Last week, Drake decided to shock everybody with a surprise release of his seventh studio LP Honestly, Nevermind. Consisting of 14 songs and a single feature from 21 Savage, Honestly, Nevermind sees the Toronto star stepping outside of hip hop and R&B for more experimental vibes, specifically in regards to electronic subgenres like Baltimore club and house. As such, the album has become rather polarizing amongst the masses for its avant-garde approach.
Shortly after Honestly, Nevermind‘s release, TMZ caught up with Irv Gotti during a run-in at Los Angeles International Airport, where he was asked about Drake‘s new project:
“Personally, I love Drake. … But I listened to his album — and Drake can do whatever he wants as an artist, right — but you do feel Drake is a hip hop artist? Drake’s new album is not hip hop. And he can do whatever he wants. Let me stress that.”
He was then asked if Honestly, Nevermind signals the end of hip hop as we know it:
“I hope not. I hope not. ‘Cause that’s the demise of rap. The demise of hip hop. As long as I’m alive, it can never be the demise of hip hop. I gotta get back in the game and find me a nigga then. That’s what that album made me feel like. It made me feel like going and [finding] me a raw new DMX, new [Ja Rule], new [JAY-Z] and serving niggas and fucking bringing back great hip hop.”
In response to the vitriol received from the release, Drake was recorded saying that he has no problem waiting for fans to “catch up” to his sound. As far as Irv is concerned, he made it clear that he’s not interested:
“I don’t want to catch up. If that’s catching up, then what’s that mean for hip hop?”
Check out Irv Gotti‘s quick-strike interview with TMZ below. If you missed it, you can press play on Honestly, Nevermind here.