Open Letter to Drake

Dear Drake,

Could you be the comeback kid? It seems that way with your latest time stamp offering. To take shots the way you do is remarkable if not a bit past due. You had chances to go back at Kendrick, Bron, and Cole amongst others.

If you want to keep the momentum of returning to the rap game with ICEMAN, make sure you stay in the same zone as this song and avoid making a bloated, over-the-top or substandard effort. I know the tracklist is done but you’re going to depend on your base if this list is mid.

The nonchalant attitude and relaxed flow just adds to your great time stamps over your career. But all of that can come crashing down if you put up songs that don’t hit as strongly. If you know what’s good for you, go on a tour to boost the album and see if your receipts don’t grow.

This is your opportunity to show to the world your artistry on a whole other level. You’ve been afforded the chance to say what you want about the individuals who had taken shots at you. Even though the feud is well past two years old, you should still go with gusto against all your opps.

If you wish to see yourself as the greatest, this is how you do it; you ought to take the rhymes you’ve already written down (allegedly) on this latest album and perform the entire thing. Just go up there on the stage and forget all of your other work. Just stand there and go track-by-track with every bit of aplomb as you can muster.

Always keep your mind on the idea of defeating those who spoke against you with coolness and panache. Be that swashbuckling Cyrano de Bergerac who has been the butt of jokes but rises above them with wit. Of all the plaques you’ve accumulated, none of them mean anything if you fumble the bag in this situation. As you look forward to a new day and more money. It is impossible to be the GOAT if you don’t demonstrate and deliver.

I’ve always looked at you as the Lebron James of hip hop and your brother Wayne as the late great Kobe Bryant. To consider the way you became the most excellent rapper in the game, you’ve gotta become even more creatively vicious. Your newest work has to be on that level that you don’t care about Billboard numbers or GRAMMYS®. You’ve gotta keep that same energy throughout the remainder of your career.

As you have shown already in the past, you can make a hit. A few. A lot. Whatever. People don’t care about anything but your most recent pieces. With the leak of this timestamp, you’re opening yourself up for even more ridicule. Perfect! Keep the haters hating because your supporters are always going to rep for you like a mascot.

Your way of expressing yourself is undeniable. So what if someone writes your songs? So what if Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar made you realize lessons like the Union who sustained more casualties than the Confederacy in the American Civil War.

But you're Canadian. Do you wish you were an FBA? Is that the reason why you incorporate so many styles in your raps?

Well, you can never be an FBA. But you will always be respected by American blacks. There’s too much you’ve done to prove your loyalty to Canada and admiration for the US.

But this means absolutely nothing if you lose points on this work.

Just keep your sights set on winning. You’ve already learned enough lessons.