It hasn't been published yet, because it will be paired with the NWTS album review...however, I will put it here for you all to read. Hope you enjoy.


Fans, Stans, and The Absence of Relativity


I've heard some of the dumbest, most outrageous, pressed ass statements being made on the grounds of "I like so and so, and so should you." With that said, every fan does not come across this way...the difference between a fan, and a stan.

What a fan does is listen to the music, and enjoys the music for the music. A fan may engage in a debate or two about his fandom and/or his favorite artist, but at the end of the day they can understand how or why a person could dislike the music of said artist...and that reason has nothing to do with a character flaw of the listener. A fan is willing to admit what is acknowledged as a blemish of an artist they like, even if they do not agree. A fan can have a rational conversation about the positives and negatives of an artist without their being deflections and imposition onto others.

A stan, on the other hand, listens to only the least rational perceptions and thought processes from people who do not listen to the artist in question, and apply them to all people who do not listen to that artist. So, every time they are met with opposition dealing with that artist, their responses are assumptive, brash, and in accordance to what they think you might say based on what their generalization says you might say. Your opinion is discredited...but it doesn't stop there. A stan may begin to pigeonhole your standards and personality in route to attempting to convince you and themselves that you are simply incapable of liking that artist. Figuratively speaking, you are a mouse and said artist is a cat. You were built to not like them and so you don't. You can't help it. You're a hater.

Yep...then comes the rich man's trump card. You just don't like shit because you are a hater...the grinch that stole beats by dre. Since your thought process of why you aren't a fan has already been rendered unacceptable and baseless, the next logical step is to call you a hater. They could not possibly understand for the life of them, how it is possible that you do not like to listen to said artist. The only possible outcome is you're hating. The crazy thing about the term hater is that it is indeed a label that has credence and does describe some people's brand of fandom, but it has been so misused and overused by stans as a defense mechanism, that the label barely holds any weight anymore. I've been called a hater by people who I listen to way more music than (in terms of quantity and diversity) simply because I don't like either what they like or what they think I should like. Of course, there is a rationalization for why that means nothing though.

I say all of that to say this:

Drake stans are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse than Drake's music. They make you want to hate him. They make you want to wish that he couldn't rap or wasn't talented- they throw these points around as if that is all there is to it. When you tell them that it's not about lacking talent of lyricism for why you aren't a Drake fan, but you can't fuck with his style...then you are a hater and all others types of shit. Though, if you were to ask many of them why they don't listen to Pharaohe Monch or Elzhi, their answer would be eerily similar.

When people ask me if I am a Drake fan, I say no. That is an accurate statement. If you are a Drake fan, I have no qualms with that whatsoever. You can like who the fuck you wanna like, grown up. I should be afforded that freedom as well, but i'm not. For some reason, as soon as I say that i'm not a Drake fan here is what stans hear: "Drake sucks at rapping; he never makes any good music; he's soft; he only makes music for women; my taste is limited; my perception in what hiphop artists are supposed to sound like is limited; he's platinum and overexposed so I hate him"

"This is what I have to say to them, and this is what I say..to you." -That nigga Mos

Acknowledgement: Drake is good at emceeing. Nigga can rap good. Talented dude. Never has there been a question in my mind whether or not he can emcee. Back when I first heard him on the 'Comeback Season' mixtape I said..yea, this nigga can go. I stand by that. He can be a decent writer at times as well...i'm not sure how much of Alicia Keys' 'Unthinkable (I'm Ready)' he wrote, but that is a fantastic song.

with that being said...

-he never makes any good music

If I don't like it, then that means that I don't think it is good...duh. That's not to say that he doesn't make anything good. If he makes a 10 track album, i'd estimate that I would like 3 songs..and I'll probably really like those 3. (What makes the other 7 bad to me? We will get to that in a sec). That does not mean that I do not understand that other people think that it is good and why they think its good. I am okay with that wholeheartedly. Forcing people to think the way you think is so 20 years old. If you can't respect that, you are probably a stan, a bitch ass nigga, or both.

-He's soft/He only makes music for women

I never bought into the concept of making music for a particular demographic as a negative thing standing alone. I think the tangling between the discussion of whether or not he is 'soft', who he makes music for, and what you would categorize him as makes for an interesting discussion. I don't think artists should be categorized at all. I also think the concept of Drake being 'soft' derives from people initially perceiving him as a rapper, which thickens the plot because then we are dealing with the question of what a rapper does. We all know what people generally perceive as a rapper in terms of image, sound, and content. We also know that Drake doesn't necessarily fit the construct. If I were to categorize Drake (I don't), I would consider him cross-genre. With that said, I do not deal with a concept of 'soft'...it wouldn't make any sense. I listen to all of types of 'soft' niggas (dealing with the term in this regard)..I don't believe in trying to direct what a person decides they want to address in their music, so this is not a gripe of mine.

Now, lets get to the money shot...why don't I like Drake's music?

When it comes to subject matter, there are two elements; content and context. As earlier stated, I have no problem with Drake's content. However, his context makes him almost unlistenable to me. What do I mean by context? Context is the perspective that is taken into addressing the content. It's the way he portrays his thoughts and believes about the content. It's the angle. It's the difference between 'Inside My Love' By Minnie Riperton being considered a love song, and 'Bump and Grind' By R. Kelly being considered a fuck song. Lets explore this concept as applied to the music of Drake...

I'll start with the most popular example: Marvin's Room.

The content: Song about the relationship between he and a woman and how he regrets the fact that it no longer exist.. that's okay.

The context: Cups of the Rosé, Bitches in my old phone, I should call one and go home, I’ve been in this club too long, The woman that I would try, Is happy with a good guy, But I’ve been drinking so much, That I’ma call her anyway and say “Fuck that nigga that you love so bad, I know you still think about the times we had” I say, “fuck that nigga that you think you found, And since you picked up I know he’s not around”

^^^^That is the most absurd, bitch ass nigga spin that you could possibly put on this content. Like, that really bothers me, and I don't want to listen to nobody talking about doing no fuck shit such as. If you've done this before, you are a sucka and the new nigga should have lit your ass up. I sure would have.

Just in case my point isn't clear, I will go again...

Drake - Shot For Me

The Content: His and his exes reflection on the past.

The Context: I can see it in your eyes: you’re angry
Regret got shit on what you’re feeling now
Mad cause he ain’t like me
Oh you mad cause nobody ever did it like me
All the care I would take,
All the love that we made
Now you’re trying to find somebody to replace what I gave to you
It’s a shame you didn’t keep it: Alicia, Katia
I know that you gon' hear this: I’m the man
Yeah I said it!
Bitch I’m the man
Don’t you forget it
The way you walk – that’s me
The way you talk – that’s me
The way you’ve got your hair up: did you forget that’s me?
And the voice in your speaker right now – that’s me (that's me)
And the voice in your ear – that’s me
Can’t you see that I made it? Yeah I made it
First I made you who you are, then I made it
And you’re wasted with your ladies
Yeah I’m the reason why you always getting faded

^^^LMAO!!!! You sound mad bitter my nigga. You sound bitch my nigga. What you see in her eyes may just be your reflection...because you certainly hurt.

I can do this shit forever...point is, this dude...lyrically...very often...the context of his songs are immature, misdirected, and generally bitch made. Nigga sounds lonely and fatherless. I don't care to listen to relationship bitterness and internal clock rhetoric from no nigga. This is a context that I don't like, and I don't care to listen to it, regardless of if the words are put together well. I do not condone the inability to move on in life to the point that you are willing to attempt to sabotage somebody else's happiness, nor do I condone the inability to move forward with life after acknowledging that your life is good and you don't need..but you want to stir your ex's drink of devastation for whatever reason...This sounds ridiculous to me.

And I be hearing niggas talking about being able to relate..Well, I hope you ain't talking about these songs, because you if can relate to this, I advise that you 1. Grow up, and 2. Stop being a bitch.

And again, this has nothing to do with not being in touch with emotions or feelings...I am happily married with like 32 children. I tell my wife she is beautiful, I kiss my sons and tell them they are great and I love them...my life is grand. My emotions are positively directed. I am a man. I moved out of Marvin's Room when I was 14.

Peace,

-Thelonious Funk

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Twitter: _TheloniousFunk
Instagram: thelonious_funk_