Ebro Calls out Drake for Being a Culture Vulture

Even a broken clock is right twice a day…

Ebro recently called Drake a culture vulture, and I'm sure many disagree. Before we get into the content, I'd like to begin by saying I'm actually not the biggest Drake fan, but I do love some of his music. Nevertheless, something about him being a raving misogynist while masquerading as a Lover Boy has always rubbed me the wrong way.

At the same time, I do feel like the real Aubrey Graham may actually be a feminist. His persona doesn't lend itself to this notion, but again, as an empath and someone who never judges a book by its beige cover (no beige shade ever!), I get the sense that Aubrey, at his core, has a deep, profound respect for women and realizes how unfairly women and girls are treated all over the world. Granted, his only remedy seems to be to smash as many women as possible. Nevertheless, I'll still give him partial credit for his quarter-hearted attempts.

Drake just gives "former lover boy, who was teased into oblivion for being too nice to women and eventually assimilated into the mainstream macho male culture." But just because I recognize his hurt inner child, by no means excuses him from his misogynistic grown-man antics of today. No matter what I see beneath the surface, I treat people as they present themselves in the here and now.

So, when it comes to Drake, if it looks like a jerk and barks like a jerk…

But I digress…

A few notes on "Old Man Ebro"

Old Man Ebro isn't much better — no, I am not age-shaming; that's his nickname because he has been spewing his beige rage all over the internet for eons.

I won't get too far into his history because this isn't about him. But suffice it to say, Ebro Darden is known for his controversial takes that are often triggering but sometimes help create necessary conversations; this is one of those times.

However, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that he displays many of the same misogynistic, colorist (borderline racist) antics as most other men in the entertainment realm. So, although I'm about to agree with him this time, I want to clarify that the times I actually agree with Ebro are few and far between.

Sidebar: of his most recent ridiculous rants, calling Kanye West a moronic scammer truly takes the cake! No matter how much you disagree with his recent antics, the man is a genius and worked damn hard to get where he is! But, again, I digress…

Definition Time!

According to Wiktionary, a culture vulture is described as:

1. (informal, humorous) A person with an inauthentic and rapacious, possibly forced, interest in the arts. [from early 20th century] quotations
2. (informal, derogatory) A creative maker who copies rather than creates original work.
3. (derogatory, slang, social justice) Someone who engages in cultural appropriation. [from ca. 1990]

Also, according to the Urban Dictionary, this term is defined as:

1. Someone who steals traits, language, and/or fashion from another ethnic or social group in order to create their own identity.
2. A person or an organization making profit using unhonorable practices from a culture they do not care for.

Is Drake a culture vulture?

Now back to the matter at hand, Ebro has once again introduced a controversial topic. This time, he spoke about Drake being a culture vulture. Specifically, he pointed out that the rapper has benefited from Black for over a decade but has yet to speak on the real issues plaguing the Black community.

Read more about that here:

So, is Drake a culture vulture? Well, you tell me. This man is essentially cosplaying as a Black American. Not only that, but he was also accused of stealing his flow, lyrics, and style from everyone from Soulja Boy, 4-Tay, and Slim Thug, to the late XXXTentacion, and many others — All of which are Black American rappers.

And let's not forget that whole Pusha T ghostwriter beef. Yes, I do realize that everyone in the industry may borrow a lyric here and/or there, but when it comes to Drake, it kind of seems like the rule rather than the exception.

Also, Push T made it public that he had a secret child on the way. No biggie in that industry, but he just so happened to have a child with a White woman who was almost the exact opposite of all the other women he was romantically connected to in public. So, it would seem that he was also keeping company with certain types of women to uphold his persona.

Like, do y'all remember those bars he used to try and excuse the fact that he attempted to keep his child's existence a secret from the general public?

Look at the way we live I wasn’t hidin’ my kid from the world I was hidin’ the world from my kid From empty souls who just wake up and look to debate Until you starin’ at your seed, you can never relate ~Emotionless

Now, maybe it's just me, but it sounds like he didn't want to expose his child to hip-hop culture. More importantly, it sounds like he's trying to cover up the fact that he did intend to keep his child secret indefinitely. Honestly, I don't think he was ashamed of his child; I just think he's cognizant enough to realize that the character he's portraying for the public is not who he truly is, and he was attempting to keep his private life totally separate from the life he's presenting to his fans.

Nevertheless, after backlash from the general public, Ebro hit the moonwalk on his original statement. He's now basically saying that although Drake has been very vocal about Black issues, he doesn't need to be — he asserts that if Drake suddenly became an activist, it would be disingenuous. And wouldn't you know it? I agree with him here as well!

Let me explain…

Listen, despite being multiracial and living in Canada, Drake's entire persona was taken right off the city streets of the hoods of America. But he tries so hard to fit in with "the bros" that I'm exhausted just watching him.

I mean, have you seen all the photos and memes of him being a total Stan for the NBA? Chiiiilllleee, as rich and cute as Drake is, I know his women are embarrassed every time they circulate.

And let's not forget that most cringe-worthy pull-up on Dipset while wearing Cam's old pink mink — Oh. My. God!! This display reminds me of many of the antics of his fellow culture vulture, Kim K — especially when she wore Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress and ruined it because why?! Por que?!

Drake is already not being himself, so if he were to do another pivot and get all "Fight the Power" on us, that would totally end his career. I don't care to see Drake speaking up about mass incarceration, institutional racism, or anything else that is certainly not actively affecting his life. And I certainly don't expect him to start making Kendrick Lamar-esque bops about the dismal state of Black America.

However, maybe he should take the Jay-Z and Bey route by silently giving back to those causes or create another unique way to show his support for the Black community without fumbling the bag. Look, that part is above my pay grade, but we won't pretend that Drake didn't greatly benefit from the culture while only paying back peen and dysfunction.

This man is literally wearing hip-hop artifacts around like he's the star of Dipset on Broadway, posted up with one of the most legendary hip-hop groups ever — all of which have done jail time and come from the actual streets he patterns his fictitious persona after. And all for what? Is it authentic appreciation or simply because his career thrives off being associated with Black American rappers?

Sometimes no solution is the solution

Although I agree with Old Man Ebro, I don't think there's any solution to this particular issue. Drake is certainly not the first culture vulture we've seen in the music industry, nor will he be the last. So, I'm not going to call for a boycott or to "hold him accountable" for something he's been getting away with for well over a decade.

This one falls back on us: the Black community. We can't reverse anything that has already happened. Still, I think we could stand to re-evaluate some of the personalities and celebrities we uplift — especially when it comes to those who don't qualify as Black Americans. Other communities work overtime to prevent Black artists from dominating their spaces. Just look at what happened with Lil' Nas X and the country music community, for example.

Drake is but a symptom of the cultural free-for-all we have allowed to occur for many decades. So, if we ever hope to prevent things like this from happening in the future, we need to get to the root of the issue: the lack of a collective code when it comes to who and what is allowed to represent us and borrow elements of our culture while doing so.

Do you think Drake is a culture vulture?

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