Drake Should Do An Indian Accent Next

Drake currently has four songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Each of the four songs feature Drake in a different voice: On "Toosie Slide," Drake nonchalantly sings instructions for a TikTok dance; on "Popstar," he raps in a laid back staccato like Valee; on "Greece," he sings like the Weeknd; on "Life is Good," he sings in his signature "unaccented" flow. Last Friday, one of the songs off Popcaan's new album, Fixtape, joined the Draccent cannon with "Twist & Turn," with Drake mirroring Popcaan's patois. Drake has eaten from the international buffet of styles and accents, but glaringly, there is no song in which Drake sings in Indian accent. Yet. 

In a recent collaboration with Headie One, Drake threw in some Arabic when rapping about his "Arabic ting," which granted him coverage in CNN. When he dusted off his Spanish to sing "MIA" with Bad Bunny, NPR called it "Doricua." When he used an accent "between a thick Canadian accent and a West Indian patois" on If You're Reading This It's Too Late, the Fader contributor Rawiya Kameir explained it was "standard Black vernacular in Toronto." When he borrowed some U.K. slang to say "truss mi daddi," Skepta immortalized the phrase by sampling it at the beginning of "Shutdown."

He is a man of many inflections and dialects, but I think there is still room for innovation by absorbing another culture, like Kirby in Super Smash Bros. 

Drake is a machine, perhaps most like Facebook. When he sees valuable new features or trends in the wild, he will take them on as an update to his existing product. And for that reason, I forecast and also suggest that Drake's next accent adoption is an Indian one. 

One of the most popular Netflix series right now is Indian Matchmaking; the subcontinent is having its moment as people realize India isn't just about yoga and turmeric, there is also one woman who makes sure every Indian and Indian-American finds a suitable life partner. The logical next step is for Drake to rap with an Indian accent to bring our culture to the next level. But there is an existential question: if Drake hasn't rapped in the accent of your motherland, does it even exist? We tend to mix up our V's and W's, and Drake saying "Oh-wee-oh" could be the endearing ad-lib to keep our brand in the limelight after people forget about the artisanal for-profit dating industry.

If done properly, Drake could bring more visibility to the Bollywood sound. If poorly executed, he is in danger of being the rap game Hank Azaria, but the reward of an audience of over 1 billion people is worth ruffling some feathers. Surely not everyone would be on board with Drake going Desi. Even the most vocal Drake critics commend the Toronto rapper for his calculated moves. Being calculated is a mob boss move if you like the guy, or a series of inauthentic, focus-grouped maneuvers if you don't. 

There is a new awareness and sensitivity to borrowing from cultures that are not one's own. There is a distinction between paying homage to a culture and simply using it as an outfit, for clout. Some Desis would surely get mad, but many would celebrate Drake (Aubrey Garam?) honoring the culture in the way that only Drake can.