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Hype is a funny thing. Though he’s been peddling his own mixtapes since 2006’s, Room for Improvement, Aubrey “Drake” Graham has arguably become the most-buzzed about and sought-after artist in hip-hop over the past few months. From Mary J. Blige to Jay-Z, the actor-turned-rapper/crooner has managed to collaborate with musics’ top dogs, amass countless sold-out shows, drive women crazy – all without having a major record deal.
While one might be hard-pressed to find any serious anti-Drake listeners out there, the Young Money affiliated, “White Knight,” has his fare share of skeptics. Nevertheless, aside from a few internet bloggers, Drake’s buzz has only been intensified by his co-signs (his latest collab with Jay-Z is rumored to be the next single for The Blueprint 3), it’s obvious the rest of his peers are convinced.
“Drake is LeBron James [of hip-hop] right now,” says rapper/friend Wale, the Interscope Records signee who recently just released his mixtape, Back to the Feature. “He’s like the uber creative [artist].”
Fans praise Drake’s ability to fuse rap, R&B, songwriting and showmanship into his music. Though a lot of folks might look to rub Drake off as just another thespian wanting to prove his machismo by jumping into music game, the artists who’ve known him before he was “Wheelchair Jimmy” insists he’s not an act.
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“I remember when nobody knew who was a Drake was and I went to Canada and shot a “Replacement Girl” video with him and people looked at him funny because he was on Degrassi as Wheelchair Jimmy,” says Trey Songz.
The video for “Replacement Girl” marked the first time a Canadian rapper ever had a video featured on BET, proving Drake had the ability to go places other haven’t. Recently Drake and Kanye West jumped on the remix for Jamie Foxx’s hit, “Digital Girl.”
In an interview with MTV, Foxx, had nothing but praise for the kid some would like to dub as just another unsigned hype. “Drake is the new movement, man. You gotta think about what this kid has done, man. To have records on a mixtape, and then the next thing you know he’s on top of the charts. And every time you mention him, people go crazy,” Foxx said.
With his first official album, Thank Me Later, on the horizon Drake is (or quite possibly isn’t) feeling the pressure to deliver a product on par with his past mixtapes. Surely, Drizzy would insist this has been a longtime coming, and his superstar friends would agree.
“I’m so happy to see my homie blowing up,” Songz said. “Nobody would really listen to how lyrically-talented he was. I love my brother and I’m happy for him and he is my next album.” —gavin philip godfrey
