For all of you "it's not a big deal if he has ghost writers" posters lets just put this in perspective.
Drake is a Half-Cac from Canada whose biggest claim to fame early was that of a token in a teenage Soap Opera, not only that, a token who gets shot by a cac and rolls around in a wheelchair.....
Nothing about him screams "Hip Hop Superstar"
HOWEVER
His TALENT for writing raps about his world viewpoint was something fresh for the time period. Inspired by Phonte, Kanye, and Lil Wayne, Drake seemed like the perfect mesh of all of their strong points, reaching his peak with So Far Gone, which even haters can agree is a classic that changed the landscape of Hip Hop (along with 808's and Heartbreak).
TALENT is what made him persevere, his pen, his imagination, and the ability to connect with a widespread audience the "struggles" of a Kid from Canada.
No matter what your background or history. TALENT is the one and only thing that can get you that initial look. Of course it takes more than that. Timing, management, co-signs, but ultimately TALENT is what leads you there.
R.Kelly is a sexual deviant who pissed on young girls
Michael Jackson was accused of bleaching his skin, being a fakkit, being out of touch with the black community, and committing unspeakable acts with young boys
Ultimately however, it was their immense and overwhelming TALENT for shaping the very history of music that saw them through.
Nas was an 8th grade dropout who came up in one the most dangerous projects in the country. One of the reasons why he is held in such high regard is because, despite everything against him, he had the TALENT to write what many consider the universal greatest Hip Hop album of all time.
Jay-Z was another high school dropout, who sold drugs and engaged in illegal activity, despite this his TALENT for penning lyrics gave him an opportunity to become the biggest mogul in Hip Hop history.
Drake can make grandiose claims of greatness, despite of his background, because his TALENT for WRITING hits and albums backs up that claim. What is he without the ONE talent that he leans upon? Nothing more than a fraud.
Flex may be a bomb dropping, dikk riding fakkit, but he has an excellent point. You cannot claim to be the number 1 lyrically if you don't write the majority of your own shyt. I'm not saying artists don't get help here and there with a lyric or two, an idea, or a concept. But if your using Ghostwriters then you will NEVER be a true lyricist. Everyone loves Dre and credits him rightfully with being an amazing maestro. But the Hip Hop community would all collectively laugh at him if he ever DARED claim to be a top lyricist.
50 Cent, at his shyt talking PEAK had to
when Yayo claimed that Ghostface didn't write Supreme Clientele. Dead Prez and Jay Electronica IMMEDIATELY refuted claims that they had ever ghostwritten anything for Nas. Jay-Z was more offended by claims of him being a biter than just about anything else said on Ether.
Because the absolute WORSE insult you can hurl at a rapper is the they are a fakkit or that they don't write their own material.
Drake's entire Hip Hop existence hinges on the fact that he had the TALENT to take everything that would've been a weakness for him and pen it in a way that made him relatable, marketable, and able to "hang" within the community.
Without that TALENT he is absolutely nothing