But some critics are upset with the unoriginality of Drake's new song for two main reasons.
1.The song itself has a beat that closely resembles D.R.A.M.'s "Cha Cha".
Rapper D.R.A.M told the press he feels like Drake ripped him off. Drake defended the obvious copy cat beat by saying his song was originally released as "Hotline Bling (Cha Cha Remix)" and Apple Music dropped the remix part once the song was climbing the charts. Drake told other sources he was inspired by D.R.A.M's song and wanted to rap on his beat. D.R.A.M.'s label hasn't publicly said whether they will sue Drake or not.
2. The music video is set looks like the work of artist James Turell.
The top image is a screenshot from the music video, the bottom is a James Turell light installation in Germany in 2009. There are plenty of these comparison shots, with matching style and aesthetic in both.
A representative for Turell said that although he is flattered "that Drake f**ks with me", he was not involved in the making of the video.
How did Drake get away with this?
Slate magazine said it best.
"We live in a remix culture now, so it seems only appropriate that Drake would sashay through someone else’s art for his own video."So will Drake get sued over Hotline Bling? Are his blatant copies of other artists within the bounds of inspiration, or is he ripping off other artists?
Drake took something, transformed it, and created a remix of his own influences. There is no way to be truly original in our world. But innovation is key for culture to keep evolving.
So Drake is a copy cat, but maybe that's why he is so successful. If he can take a minor rap hit from D.R.A.M. and installation art from Europe that was not on mainstream America's radar, and create a viral video overnight, he is a master remixer. And when looking at him strictly as an artist, being transformative should overrule whatever art he samples to create something new
I do not think that Drake should get in trouble by any means. I agree that in our world today nothing is original. No matter how new of an idea you think you come up with, someone else has probably already thought of it or used it. I do not think that people should be getting mad at or even making a deal about remixing. Remixing is something that takes creativity and personality and I think that is exactly what Drake used when creating his Hotline Bling video. If anything people should be amazed and grateful for the amazing creativity to create a remixed piece that is not his own.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, with my new awareness towards remixes, I personally question any new kind of music I listen to. Although remixes can be inovative and creative, it is taking away from the "originally" that many artist claim to have. The fact that Drake basically uses the same rythems of another artist song doesn't surprise me much. For the most part Drake's music is a joke. The guy can't rap and sure as hell can't sing. His music in the start of his career was some what catchy and was easy for mainstream radio stations to play. If it weren't for the prior success of Birdman and lil' wayne, he would not even be half of the superstar that he is today. Much like with the prior music that he "steals" and remixes to develop and release new hits frequently.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, with my new awareness towards remixes, I personally question any new kind of music I listen to. Although remixes can be inovative and creative, it is taking away from the "originally" that many artist claim to have. The fact that Drake basically uses the same rythems of another artist song doesn't surprise me much. For the most part Drake's music is a joke. The guy can't rap and sure as hell can't sing. His music in the start of his career was some what catchy and was easy for mainstream radio stations to play. If it weren't for the prior success of Birdman and lil' wayne, he would not even be half of the superstar that he is today. Much like with the prior music that he "steals" and remixes to develop and release new hits frequently.
ReplyDelete