Drake vs Everybody: Why He’s The Best Rapper You Love To Hate (Video)

For the 1.2 million people who showed their love for Drake by way of first week sales of his VIEWS album, there are millions more who take great pleasure in deriding his every move. There are countless memes and vitriolic comments aimed at the Toronto MC who has become one of the biggest artists in the world. Last night, during his second stint as the host of Saturday Night Live, Drizzy showed that not only is he watching, he’s laughing with, and seemingly at, his critics. And, more likely than not, some of the fuel he’s added to their fires, through corny dance moves and super sensitivity, has been designed to turn up the heat on his already red-hot career.

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In a skit aimed at tapping into both his high profile beef with Meek Mill, as well as his reputation for being soft-skinned, Drake is shown interacting with various SNL cast and crew behind the scenes, taking offense at even the most benign remarks. As was the case with his war of words with Meek, he handles the perceived slights with vitriolic diss songs. As the infractions become more and more innocent, Drake’s responses become increasingly disproportionate in the hilariously self-skewering sketch.

Perhaps even more self-aware is Drake’s opening monologue. When he released his “Hotline Bling” video, many were stunned. There were kooky colors, geeky dance moves, nerdy clothes and endless goofy facial expressions. For a Drake hater, it was almost too good to be true. The meme material, alone, was enough for a lifetime. It almost seemed like Drake was intentionally setting himself up for abuse…Fast forward nearly a year later, and it’s become pretty clear that was exactly the case, as he uses the mega platform of the SNL stage to send up the best social media had to offer, and owning it.

In many ways, Drake’s performance epitomized the age-old saying “Don’t hate the player. Hate the game.”