Drake Doesn't Like Those Tumblr Girls

posted in: Music News • Pop • Urban

Aubrey Graham is never one to bottle up his emotions. Late night tales of romance, scorn, jealousy and intoxication are the basis for some of the man’s best work! There are no sacred cows to Drake; the rapper has even publicly aired grievances with his record label in the past. And while Drake is not known for beefing with other rappers, there is one big target that he’s facing head on.

The Internet. Specifically, Tumblr.

In an interview with The Source, Drake has some interesting thoughts regarding the web. Drake made it clear that he thinks little of social media and the impact it has had on shaping the current generation, taking time to single out Twitter and Tumblr in particular. In fact, Drake has some special words for the popular blogging platform.

“The thing that scares me the most is tumblr. I hate what tumblr has become. Because it like, it reminds me of those clique-y girls in high school that used to make fun of everyone else and define what was cool, but in five years, when you graduate, that shit doesn’t matter,” says Drake. “They don’t actually embody any of those things. They just emulate.”

As for album leaks? Drake couldn’t care less. Last week, Drake let his fans know”through Twitter, of course”that the leak of Take Care, his highly-anticipated new album, was no big deal. “Listen to it, enjoy it, buy it if you like,” Drake tweeted, “and take care until next time.”

So, angry about what big jerks the popular kids are? Sick of phonies? Very Holden Caulfield of you, Drake. Very Degrassi.

Not that the man doesn’t have a point though. Drake’s comments may be easy to spin into a headline but social media certainly hasn’t been terribly kind to music stars. Sure, any and all forms of social media make up the backbone of any good marketing strategy for any artist, big or small, these days. That said, how many people have gotten themselves in needless trouble over a blog post?

As the ecosystem of the Internet grows and evolves, so have artist’s relationship with it. From ill advised tweets, to pay what you want release schemes, to the album leak and the absurd lengths some artists will go through to prevent them, the marriage of music culture and web culture has grown immeasurably over the past few years. While Drake called out Twitter as well for the odd effect of knowing what everyone is doing all the time can have on a person, he still tweets. Now, he’s no Ashton Kutcher, but Drizzy’s nearly 4 million followers are nothing to sniff at. (Speaking of Kutcher, the Two and a Half Men star recently relinquished control of his Twitter account after a tweet regarding the firing of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno led to a well-publicized backlash.)

Perhaps Drake would be best suited to becoming a web innovator through a silent revolution”removing himself as a presence from social media and standing above the immature worlds of Twitter and Tumblr. Hey, John Mayer quit Twitter and it did wonders for his outlook and music. Do whatever you want Drake, just don’t phase out those late night phone calls. Then we’ll have a problem.