Common Defends Drake After Yasiin Bey Calls Drizzy’s Music Pop

Common is defending Drake after Yasiin Bey referred to Drizzy’s music as pop music compatible with shopping.

Common Thinks Drake Is Hip-Hop

On Thursday (Jan. 25), Common was a guest on Hot 97‘s Ebro in the Morning show, where he talked about his relationship with Jennifer Hudson, his favorite producers, new book and more. Also during the sit-down, which can be viewed below, the Chicago rapper was asked to opine about Yasiin Bey’s viral comments that Drake’s music is pop and not hip-hop.

“I wrote a song called ‘I Used to Love H.E.R.’ and that joint was really speaking to that to a certain degree,” Common said at the 23:40 mark of the interview. “Like, at that time, when it started becoming real corporate and losing the purity of it. I think now, you know, artists can be artists. Some people, if their intention is to just be a pop artist, then so be it.”

“I think Drake comes from hip-hop,” he continued. “When I first heard him rhyming,  I was like, ‘Yo, this dude rhyming.’ And if he goes out and makes songs that are popular, then that’s what it is.”

“The dude is an incredible songwriter, he’s an incredible artist. You can’t touch that many people…for as long a time as he’s been doing,” he added.

Common also praised Yasiin Bey.

“Yasiin is a genius, man” he said. “I’ve been around that dude and watched him as an actor, as an artist and listened to a lot of his raps. He is very high level when it comes to poetic rap—not even just poetic rap, but I’m saying he has poetry within his rap. He can style on anything. He can do a lot.”

Read More: 20 Unnecessary Disses in Hip-Hop That Didn’t Need to Happen

Yasiin Bey’s Drake Comments

Yasiin Bey opened a can of worms with his comments on a recent episode of The Cutting Room Floor. During the interview, Bey gave his thoughts on Drake as an artist.

“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.”

Drake later clapped back at Bey using Bey’s own lyrics.

Read More: Everything You Need to Know About Drake and Yasiin Bey’s Beef

See Common defend Drake after Yasiin Bey calls Drizzy’s music pop below.

Watch Common on Ebro in the Morning