State Of The Culture Episode 373 Michael Eric Dyson Defends Drake, Jay-Z's Influence

Smooth sits down with Django Degree, a culture commentator and author of the upcoming book They Lie to You, for a wide-ranging conversation about how people engage with hip hop discourse. The two dig into the tendency to view artists like Drake through a binary lens — good or bad, deep or shallow — rather than with genuine empathy. The discussion takes a philosophical turn as Django argues that Western culture conditions people to believe their perspective is objectively correct, which shuts down real conversation. From there, Smooth plays a clip of academic Michael Eric Dyson defending Drake's place in Black culture, arguing that critics unfairly devalue his Blackness in the context of the Kendrick beef. In a standout moment, Dyson reveals that Jay-Z personally reached out to disagree with his position — respectfully and intelligently — which becomes a jumping-off point for a larger conversation about how disagreement can be handled with dignity. A thought-provoking episode that blends cultural commentary with real philosophical depth.