Yasiin Bey Thinks Drake Makes Pop Music Compatible With Shopping

In a recent podcast interview, Yasiin Bey said that he thinks Drake makes pop music that’s compatible with shopping.

Yasiin Bey Believes Drake’s Music Is Pop and Compatible With Shopping

During a Patreon-exclusive interview with The Cutting Room Floor podcast that premiered on Wednesday (Jan. 10), Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, was asked about his thoughts on the current state of hip-hop. In a viral clip from the interview, which can be viewed below, podcast host Recho Omondi asked Bey a loaded question regarding the Toronto’s rap superstar’s music.

“Is Drake hip-hop?” she asked.

Bey was hesitant to answer her question but eventually he did. The Brooklyn rhymer replied that he thinks Drizzy’s music is pop and suited for shopping.

“Drake is pop to me,” Bey stated. “In the sense like, if I was in Target in Houston and I heard a Drake song, it feels like a lot of his music is compatible with shopping. Or shopping with an edge, in certain instances.”

Despite their playful banter about Drake’s music being perfect for buying things at a mall, Bey went on to say that while Drake’s music is “likable,” he wondered what kind of music would the world be listening to during the “collapse of an empire.”

“Are we not in some early stage of that at this present hour?” he questioned. “Buying and selling—where’s the message that I can use? What’s in it for your audience?”

Yasiin Bey Saying Drake Is “Pop” Leaves Fans Divided on Social Media

Yasiin Bey’s comments about Drake made him a trending topic on X, formerly known as Twitter. After watching the rap veteran call Drake “pop,” fans were split on their reactions. Some people disagreed with Bey and said that Drake is hip-hop, while others sided with Bey and agreed that Drizzy makes commercial music.

“Mos Def basic said Drake makes elevator music… I wanna see if Drake is wise enough to ignore this. Because I know he knows that he should… The end was so shady [three loudly crying emojis],” wrote one fan.

Another person typed: “Mos Def was in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a very popular film. Made $100M at the box office. Definitely pop. IJS.”

A third fan wrote: “[Mos Def. [goat emoji] HipHop by essence is underground cult culture. Its just a different MC cloth that Drake would never be cut or fully respected from & that’s ok. Hes a billionaire and one of the greatest song writers ever. Yes he makes alot of POP(ular) music!”

A fourth person commented: “People like to label Drake as Pop due to the amount of success he’s been able to achieve. It’s lazy. Majority of his discography is rooted in Hip-Hop.”