The New Face of Hip-Hop

The NY Times recently published an in-depth piece on Drake, highlighting his rise from Jimmy Brooks of Degrassi High to being one of the “most innovative figures in Hip Hop”. In the article, Drake discusses his short-lived relationship with Rihanna. He also reveals that he no longer feels safe in his hometown of Toronto after getting robbed at gunpoint last year. Here’s an excerpt:

In rapid fashion Drake has become part of hip-hop’s DNA, leapfrogging any number of more established rappers. “I’m where I truly deserve to be,” Drake said over quesadillas at the hotel’s lobby bar. “I believe in myself, in my presence, enough that I don’t feel small in Jay’s presence. I don’t feel small in Wayne’s presence.”

His next relationship was better: it inspired “Best I Ever Had,” the bawdy song that became his breakthrough solo hit. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, practically unheard of for a song that originated on a mixtape. Eventually it would earn Drake a pair of 2010 Grammy nominations, a first for a rapper with no album out. (An abridged EP version was eventually released to stores to capitalize on Drake’s raised mainstream profile. It has sold almost 500,000 copies, a surprising number for a collection of songs widely available free online.)

On “The Resistance” he raps about an accidental pregnancy with a woman he was briefly involved with, who chose to end the pregnancy. And on “Fireworks” there’s a verse about Rihanna, who asked him last year to write a song for her new album; the two soon began seeing each other regularly, though they never publicly confirmed their brief relationship.

Verse from Fireworks:
“I could tell it wasn’t love, I just thought you’d fuck with me/ Who could’ve predicted Lucky Strike would have you stuck with me, damn/ I kept my wits about me luckily, what happened between us that night, it always seems to trouble me/ Now all of a sudden these gossip rags wanna cover me, and you makin’ it seem like it happened that way because of me/ But I was curious, and I’ll never forget it baby, what an experience/ You could’ve been the one, but it wasn’t that serious.”

“I was a pawn,” Drake said. The song he wrote for her never got released. “You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I’ve done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear,” he said. “I was like, wow, this feels terrible.”

Read entire article here