Drake understands that no artist is above criticism. So it’s not that Drizzy doesn’t hear his detractors, he just chooses to ignore them. At least that’s what he told MTV News’ Sway Calloway during a May 17 Club Paradise tour stop in Houston, Texas. “There will be days when I walk in an arena and people will cheer and then there might be days when I walk in an arena and people might boo, but it all sounds the same to me because it’s all just noise that lets me know that I’m relevant,” Drake said, sharing some words of wisdom that was given to him by boxing champ Floyd Mayweather.
“I don’t get booed,” Drizzy continued. “I don’t face that. I mean he faces that challenge but my challenge is more with social media and open opinions and people just feeling like they need to talk.”
Drake’s music, and just about his every move, is dissected through the media as well as on Twitter and blogs. The fact that he sings as well as raps has made him a target for those looking to take away his hip-hop cred. Still, the “Headlines” MC remains one of rap’s most successful draws today.
Common called him out the OVO general on “Sweet,” a single from his 2011 album The Dreamer/The Believer. Many also believe that G.O.O.D Music’s Pusha T has also been throwing subliminal jabs at Drake, first on last year’s “Don’t F–k With Me” freestyle, then on his “Sweet” freestyle. Pusha has gone on record saying that he wasn’t dissing Drake and he actually likes the Toronto MC’s music, but after Push dropped his new single “Exodus 23:1,” speculation began to swirl that he was again taking aim and Drake and his mentor Lil Wayne. Weezy responded with a poignant tweet: “F— pusha t and anybody that love em.”
It is important to note that when he sat with Sway, Drake did not address Pusha T or any other rappers directly, but he did speak about his detractors in a very general sense. “It’s important for me to let my fans know I really don’t care. I’m confident,” he said sternly. “I love the music I make and the videos I make and the people I associate with and every decision I’ve ever made.”
For Drake, taking the stage on each stop of his Club Paradise Tour is all the assurance that he needs. “Just to let [fans] know that I don’t care about anything else outside of this right here,” he said from backstage at Houston’s Toyota Center, referencing the army of fans waiting for him to perform. “That other stuff, hiding behind computers and yip-yapping all day on radio stations, it’s like that’s cool, man, for points and popularity, but at the end of the day, there is still 15,000 people here.” –MTVnews
