Meek Mill’s recent allegations against Drake — that is, that the Toronto musician has a ghostwriter handle the majority of his raps —have spread like (intended) wildfire in the rap community. Now Chicago’s Lupe Fiasco has chimed in with an open letter he’s titled The Haunting, in which he points out that using additional writers for inspiration is a commonplace rap activity.
“It is nothing to go crazy over or be offended about unless you are someone who postures him or herself on the importance of authenticity and tries to portray that quality to your fans or the public at large,” Lupe wrote in his letter. “Some of the most pivotal moments in rap have been ghostwritten verses. This leads to a bigger point. Rapping is not an easy thing to do. It’s takes years of work and trial and error to master some of its finer points.”
Also Read
KEEPING IT REAL — ROUND TWO!
Earlier this spring, a Kendrick Lamar version of Kanye West’s blistering single “All Day” leaked; at the time, it was purported to be a remix of the track, but many fans picked up on several similarities between the verses not to mention the fact that Kendrick is credited as a writer on the final version of the song, leading people to believe that the Compton rapper had laid down a reference template on which Yeezy could draw from and expand. That is: This is a lot more common that people who don’t pay attention to song credits might realize.
Lupe’s closer is killer: “At the end of the day, for better or worse, rap is alive even if some of its greatest moments are written by ghosts.” Truer words haven’t yet been written about this debate.