Jack Talks Music Podcast

A group of roommates discuss controversial music takes and their love of music. They debate whether Kanye or Drake is a better rapper, with some arguing that Drake has better beats and presentation, while others appreciate Kanye's lyrical side and overall legacy. They also discuss the comparison between Michael Jackson and The Weeknd, with opinions divided on who is the better artist and the potential significance of The Weeknd in the future. The roommates then share their thoughts on underrated artists, mentioning Tory Lanez, Lil Yachty, and lesser-known groups like Driveways and Squad Zero. Finally, they discuss whether it's possible to separate the music from the artist, with some arguing that it's important to appreciate music as an art form regardless of the artist's actions or beliefs. Welcome to the Jack Talks Music Podcast. I got my three roommates here today, Daniel, Bill, and Alex. And today we're going to talk about some controversial music takes and just our love of music and the industry and whatever's good that we think about music. So, without further ado, the first question is, who is a better rapper, Kanye or Drake? Who wants to start us off? I'll start. So, hey, like Jack said, I'm Billy. Overall, I think Drake is a better rapper, simply because he just sounds better than Kanye. I think Kanye does have a lot of, like, he's good on the lyrical side, but overall I think Drake is just better because, like, his beats are better and he just, I feel like he presents his lyrics a little bit better than Kanye does. Even though when you dive into Kanye's stuff, you know, his lyrics are something else. But overall, I think Drake. Yeah, I'm Daniel. And, you know, I think it goes back and forth. You know, you're talking about, you know, what I like. And, you know, with my opinions, like, personally, I like to listen to Drake more than Kanye. But when you dive into, you know, beyond the actual music and, you know, what the lyrics mean, Kanye really is an artist. He's a poet. I don't think Drake really has that. And that's something I can definitely say. And you talk about the industry, like, look at Shoes, for example, bro. Like, Yeezy was such a huge part of Kanye, and, like, that's a huge influence. And, like, I think if you're talking about that conversation in terms of, like, who has a bigger legacy, like, I gotta say Kanye. But, like, if, you know, if I'm tuning in my own music from there, I'm probably listening to Drake. All right, Daniel. I really respect that. And I kind of agree with a lot of those points. Because, like, I could definitely get down with that and say, like, there's a lot of Drake songs that, like, I could just rock with more than Kanye. He's just like a, I feel like he's an easy listener, easy artist to listen to. Where Kanye can be kind of harder to deal with, especially with some of his crazy lyrics and, like, delivery behind things. And he's a huge controversial figure in the entire music industry. But, like you said, with legacy, like, there's no, like, I would, if I could just listen to one music artist for the rest of my life, it'd probably be Kanye, just because of versatility. And that's something I think Drake lacks. And I think versatility goes a long way within music. But I will say Drake has tried to reach out into other areas of the spectrum in the music genres. Like, his last couple albums, like... Yeah, but they weren't all that great, to be honest. They weren't. Like, Honestly, Nevermind is, like, not, it was supposed to be, like, you know, a house album, and it just wasn't that good. It's all said and done. I mean, Drake has produced more hits than Kanye has. He's produced more hits than all the stuff that's going to be listened to in, like, ten years. Yeah, that's true. He's never produced a hit after a year. That's true. His music doesn't really age as well as you think. 1-800-Hotline-Bling? That's what they would do in ten years, dude. Telling you straight off. Drake does have some hits you're going to listen to for a while, but consistently, like, the hits you hear every year off every album, they don't stick around for more than a few months. No, I completely agree. I think we could have this conversation for a while, and we could just, like, debate back and forth between, like, whose songs are better, whatever, who has better albums, and who's a better artist. But I think we're going to move on, and we're going to talk about another controversial, or the two goats in the pop industry, potentially, between Michael Jackson or The Weeknd. And I know we have one of the biggest Weeknd fans on this podcast, but I really want to see what you guys think. Who's a better artist, Michael Jackson or The Weeknd? Listen, listen. I used to be very against The Weeknd, and I think my roomies would know that because they played The Weeknd, and I'd say, this is garbage, turn it off. But you know what? I've matured. Excuse me. I've grown to like it. But, you're comparing The Weeknd to one of the most talented, if not the most known, music person ever. I just think it's, like, undoubtedly... I also think The Weeknd has stemmed off of Michael Jackson a little bit with, like, beats-wise, and, like, has kind of tried to imitate him in ways so that, you know... Which isn't a bad thing. Sorry to cut you off, but it really isn't a bad thing. You know, Michael Jackson was a huge influence on music and culture itself in America, so, you know, it isn't a bad thing. Although The Weeknd was, like, inspired by Michael Jackson. That's what I'm trying to say. But I'd say, like, especially, like, his, like, original, like, music, like, at the start of his career, it was definitely his, like, own type of music. He basically, like, started, like, their own, like, genre of, like, dark R&B. And that's something Michael Jackson, like, never really touched. And he's, like, now people are following The Weeknd off of that. But I will say, as he's come into his, like, pop phase, he's kind of imitated Michael Jackson a little bit more. But I think he's done it in his own way. I mean, I just try to think of, like, so people listen to Michael Jackson. A lot of people listen to Michael Jackson now. Like, in 10 to 20 years, will people still be listening to The Weeknd? I think, personally, like, I think, yeah, like, that will be the case for The Weeknd as well. I mean, I think they're two, like, very similar artists, like, popularity-wise of their time. Yeah. Like, The Weeknd could very well be the Michael Jackson of our generation. You know, obviously, when we're living in it, and that kind of goes with everything. When you're living in something, you don't necessarily understand its significance or, you know, how important it is as, or how long it's going to last throughout time. You know, The Weeknd could very well be the Michael Jackson of our generation. Yeah, I definitely agree with that. Like, The Weeknd is definitely one of my favorite artists. And, like, just listening to, like, Michael Jackson before I became, like, a Weeknd fan, I, like, I was like, damn, like, he is the biggest pop star of this generation. And, like, I think his music will age well, if not better than Michael Jackson's music did. But, I will say, there are a few classic Michael Jackson songs that are hard to beat. But, again, The Weeknd, like, his, honestly, I think his albums are just, maybe it's a little unfair to say, but I think his albums blow some Michael Jackson stuff out of the water in terms of just, like, creativity and, like, different things he does and stylistic moments in his life. But, I would say Michael Jackson definitely had a hard time with that, just because, like, the whole music industry now, The Weeknd kind of, like, paves his own path and breaks down barriers that Michael Jackson and other artists put up before. And, I really don't think he cares what music he wants to put out. It's just about what he likes and what is going to make, not the most money, but just, like, just generate the best sound quality overall. I think, also, touching back onto, like, if his music will be listened to in years coming, The Weeknd, like, that recently died for you has become, like, the biggest song in the world, almost ten years after it was released. So, like, he's already building his, like, generational, like, listening. Definitely, definitely. Now, we're going to move over to, like, to add, who do you think are some underrated artists in the music industry? And, like, who's someone that, it could be rap, it could be, like, whatever genre you really want. I mean, who do you think is someone that's, like, super underrated and, like, doesn't get enough attention or love for, like, it could be for whatever reason. Well, personally, I think J.D. Youngin. All right. So, as I was saying before we paused, there was a J.D. Youngin. Are you all right? All right. Sorry. So, we're going to go over some underrated artists. And, Alex, would you like to start? I think a very underrated artist right now is Tory Lanez. I think his A World Not From album was definitely, like, a generational album that's going to be listened to. I think it was definitely, like, probably the best work of art he's going to put out. And he really made, like, a full album that connects through each song and tells, like, a story, rather than just, like, putting out music that sounds good. Just to expand on that, that album that he came out with was kind of completely different from the music he was putting out before. And it's very hard for an artist. I mean, it's very hard, but it's also very special for an artist to have the ability to change their genre of music completely in one album. And, like, that's what he was able to do. He started out with rap, and now he's kind of, like, going towards this genre of singing. Pop, R&B, you know. Yeah. He went more towards, like, an 80s R&B vibe. Yeah. Dua Lipa and The Weeknd have kind of expanded in the past few years. So, he kind of built off that and made, like, an 80s, like, high school love story within, like, an album. And it was very special. Yeah. Yeah. So, for me, the artist I'm going to talk about is Lil Yachty. And this is a little controversial, because Lil Yachty has definitely put out some rougher projects in the past. Like, you know, Lil Boat 2, all those, like, ah, Lil Boat 2 was alright. But, like, some of his, like, last few albums weren't that great. And then, like Tory Lanez, he just released an album not too long ago called Let's Start Here. And the album was, I thought it was phenomenal. And it was totally different than anything he's ever put out before. The only thing closer to that was he had a single with Tame Impala called, like, it was a Breathe Deeper remix. And I thought it was really fun and, like, a funky, like, vibe to it. And he took that and he ran with it on his new album. And every song is just, like, the whole story to it. It was great. It was, like, the best music he's dropped since, like, he started making music as an artist. And I thought it was really cool to see, like, the direction and the growth that he's made in his career and where Yachty's going to go in the future. And, like, I never thought Yachty would get into, like, music like that. Like, such, like, a psychedelic vibe to it, where he's now in different territory in the music genre. And it's not just some meme-able rapper that, you know, kids used to listen to and just be like... Yeah, for sure, for sure. But, yeah. Yeah, so, my two are... I have two, so... Excuse me. One is, like, an underground, like, SoundCloud kind of rapper. And the other one is more known on, like, Apple Music. It's actually a group of people. It's called Driveways. And, actually, I don't really know much about the three guys, but it's kind of like a pop rock, like a Machine Gun Kelly type of vibe, which I do kind of like once in a while. My friend Steve put me on it. He's really into that kind of stuff. So, go give it a listen. Really, like, I haven't... Have you guys ever heard of the Driveways? Not until you, like, played... Yeah, I played a few of the songs. Like, they're alright. You know, like, they're... It's just a different kind of music. Like, I think I'm the only one out of the bunch that enjoys that kind of pop rock kind of vibe. But, you know, if you're into that, I'd definitely go give it a listen. If you like Machine Gun Kelly like I do, go give it a listen. The other top five rapper is a group called Squad Zero. Squad Zero is just a group of kids that I know from my hometown. And they work really, really hard, and they produce good music about, you know, where they grew up and stuff. And I think that's, like, really admirable, you know, because they didn't grow up in, like, the best places or the best situations. And, you know, they're using music as kind of an outlet. And, you know, they're in school, and, you know, they're doing their thing. And I think that's, like, another important thing, because music really is an outlet for people to express themselves. A hundred percent. Like, there's a group of musicians from my town where I grew up in, and they're called Recess Radio. And they're, like, a small group, but, like, they've built, like, a pretty cult of following, I guess. They have, like, a couple million streams across, like, a few different music platforms. And they're nowhere like any big group of band or artist, but I think it was cool that, like, a group of kids from my town were able to, like, you know, get out there and make some good music and, like, get some fans and people into what they have to offer. And it's a cool, different sounding, like, it's a pop. Yeah, I've heard it. I'm from the same area. I've heard it. It's pretty cool. And, you know, we come from a pretty rich, music-rich area, because, you know, we have Bruce Springsteen. I grew up in Freehold. That's where I'm from. And Stone Pony and Asbury Park is far from where you live. So, you know, we have all this rich music culture. And, you know, to see people our age, you know, go out and kind of continue that is pretty cool, too. Yeah, it's pretty sick. Alright, so I'm going to wrap this up soon, but I'm going to ask one more question. And, okay, so the last question is, can you separate the music from the artist? I think you can relate this back to The Weeknd, where when he was coming up in around, like, 2011, he avoided every interview, didn't go to any shows, and just kept his face and his, like, talk out of it and just let his music speak for its music. And fans really liked that, and it built a cult following around his, like, music, because his music, like, told stories and created a world that people only had that to go off of, not his, like, public interactions or his, like, public appearance. It's just his music, and it's very raw. So it created, like, a strong following of fans for that. Yeah, definitely. I think that's another good point. What I would take away from that is that, like, a guy like Kanye, for example, like, probably one of the most controversial music figures in the entire game, like, people will, like, not listen to his music and cancel him and do whatever because they don't agree with, you know, him as a person. But, like, I think music's an art form, like, it's an outlet, like you've been saying, and I think no matter who the person is, no matter what they've done, like, it still should be acceptable to listen to their music and not gain, like, hate from it, and even play their music at, like, stadiums or whatever, just because, like, music's an art form, and whatever they did shouldn't be put as their character, but, like, they should be used, it shouldn't be used like that. I really like Kanye, and no matter what, as a person, maybe I don't agree with a lot of what he does, but I think you should separate the music from the artists. They do make music, and they are artists, and at the end of the day, they are people, and they have lives, and, you know, I feel like it's important to separate that, and, you know, I think it's hard because, you know, a lot of times you see people as, you know, this guy singing music, and it almost seems objective, but at the end of the day, like, they're people, and, like, those songs, like, even if they're sad, like, that's, or they're sad songs or happy songs, like, those are their feelings or their life experiences that they're outletting, and I think you have to respect that, whether you like the song or not, you know. Yeah, definitely. Well, thank you guys for being a part of this podcast, and I hope you guys enjoyed listening to it. It was a pleasure. It was a fun time, but thanks. Davis, I love. Jack Talks Music, out.