Drake’s misogyny shines on new song “Circo Loco” | The Student

This story was first published in November 2022 for The Student at the University of Edinburgh.

Drake’s newest project, a collaboration with 21 Savage entitled Her Loss, was released on November 4 to lukewarm reviews.

The most provoking moment on the album has been Drake’s alleged dig at Megan Thee Stallion, where he alludes that Megan is lying about being shot in the foot by fellow artist Tory Lanez in June 2020. Drake has no involvement in the situation, yet still includes himself in it, rapping on the song ‘Circo Loco,’ “This bitch lie ‘bout gettin shots but she still a stallion/She don’t even get the joke but she still smilin’”

Drake and 21 Savage have come out in defense of the lyric, saying it was about Megan’s denial of having had plastic surgery, but fans have rejected this reasoning, pointing to the deliberate word choices of “lie,” “shots,” and “stallion” as evidence of the lyric’s true intention.

This is nowhere near Drake’s first controversy. Amid rumors and allegations of settlements paid for sexual assault, cheating, and feuds, Drake has also been accused of being too comfortable with teenage girls.

In 2019, it was revealed that Drake had been texting actress Millie Bobby Brown and musician Billie Eilish, who were 15 and 17 respectively at the time. Both called Drake a mentor and a friend, but many online saw something more insidious. Against the backdrop of much older men in the entertainment industry seemingly exclusively dating much younger women, these “friendships” looked like yet another in this concerning trend.

Drake’s dig at Megan comes just after the last shoe has dropped for Kanye West. Another rapper who is no stranger to controversy and problematic behaviour, West was recently dropped by Adidas for anti-semitic remarks.

West has, for a long time, shown himself to be someone who says and does troubling, and at times harmful, things. Long before he was dropped by Adidas, West has stalked his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, has teamed up with conservative pundit Candace Owens, supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential run, claimed that those enslaved by the institution of chattel slavery were so by choice, the list of problematic behaviors goes on and on.

But this is about more than just doing and saying problematic things. This is about, despite all their controversies and very real harm caused by their words and actions, performers like Drake and Kanye have continued to receive second, third, fourth chances from which they don’t learn and continue about their behaviour as if nothing is wrong. Whereas in the case of Megan Thee Stallion, for all of her success, she is still being reduced to the time she was shot by a fellow rapper, and even as a victim, her character and integrity are being called into question.

There’s a term for this, it’s called misogynoir. It’s where Black women find themselves at the intersection of misogyny and racism and even face sexism at the hands of those in their own community. As a white woman writing about this, I can only understand so much and am simply echoing the words and ideas of many Black women who have written about this and shared their experiences. But even in having this discussion about misogynoir, the question remains: Why do performers like Drake and Kanye continue to receive praise and opportunities where other performers are questioned and victim-blamed?

Is it because fans shield their favorites from scrutiny? There have been criticisms of fans who act as a protective layer to defend their favorite artists as having blinders on, or being told to “touch grass” for making a big deal out of nothing. It strikes me as no coincidence that the fandoms who are most often told this are fans of pop acts, which is perceived to be a feminine genre, acts like Taylor Swift and Beyonce as well as boybands like One Direction and BTS. But because the rap and hip-hop genres are perceived as masculine, their fans who exhibit the same defensive behaviors are not ridiculed as much for their fandom.

And I get it, these acts that you love made some good albums that you really love, but those albums aren’t going anywhere. You can still stream them and if you own physical copies, you’ll be able to enjoy that music forever. But let me ask you — are those albums good enough to defend harmful, hateful rhetoric and anti-semitism just because you can’t admit that your favorite might be wrong?