Started from the bottom, now he’s here: Yes, Drake once made $100 opening for Ice Cube, but now that he has a record deal with RCA, that’s no longer the case, he’s had a career-defining moment. The first time I heard Drake, I was intrigued by his quirky vocals. I thought, “Hmm, how cool would it be if instead of his signature style, he was doing some weird version of rock!” His voice is so distinctive, and when he’s not singing what sounds like a rockabilly anthem, he switches it up, and that’s when I first fell in love with his music.
I’ve made it to the top of the charts, and you’ve got a record deal? We do that too. It can be hard, especially when you’re a rapper, but I think that’s one of the things that pushed me to be like, “Okay, now I just have to make good music, no matter what.” There was a time when I didn’t think I was even capable of doing a good beat, so I never was worried about that, but I was definitely worried about how to handle the business side of the business — making good records, releasing them, and getting people to like them.
Is it tough to get all those records out in a short deadline? Yeah, it definitely is. I get asked a lot about my personal record deal, whether I’m going to sign with a label from another country, and my response to that question is that I’m not going to sign with a label that doesn’t want me. I just don’t see myself in a company that’s going to put out bad music all the time. They have to want me in the first place to produce the first record they ever put out, so I’m definitely not signing with a label that isn’t going to support me in the way that I want to be supported. When people ask me about it, I kind of laugh and say that it’s one of the things I’m going to be doing: making sure I’m supporting myself in the way that I want to be supporting myself — by myself.
So now, we’re talking about a country-rap album, with a record deal. Is there more going on there between you and your label? Yeah, I’m working on an album right now that I’ve never done before. The title is going to be called My Name Is, and it’s
