Every time I watch “Brown Suga” and somebody mentions falling in love with hip hop, I blankly stare at my television screen. It’s not like I don’t listen to hip hop, or that I can resist shaking my tail feather when I hear Lil’ Wayne, Gucci Mane, or Jay-Z hit the speakers, it’s more like I generally can’t listen to a hip hop album beginning to end without skipping a song or two.
On Friday April 30, 2010 at about 10:30PM EST everything changed. I was in “The Dome” at Syracuse University (my alma mater) at their annual Block Party concert when Drake hit the stage. I expected to hear songs from his mixtape, his features, his new singles, and a song or two from the new album, but I didn’t expect to fall in love.
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I’m not talking about the kind of love that takes over your life, or the kind of love that gives you butterflies in your stomach that actually feel more like piranhas. I’m not talking about that love that is more like that first crush obsession phase that we all go through. It was that feeling that you feel the first moment that you connect with somebody that understands you because their ears are as open as your heart is—you’re both vulnerable. Drake was able to make his emotions accessible, so I understood that this famous and accomplished 23 year old is at times brokenhearted just like the rest of us, and that even he understands that being successful doesn’t mean being complacent.
I fell in love with the music, the lyrics, the performer, and every ounce of passion behind his music. Honestly, to listen to him explain the rollercoaster ride to the top that he’s been on this past year was heartwarming. Oh, and not to mention the fact that he didn’t just sing and rap to 10,000 screaming fans, he caught me off guard with a silent sex appeal that I never knew that he had.
Drake is the Rookie of the Year that turned into the game’s MVP, and I credit him for finding my love and my heart because now I’m head over heels in love with hip hop.
