Video: Drake Speaks On His “Club Paradise” Tour

Posted on 19. Dec, 2011 by Danny M.

Drake recently spoke with MTV after his Cali Christmas 2011 performance to discuss his “Club Paradise” tour, which he also just announced new dates for. Drizzy says the shows will be for his So Far Gone fans.

The Toronto rapper will play for about 6,000 to 9,000 people every night, mostly college students, a demographic he said he feels most loyal to. “I chose to do that because I just feel like those are the kids that downloaded So Far Gone off of October’s Very Own that night and have been riding with me ever since,” he shared. “I don’t want them to ever feel like I left them or like we’re disconnected, so I’m just gonna go back and I’m gonna bring them a real tour into those college spaces.”

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GQ Speaks To Drake About The Lil Wayne vs. Jay-Z Beef & More

Posted on 11. Nov, 2011 by Danny M.

GQ recently sat down with Drizzy to discuss his Take Care album, coming up with the album title while in Birmingham, England, some of the lyrics from songs on the album, So Far Gone, Thank Me Later, the perfect girl for Drake, sweaters, why the “Fancy” music video was never released, and the Lil Wayne vs. Jay-Z beef. Hit the jump to read the full interview!

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Video: Rio Ferdinand Interviews Drake For #5 Magazine

Posted on 31. May, 2011 by Danny M.

Earlier this year, Rio Ferdinand interviewed Drake for the latest issue of #5 Magazine, which also features Nicki Minaj on the front cover. Drizzy talks to Rio about how he became a Manchester United fan, acting, rapping, traveling with Lil Wayne, Weezy’s work ethic, his So Far Gone mixtape, his forthcoming Take Care album, award nominations, pressure, and lots more! You can watch the full 20 minute interview in the video above, courtesy of RapDose.

UNITED

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Drake XXL Cover Story Excerpt & Photos

Posted on 14. Apr, 2010 by Danny M.

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.

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Drake Says So Far Gone Honor ‘Means The World To Me’

Posted on 13. Jan, 2010 by Danny M.

“So Far Gone being named the Mixtape of the Year means a lot to me,” Drake said in Toronto. “It was a risk we all took as a team to put out a mixtape that I’m exploring so many different genres of music — from the Santigolds to the Lykke Lis to Peter Bjorn and Johns, to even myself going from rapping to doing records that sound like old Jodeci songs. It was a mix of all the things that make up my character, and for people to embrace it the way they did and for MTV to name it the top mixtape of 2009 means the world to me.”

For the first time ever, Drake goes in-depth about some of his and everyone else’s favorite tracks on the tape.

Joints He Checked For

» “Uptown” (featuring Lil Wayne and Bun B). “It was one of the later records,” Drake explained. “That was when I felt like the mixtape was moving a little too slow and it needed some energy. It gave me another chance to really just rap. I love to rap and say witty, clever things that people can say in the club. I like to give people that opportunity. When I heard the beat, I came up with this saying, ‘It’s OK, it’s OK, it’s OK.’ And at the time I wasn’t home, so I was like, ‘You can run and tell my city I’m on.’ It became this chant. Initially that wasn’t even the hook. Wayne had the hook that was part of his verse. That’s why it’s called ‘Uptown.’ He was like, ‘I’m so uptown.’ Then we took that out and made the hook [heard on the mixtape]. Bun getting on there was exciting. Produced by Boi-1da — I thought it was the one. That record means a lot for me.”

» “Unstoppable” (featuring Lil Wayne and Santigold). “Me and Oliver were into the Santigold record. ‘Starstruck’ was one of my favorite records. And ‘Unstoppable,’ the beat, it needed to be rapped on by somebody. I always try to do something with Wayne. Everyone has heard Wayne spit, but when Wayne’s put in an awkward situation, he goes off and shines in that atmosphere. So I had given him the beat, and at first he probably heard it and was like, ‘This is weird.’ A month later, I got this verse in my e-mail back. I did my verse and we found a way to edit it together — 40 did his surgery. It became a record that moved. On the So Far Gone Tour it was my favorite record to perform.

» “A Night Off” (featuring Lloyd). ” ‘A Night Off’ is my favorite song on the mixtape. It came from just … the song right before it is ‘Ignant Sh–’ with Wayne. It was such an exhausting song, rap-wise. We rapped for so long, it was so much to digest. I was like, ‘Man, after you hear that song, it would be so ill to just go into a slow jam.’ At the time it was some girl probably had hit me up like, ‘You never have any time. All I need is for you to take a night off.’ I saw that written on my phone. I was like, ‘A night off. That’s a crazy concept.’ Especially for anybody that works. You could be doing [any job] — to take a night off for somebody means the world. It was sexy and it made women feel special. That’s what I like to do. Lloyd with his higher voice showcased two types of tones. I love that song and girls really like it, which is the best thing in the world.”

» “Bria’s Interlude” (featuring Omarion). “I was smitten over this girl from L.A. and I started writing a song about her. A lot of the R&B [I do] is really based off women that come into my life and inspire me to speak to them in song and say what I never would expose on just a talking level.”

Shouts to MTV

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Drake Hopes Fans Get ‘Lost With Emotion’ On Debut

Posted on 09. Jan, 2010 by Danny M.

Drake isn’t a singer-and he’s the first to admit it. When he released his highly touted 2009 mixtape “So Far Gone,” which finds the Toronto-raised artist singing and rapping, he thought he made a huge mistake. “People were like, ‘What is this? There’s way too much singing on here,’ ” he says. “We were really nervous about it and for like a week I was having a serious breakdown.”

But a month later, Drake, born Aubrey Graham, realized there was a method to the madness. “Within like four weeks I noticed I had a brand-new sound that takes a while to digest and understand. Things started to pick up and I started to learn the value of taking risks,” he says.

Now, the venture is paying off. Last month when the Grammy nominations were announced, Drake learned he was up for best rap solo performance and best rap song for “Best I Ever Had” off “So Far Gone.”

“I can’t say this is unexpected, because, I mean, it’s something that’s kept me up many nights,” the 23-year-old says. “I dreamed about this for a lot of years and have lost lots of sleep over it. This is like the highest honor and I am humbled by this. It’s one of the few awards that isn’t a popularity contest; you have to make great music to be honored, and this is completely surreal to me.”

It’s an honor, however, that has an unintended side effect. With the two nominations that stemmed from his mixtape, that puts Drake out of the running for best new artist in 2010, when his debut album is released.

Lady Gaga experienced a similar technicality in 2009, as she was ineligible for best new artist since her track “Just Dance” was nominated for best dance recording the previous year. The best new artist rules say the nominated performer is eligible for “the first recording which establishes public identity,” and a prior nomination indicates that this threshold has already been reached.

But that may be just a tiny regret for Drake, who is set up to receive tremendous exposure for his forthcoming set. Drake, who got signed to Universal Motown through mentor Lil Wayne’s Young Money label shortly after the release of “So Far Gone,” is prepping “Thank Me Later,” slated for a February release. “The best part about ‘So Far Gone’ was that I didn’t focus on structure. The only thing that was consistent was the story and the emotion. That’s what I want to do with this album,” Drake says. “I make music for people to get lost in it, so, as long as it takes you somewhere, then I’ve succeeded.”

So far, the album features Kanye West, Wayne, Young Jeezy and Jay-Z, and a collaboration with Sade is on Drake‘s wish list. “Something happened last night too that might be great-it might serve as the legendary sprinkle for the album,” Drake says about another potential partnership on the set. “Shut It Down” and “Fireworks” are two tracks slated to make the album’s final cut.

“In 2010 I’m really hoping I can stay true to this new way of life I’ve committed myself to,” he says. “I have a special plan to keep the free flow of music going after the album is released. This is definitely a unique path I’m setting out on, and honestly, it’s great. I’m honored to be in this position.”

Via Billboard

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Drake’s So Far Gone Is Mixtape Daily’s Mixtape Of The Year + #8 On MTV News’ Men Of The Year Countdown

Posted on 14. Dec, 2009 by Danny M.

Drake’s rise to superstardom was one of the biggest stories of 2009. From his humble beginnings as Jimmy Brooks on “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” Drizzy (born Aubrey Graham) took the hip-hop world by storm, thanks to the success of his So Far Gone mixtape and subsequent partnership with Lil Wayne’s Young Money label. Drake collaborated with the biggest names in the game, was co-signed by everyone from Bun B to Kanye, and didn’t let a little thing like tearing the ligaments in his knee stop his climb. Grammy nominated, often-imitated, Drake came out of nowhere to lay the blueprint for success in ’09. Now he knows G4 pilots on a first-name basis.

2009 Highlights: In February, he made his So Far Gone mixtape available for free on his MySpace page, and it all went nuts from there. Drake jumped on Lil Wayne’s I Am Music Tour soon after, and was quickly named a “Fire Starter” by MTV News’ Hip-Hop Brain Trust. Then, riding a wave of hype, he headlined a Hot 97 “Who’s Next Live” show at New York club SOB’s, wowing a crowd that included the likes of Eminem, Kanye West and Talib Kweli.

With fame came certified sex-symbol status, which meant whispers that he and Rihanna were an item (which he denied), and he tried to downplay it all by proclaiming himself not to be a ladies man, but rather, “An honest man.” Of course, it was kind of difficult to hear him over the throngs of squealing ladies who followed his every move.

He joined up with Wayne again on his America’s Most Wanted Tour, and soon signed to Weezy’s Young Money Records. But his time on the tour would be short: three days in, he collapsed onstage, tearing three ligaments in his knee and forcing him to drop off the bill (though his knee would go on to launch a much-discussed Twitter account).

But really, 2009 was all about Drake’s music, and the tremendous in-roads it made for him. He was only the second artist in Billboard Hot 100 history to have two songs in the Top 10, with “Best I Ever Had” and “Every Girl,” and the So Far Gone mixtape was so successful that Young Money/Universal decided to re-release it as an EP. He collaborated with the likes of Jamie Foxx, Jay-Z and Trey Songz, and his “Forever” (featuring verses by Em, West and Weezy) was a posse cut for the ages. He landed at #3 on MTV News’s Hottest MCs list, and closed out ’09 with a pair of Grammy nominations and much hype surrounding his Thank Me Later LP, which is tentatively due in March.

Also this year, Drake refused Kanye West’s invitation to re-make the “Best I Ever Had” video … Drank a bottle of Opus One wine, wrote a lengthy blog post detailing his prodigious healing abilities … Sorta feuded with Universal Motown head Sylvia Rhone and the ghost of Tupac Shakur … Remained unrepentantly Canadian.

Congratulations to Drake for making #8 on MTV News’ Men Of The Year Countdown, and hit the jump to see So Far Gone get Mixtape Daily’s Mixtape Of The Year award:

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