The relationship between artists and critics has always been a strenuous one, to say the least. It makes sense, right? When you devote yourself to creating a piece of art that you think perfectly represents you, only for someone to tear it down on an established and public platform, that could be discouraging. However, music juggernaut Drake may have taken things to a new level following some seemingly nonchalant comments from famed music reviewer and YouTube personality Anthony Fantano.
But how did this beef start? What have both parties had to say about the matter? And did this really stem from vegan cookies of all things?
What did Drake say to Anthony Fantano?
In a strange and surprising post to his Instagram story, Drake posted a series of DMs he sent to Anthony Fantano, using the reviewer’s own rating system to slam him.
“Your existence is a light 1. And the 1 is cause you are alive. And cause you somehow wifed a black girl. I’m feeling a light to decent 1 on your existence.”
Man, don’t hold back Aubrey.
What did Anthony Fantano say about Drake on his YouTube channel?
Of course, as one of music’s biggest stars, Drake’s many albums have been analyzed, criticized, and broken down by Fantano. Most of his reviews have skewed negatively, with some exceptions. However, it feels unlikely that these reviews are what sparked Drake’s anger, given that Fantano’s last review of Drake’s work was published toward the end of June.
However, what might’ve sparked the DMs was a seemingly completely unrelated video about another DM Drake allegedly sent the reviewer: a recipe for vegan cookies.
In an 8-minute video, Fantano said that the rapper sent him a series of messages that were completely different in tone to the ones Drake shared on his Instagram story.
“Anthony! It’s Drizzy. I know we don’t really see eye-to-eye about music and that you are not the biggest fan of most of my albums (thanks for the kind words on Take Care and If You’re Reading This tho). But it is what it is, you know.
“Can always hope you’ll like the next one! But I’m not messaging you about your videos. I’m actually messaging you cause I found a really great vegan cookie recipe I’d love you to try!”
And then, in extreme detail, Drake allegedly outlined an entire vegan cookie recipe. That seems to be that on that.
Did Drake really send Anthony Fantano a cookie recipe?
Soon after Drake took to Instagram to share his own DMs, Fantano took to his Instagram to do a live stream around the situation. Turns out, the messages recommending a vegan cookie recipe were not real.
In the live, Fantano seemed just as scathing as Drake, calling the rapper “pathetic”, “obsessed” and “salty”. He even took aim at the rapper’s history of hanging out with people are younger than him.
“My first thought was ‘Why is he messaging me? I’m not 18 years of age’.”
Despite the barbs thrown Drake’s way, Fantano said that he appreciates Drake, that there are no hard feelings and he even complimented some of his work. He also said he responded to Drake’s DMs, simply asking “When is the interview?”
When and if that interview happens remains to be seen.
