GQ: 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 build 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 cut up 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 think 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 ‘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.’ "
- GQ
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