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Drake’s new album, Honestly, Nevermind, has thrown a curve at his legions of fans who expected more somber, reflective R&B and petty rap verses from him. Instead, they got 11 Virgil Abloh-inspired tracks awash in house influences with just two traditional rap songs, and it threw many of them for a loop. They were so put off, in fact, that in addition to launching Drake to the top of Twitter’s trending topics, as expected, they also made a few other terms trend — the names of some mall mainstays like Forever 21, H&M, and Zara.
On reflection, the comparisons were probably inevitable. While dance and house music are super popular globally and aspects of them often creep into American pop, the most exposure many if not most Americans have to these styles is when they’re trying on clothes at fast-fashion bastions like the ones named above. I’m betting if you walked up to the average millennial or zoomer and asked their thoughts on amapiano, they might make a Beethoven reference, not realizing that it’s a subgenre of house from South Africa heavily influenced by local instruments. And getting anyone not from SA to pronounce “gqom” would likely be an exercise in frustration.
Fans’ reactions are ranging from confused and distraught to outright vibing, but it is pretty amusing to see so many people cracking jokes about stores they probably haven’t been in since the early 2010s. And who knows? Maybe those fine establishments will get a boost from all the added attention — something they desperately need as online retailers like Shein and Fashion Nova have basically eaten their lunch for the past few years.
Check out some of the funnier responses below.
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