Is Drake’s Verse on Bad Bunny’s “MIA” Cultural Appropriation?

When I say BennettKnows, he does! For a while now, I’ve been unimpressed by Drake’s latest work. Following the release of What A Time To Be Alive, Drake has followed and hopped on every wave that has managed to surface. Whether hip hop goes to the UK or the music industry goes dance hall, Drake is there to benefit off of what’s popular. Some call him an opportunist or “the GOAT,” I call him a culture vulture. It’s one thing to “appreciate a culture” and become inspired, but another to blatantly copy for ones benefit. Last week Latin super star Bad Bunny released his long awaited single “MIA”. “MIA,” Spanish for “mine,” finds Bunny and Drake singing about a woman that gets all the attention reminding her that she said she belongs to them. “Bebé, yo soy fan de tu caminar / Te doy todo lo mío, hasta mi respirar / Contigo veo todo como en espiral,” Bunny raps. The track finds Drizzy singing in Spanish as well. “Todos están pendiente a ti / Pero tu puesta pa mí / Haciendo que me odien más / Porque todos te quieren probar,” he serenades. I can’t deny the fact that Drake sounds good alongside Bad Bunny but does he even know what he’s saying? This isn’t the first time we’ve seen an artist, let alone a Canadian artist sing in spanish. Back in 2016 Justin Bieber topped the charts with “Despacito”. However, with the most recent trend of Reggaeton in music (ie. “I Like It” and “Taki Taki”), I knew it wouldn’t be long before Drake started rolling his tongue. This collaboration leaves me questioning if this is cultural appropriation. What’s the difference between Drake gaining success off of Reggaeton and Macklemore doing the same with hip-hop? Sound off in the comments below!