend somebody.”

“I hate that rappers picked that flow up. I wish they had left that for people that know how to use it. [They go like] ‘It’s a parade! Macy’s!’”

Here are Big Sean’s comments:

“Don’t get it wrong I’m not trying to dis Ludacris or nothing. He’s a great MC.”

“But even though that that style that got so overused, there was a lot of people who did it great and there was a lot of people who didn’t do it so great.”

“People always ask me was you mad that people took that style from you. I’m like, ‘Nah, that went and shows me how far I can go as an artist.’”

“I feel like I changed hip-hop. I haven’t even dropped an album yet. So that goes to show me how powerful my mind is.”

So Luda being who he is responded in a song called “Bada Boom” of his mixtape 1.21 Gigawatts:

“I’m the truth in this booth and you ni**** all h***/ Counterfeit rappers say I’m stealing their flows, but I can’t steal what you never made up b****/ Y’all some duplicate rap cloning ni***/I manufacture you h*** put on your makeup b****.”

I mean clearly we can dig into this deeper but I’m certainly not I’m going to get straight to the point. Situations like these are why Hip Hop cant grow!

True Hip Hop is a battle sport ans yes steel sharpens steel blah blah blah but in this case the artist feuding are ESTABLISHED acts who have just as much if not more to gain in collaborating than beefing.  The other day I was driving back from Cincinnati returning from a conference with my band when Cream’s-“Born under a bad sign” came on. I immediately knew that Blues Legend Albert King was the creator of the song and instantly said “They took that from him.” But soon after my friend and fellow illphonics member Spanky said something that I think is relevant to this case “Yeah they took it but Albert would’ve been honored and it helped bolster his career.” I knew exactly what he meant.

Now we can change a few variables but the point remains. “Imitation is the highest form of flattery.” Yea I know hip hop is all about “individualism’s” but in this case it really shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. Luda is pretty much now a legend and Drake if he stays consistent will likely do the same. If anything as Big Sean states Luda using the flow only validates the impact that Drake and Big Sean are currently having on Hip Hop. The young need to embrace the old and respect the path they have paved and the old need to allow new and fresh artist to come in and shake things up. Hip-Hops youth it seems doesn’t revere its legends like artist in other genres do and this a BIG reason why Hip-Hop is becoming stagnant. The game is big enough for everybody and there is no harm in experimenting with different styles and music. 

So who cares who created the “Super Flow.” Hip Hop clearly has a bigger issue under the surface that needs to be addressed.