Diss tracks bring out the worst in musicians

By Saketh Vasamsetti, Columnist

vasamsetti-saketh_cutoutIt’s become a common trend nowadays for musicians to express their feelings about particular events or even criticize other people on social media.

Kanye West has done it, the beloved One Direction members Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik have done it, and don’t forget the really weird Chief Keef and Katy Perry argument that happened.

Certain musicians, however, take it further by implementing their comments into their music. These types of songs are commonly referred to as “diss tracks” where the musician will criticize another person within the lyrics of the song.

But lately, diss tracks have simply been plain offensive. It’s one thing to make fun of someone for doing something stupid, but attacking someone for a personal issue is just bullying.

Just recently, Drake returned to the music scene after releasing four new songs this past Monday. In one of the songs, Drake attacked another musician for his mental health.

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Scott Mescudi, known as Kid Cudi, was the target of the song which spurred from a Twitter rant where he called out multiple artists such as Drake and Kanye West for being “fake.” Drake was justified in responding to Mescudi’s questionable statements, but I never expected him to go that far.

“You stay xan’d and perc’d up /

So when reality set in, you don’t gotta face it.”

Those are direct quotes from the song “Two Birds One Stone,” where Drake attacked Mescudi’s decision to check himself into rehab for depression and suicidal tendencies. The lyrics poke at Mescudi’s history of drug abuse, thus the references to Xanax and Percocet. Mescudi has little-to-no control over his depression, so using it as leverage is just petty.

Not only were the lyrics offensive toward Mescudi, they were offensive toward his millions of fans around the world. A majority of Drake’s fanbase is made up of students of ranging ages who likely have experienced some sort of mental struggle, or been around others who went through the same things Mescudi is dealing with.

Making diss tracks doesn’t make for good music. Most of the time artists attack each other for no good reason and the arguments ends up just becoming larger publicity stunts.

If you think about it, these are grown men acting like children and making fun of each other over music. It’s kind of sad if you ask me.

Saketh is a freshman in DGS.

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