The Man of The Year Issue of GQ, dubs Drake, Wale, and Kid Cudi as "The kids who killed The Gangster Persona"...
GQ writes:
”Have you been listening to hip-hop this year? If not, we’ve got good news: The gangster persona is finally dead, and these are the kids who killed it. One song at a time, they built a new era in which duct-taped kilos, exotic firearms, and freaky girls are out and real life is the focus.
That can still mean trumped-up egos and battle raps, but it also means family, drama, vicious hangovers, and regular chicks who will make good love to you, then stomp out your heart. (Weed? Weed is always in.) Wale is as famous for his live shows as for the slick-witted lyricism of his debut, Attention Deficit.
Kid Cudi is the cutup who scored with the stoner anthem “Day N Nite” and his album Man on the Moon. And then there’s Drake, who found himself turning down multimillion-dollar offers after his single “Best I Ever Had” exploded. (It helps that the girls like Drake. A lot.) Drake’s debut, Thank Me Later is easily the most anticipated album of 2010 So what do these underdogs thing about being cast as gangster slayers?
“The dope boy is going to be a fixture of black culture as long as “thug” is a legitimate option alongside a job” Drake says. But I’m not going to rap about how much crack I’ve sold.” Cudi also laughs at the idea of talking tough. “Anybody from cleveland will tell you I wasn’t in the streets” he says. “Ask them! They’ll say, ‘Scott was the goofy class clown.”
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The trio have brought an evolved sound of rap and rnb into 2009...furthermore their image a more portrayed as guys who look fly, get layed and jus generally have a good time.
With sales not going so well for Rap-Artist 50cent, and people saying his days may be over, maybe he should take note?
