What are your thoughts on this cover?
It’s great to me. I’ve never done XXL, so it’s exciting. And to be doing it with Nicki, man, that’s my dog. That’s more than my dog. That’s, like, we have the most interesting relationship, ’cause it’s so multilayered. That’s my co-worker, my peer, my family. But, at the same time, on any given day, she’s, like, the love of my life… Nicki’s a very intriguing character. To be doing it with her is great, man.
So since the success of your mixtape So Far Gone you’ve become rap’s golden child. Has it been hard getting your debut together, to live up to that hype?
Not hard. If you’re not struggling, then there’s something wrong. If it was effortless, then I’d be scared. If I was like, “Yeah, this is it, this is the one.” I’m still listening to it, and I’m like, “Man, I don’t know, it could be better.” But that’s just me. That’s just the artist in myself competing with myself. And now it’s so crazy, because, to be in the industry, a lot of people start playing you their music. You start hearing other people’s hits and sound, and you start thinking, Wow, okay, this is all the music that’s coming out this year. And you start thinking about yourself fitting into that, you know? Like, last year, other than Blueprint 3, it was a pretty dry year for hip-hop, as far as, like, the legends. But this year it’s way different. You know, you’ve got OutKast rumored to be coming out.
Do you know something we don’t?
I don’t. I just read what I read. Even from, like, [Santogold] is coming out again, MGMT. You’ve got Jeezy. You’ve got T.I. Carter IV’s gonna drop as soon as Wayne gets out. So it’s a great year for music. But when you’re in it, you also start thinking about, Well, I can’t get lost in that. And I make R&B, and hip-hop, so I’m not only thinking about the rappers—I’m thinking about the Dreams, the MGMTs, just great music on a whole. That’s the best part about it, because that’s what makes my music better and pushes me to keep working on it, as opposed to just being, like, “Okay, it’s done.” I wasn’t confident when I dropped So Far Gone, neither. I thought I had made the biggest mistake of my life.
Really?
Yeah, ’cause I started the mixtape off with an R&B song about women that were lost in the world. It was a risk. I mean, we knew it meant something to us, but we also sat there, like, “Man, are people going to accept this? A rapper that’s singing?” And I’m not just doing melodies, I’m singing. Same with this album—I’m singing. And I even went further. I explored music on So Far Gone. I was taking other people’s music and revamping it. I can’t do that on an album. I love that genre of music. It sparks something in me when
I use soundscapes or write like that. So now I’ve crafted my own interpretations on that that apply to my life, and I’m just wondering, Are those going to work now? ’Cause it’s just me. It’s my shit. So it’s a lot of unknowns on this album.Sometimes I’ll have been up all night thinking about it, and then I finally get to the studio, listen to it front to back, and I’m like, “Man, this is a good record. It’s a great first record.” And it’s so crazy, too, because people are always telling me—oh, you know, like, the Kanyes, and the Jays, and the Jeezys, they put me, like, for some reason, over there, like my album is gonna be competing with those people. And I don’t know if it’s just what they assume soundwise, like, maybe it’ll sound that big and be in the category, but really, for the new artists that just put out a mixtape and are working on their first album, I mean, just those guys, the new class, that’s really where I’m at. I really only put out a mixtape, and this is my first album. And just, like, [Kid] Cudi or a Wale, J. Cole—time-line-wise, that’s where I am.
Via XXL, and hit the jump to see some more photos of Drizzy from the XXL May 2010 Magazine. Also, you can check out Nicki Minaj’s XXL cover story excerpt and photos here.
April 14, 2010
Massa de mais, Parabéns Drake. Você é lindo. Deus te abençõe. Beijos.. /brasilian
April 14, 2010
DRAKEE KILLIN’ it right noww!(:
April 14, 2010
Awesome! Thanks guys
DRIZZY
April 14, 2010
drizzy keep it comin, da world love wut u do stay trueto yo art and neva fall off
Young Mula
babayyyyy
April 14, 2010
Wayne go harder den drake but its ok c4 cumn out i cnt wait
April 15, 2010
some1 that can post some site where i can order a jacket like drakes in the second pic and the fourth <333
YMCMB
April 15, 2010
Drake ima young rapper n I want u to kno that u inspire me keep go hard I heard that ur on my island (jamaica) holla at ya boy
April 15, 2010
drizzy so sik brah..HELA bangin yo!
April 15, 2010
drake your too sik for this don’t worry thank me later will be good 🙂
April 15, 2010
i fucks wit him but he dnt compare to wayne
April 15, 2010
Wow his eyes have a gorgeos color in the first pic, they are like brown, but not totally dark
April 15, 2010
drake you is doing good keep up the work and your one of my fav rappers. well your my number one.
your amazing. =)
April 15, 2010
i cant believe drake just said nicki minaj can be his lover on any given day i new he liked her becus on the (monique show) they was in the corner n drake had his arm around her. they should jus get together they will look cute together (young mula babbbby)
April 16, 2010
wat a badass!!!!!!!!!!
April 16, 2010
MAIN DRAKE IZ SO HARDDDDDD!!!!!!!!
April 16, 2010
Yoo i like ur style..
April 19, 2010
<3
April 20, 2010
keep goin hard and doin wut u do.