![]() ![]() This bias manifests in the casting of light-skinned Black people deemed more desirable or complex, while darker-skinned Black individuals are frequently relegated to roles that reinforce negative stereotypes or are less central to the narrative. Black men, played by white actors in Blackface, were portrayed as unintelligent and sexually aggressive animals - reinforcing damaging racial stereotypes and contributing to the racist imagery that has persisted in Hollywood to this day.īuilding on the legacy of early cinema, the entertainment industry has long perpetuated a colorism bias, often favoring lighter-skinned Black individuals over their darker-skinned counterparts. ![]() Historically, the understood popular portrayal of Black men in Hollywood began in 1915 with D.W Griffith's notoriously racist film The Birth of A Nation. Thus, the irony of the release and aftermath of an album marketed "for the boys" by someone the "boys" think is kind of a joke raises some larger questions: Is Drake truly the master of his own memes, or is this just an example of how popular culture has been emasculating light-skinned Black men for decades now? 'Light-skin men be like'įor decades, there has been a certain pop culture perception of Black men based on the color of their skin. "Fast forward to today, and I suspect there's a part of his team's marketing focus to create art that is meme-friendly." "Drake and his OVO camp have been meme maestros throughout his career, beginning from the days when he was the first rapper to get caught performing 'freestyle' raps on Hot 97 with Funkmaster Flex from his Blackberry device," said Dalton Higgins, a Toronto-based professor and author of Far From Over: The Music & Life of Drake. And part of Drake's appeal seems to be that he's in on the joke. He's always been like that from the start (it's no surprise he was a child actor), and it's made him an easy target for social media for decades. In popular culture, rappers are supposed to be hard and tough, like your DMXs, Pusha T's, and Biggie Smalls - they're perceived as gang-affiliated dope boys. Drake's 'cornball charm'Īs a biracial, Jewish man from Toronto, Drake is a far cry from the stereotype of what rappers are supposed to be. It's kind of cringe, but it's kind of the point. Drake's entire internet persona is built around his perceived corniness - he's emotional, he speaks about his feelings, and he morphs into a new ethnic identity every time he drops a new album. The jokes highlight the "overly excited" and "zesty" delivery of Drake's line, "Money for fun." For context, after the release of For All The Dogs, TikToks emerged making fun of Drake's delivery on the song "IDGAF" featuring rapper Yeat. Yet what came out of an album meant for "all the dogs" was a series of memes in which Drake was treated as the guy with the least amount of bark in him. When Drake released For All The Dogs in October, it was clear that the multi-time Grammy winner was choosing " homies over hoes." The album - a critical dud - was viewed by critics and fans alike as Drake's mediocre attempt at courting the Andrew Tate alpha male crowd.
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