Drake sat down with Vibe Magazine for a one-on-one in-depth interview to discuss leaving DeGrassi, his development as a hip hop artists, comparisons with Kanye West, So Far Gone, and also how he never graduated from high school. Check the excerpts from VIBE.com’s interview with Drake below.
VIBE.com: You were on Degrassi for eight years. It must have taken a lot to leave that comfort zone. When did you know it was time to go?
Drake: I can’t really say I left that show. One day we came in and all the names were just changed on the dressing rooms. Everyone got cut. We go upstairs and it’s like, “Who are all these people auditioning in the front?” They owe us a lot of money. The amount of loyalty, the years we put in with these people…they did us foul. As far as the producers go, I don’t talk to anybody over there.
VIBE.com: There’s a shift in character from your first mixtape, Room for Improvement to your third, So Far Gone.
The first songs I made were all like “Replacement Girl” with Trey Songz. It was pretty straight forward, radio-friendly, not much content to it. And I thought that was the direction I’d go in. And then as life progressed, I grew and decided that to follow suit would truly be a waste of time.
I started to see my situation as more of an opportunity as opposed to a curse. Coming from Canada, coming from a TV show, it’s like “Wow. If I can really do something different, I may be regarded as the one of the first crossover film to music people to really be looked at as an artist.” Once I saw it like that, I started becoming more confident as a person. I started seeing my thoughts and feelings as something the world may want to hear, as opposed to some shit I just make up in my head. I think I did it a little bit on Room for Improvement. And Comeback Season was more of me proving that I had bars. Then So Far Gone was really my chance to open up and give people a true piece of myself because I had a lot going on in my life. Good things and bad.
VIBE.com: Yet you have Kanye whose entire career is based on being left-field. Wouldn’t that make you feel comfortable know that there is room to do that and be successful?
I don’t want to tell people, “Oh I’m just so weird and you all have to love it.” It’s not like that. I’m a simple guy and I just have a vivid mind that I want to share. I don’t even want it to feel like left-field or right-field. It’s about how I feel in the moment and So Far Gone was when I was at a very unsure, confused state. It’s not to say that the album won’t have those components. I have a sound that I’m known for now. The mixtape is very slow and very dark. My album is going to be maybe a little happier [laughs]. Then the second go around if something crazy happens in my life, I might feel a totally different way. But right now I feel great. And I want to make an album that reflects that.
VIBE.com: Having worked so much with Weezy, do you see him as a mentor or a peer?
I definitely look at Wayne as a mentor just because I have such respect for what he does and am a big fan of his music. I didn’t let being around him change me and I think he respects me for that. I think the illest thing is that I see him as a mentor and he sees me as a peer.
VIBE.com: Having already established a name for yourself and being so multi-talented, what’s the ultimate end goal?
I’m a realist so it’s not like I’m thinking my debut is going sell a million copies in a week. It’s my first album, I just want people to appreciate it. One of my goals is to win a Best New Artist Grammy and I’d also love to finish high school. I’m starting to live out my third goal now, which is to get into scripts and go back to shooting these movies. My grandmother tells me that at the end of the day all we have are memories. I’m trying to make great ones.