If you’re not on Twitter, perhaps the recent celebrity fights has convinced you to change that immediately. After Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift gave us an evening of drama better than anything HBO could produce, Minaj’s boyfriend and fellow rapper Meek Mill went straight for Drake’s neck, claiming the OVO label boss has a ghost-writer.
For those who do not know, having a ghost-writer in hip-hop is a big taboo unless your name is Puffy or Dr. Dre. Such fakery carries harsh penalties if it’s discovered — you will be chastised by your peers, and your transgression will never be forgotten — but it still has a long history in rap, and the line between “collaborating” and “ghost-writing” isn’t always clear.
According to The Verge.com, Big Pun wrote for Fat Joe in his early days. Jay Z wrote “Still D.R.E” for Dr. Dre. It’s widely known that Kanye West was essentially the director of Yeezus, employing a team of writers to help him craft the lyrics. But while there are prime examples of ghost-writers being used, it’s usually never spoken about, and the top rappers in their prime — like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole — are expected to write their own lyrics.
After claiming Drake didn’t write his verse on “R.I.C.O.,” the best song off Meek Mill’s recently released sophomore album Dreams Worth More Than Money, he named Quentin Miller as the real voice behind Drake’s raps.
Miller is a rapper out of Decatur, Georgia, who became affiliated with Drake’s OVO label in late-2014. There’s no doubt that Miller has been affiliated with Drake and his crew, and his work with Drake hasn’t been a secret either. Miller is credited as a writer on five tracks on Drake’s mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late including “10 Bands,” “6 Man,” and “Know Yourself.”
The big question is how much influence did Miller have over Drake’s lyrics? Rappers routinely hold studio sessions where others in the room may contribute a better metaphor or help improve a hook or chorus and earn a writing credit off it. Even Meek can attest to it — the intro on Dreams Worth More Than Money’s “Lord Knows” has four writing credits.
But so far, Meek Mill has refused to show any proof that Miller is really Drake’s ghost-writer, and not just another contributor.
So what does this mean for Drake? If Miller really is his full-time ghost-writer, everything is a lie. Drake is one of two rappers (Kendrick Lamar) who has the catalogue and potential to one day be called the greatest rapper of all time. Those types of artists don’t come around often, and using a ghost-writer this early in his career would throw a giant wrench into Drake’s ascendance into the hip-hop pantheon. Not to mention the flood of tears that the internet would shed when it realizes those Drake memes actually belong to a guy named Quentin.
If Meek Mill’s accusation is unfounded, however, he won’t be able to fully rebound from this. Going after Drake isn’t something you do lightly. Meek has started a civil war between Young Money (Wayne, Minaj), OVO (Drake), and Maybach Music (Rick Ross, Meek Mill), which up until recently were the closest artist-driven labels in hip-hop. He’s already dragged Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne into his accusations against Drake, putting them in precarious positions. Rick Ross already tweeted and deleted a shot at Drake. Unless he’s absolutely right, Meek Mill has messed up the money for a lot of people, and it won’t go over well with any of them.
Drake’s best friend and long-time producer Noah “40” Shebib went on a tweetstorm denying that Miller is Drake’s ghost-writer, stating that he’s only spent “maybe 30 minutes in the studio with Q.” Shebib also pointed out that Drake has written hit songs for other artists, and called him “maybe the most personal rapper ever,” and someone who’s writing skills should never be questioned. Drake has also responded. Saying in a DM message on Instagram that “He signed off for greatness and that this (Meek’s accusations) comes with this.”
Coming close to home, Fola, a hip hop fan based in Lagos says, “Meek is just trying to sell records. We all love OVO Sound in Nigeria. There are at least 10 Nigerian rappers based in Nigeria that sound better than Meek. He needs to take a few seats and stop hating. So what if Drake is paying people to write raps. It’s him the people want to hear at this point. He’s not rapping about selling drugs or shooting guns so I don’t see the big deal about real or fake. Meek Mill is looking for controversy to stir up to sell units. Truth is he needs Drake and Nicki to make waves. He should just beg Young Money to give him a deal.”
Even though you might not agree with Fola, he has said the truth. Meek Mill should indeed ‘take a few seats and stop hating.’
Meanwhile, upcoming rapper Daylyt released a video of himself tackling Meek Mill for calling Drake Fake! He also asked what many considered a million dollar question saying “how you gonna call drake fake when you’re signed to the fakest rapper?”
See the video below: