In recent years, Drake has faced criticism for his supposed “culture vulture” ways, like on his recent single “War,” which is presented in the style of drill. A lot of opinions about Drake’s relationship with UK music (and the sounds of other areas) have been shared, and now Stormzy has offered his.
Stormzy told Charlemagne Tha God in a new interview that Drake’s UK influences bring more attention to those styles of music, which is “undeniably a good thing,” saying, “I think it helps because Drake is undeniably a f*cking massive, gargantuan artist, do you know what I mean? And an incredible artist as well. So having a big incredible artist pay homage or pay recognition to a style or a genre is undeniably a good thing, a positive.”
He went on to reiterate that point, adding that some purists may never get on board with Drake’s ways: “The undeniability of it is of course, that brings exposure and that brings a light to a situation that no one… what Drake has done, in terms of having eyes locked in on our culture, is undeniable. That can’t happen without… that’s a massive light onto what we do. You get your purists who are never going to like that idea of a massive artist getting involved with a niche thing.”
Back in April, Drake addressed culture vulture accusations made against him, saying that he doesn’t understand them: “I hate that people think that me being into music from these kids that are trying to make it and build a name for themselves is like, ‘Oh, that’s some culture vulture.’ What does that even mean? I don’t understand. Would you rather me not acknowledge anything or not support? That’s some real confused hater sh*t.”
Watch the full Stormzy interview above.
