Aubrey “Lookin Like An Old Man” Graham aka Drake is on the new cover of Complex Magazine talking about most of the same sh*t he talks about in every magazine article — being half-Jewish, life after Degrassi, getting put on by Lil Wayne, being friends with Kid Cudi and having a terrible video directed by Kanye West. Look under the hood for an excerpt and some more flicks.
Here’s a few excerpts of Drake talking about his songwriting process, making his upcoming album Thank Me Laterhow , working with Weezy and how his ex helped inspire 5 songs on So Far Gone:
Take me through your songwriting process:
Drake: With R&B, I know my sound. I know I make records to fu*k to.
[Laughs.]
Drake: The way Jay and Wayne write rap, I write R&B. I don’t write lyrics down on paper. The other day, I was in the studio with Alicia Keys, and I wrote two songs just speaking to her. I wish I could write that way for rap. With my rap songs, there’s so much of me I have to give that I don’t know if I could ever just flow. The thing is, I’m a great rapper. There’s two elements to rap: having the thoughts, and then being a great rapper. I can really rap the shit that I write. My tone, my inflection. When I listen to myself on records, I don’t feel like I don’t belong there. When I listen to “Forever,” with three of my heroes, I fit right in.
At the moment, you’re in Atlanta working on Thank Me Later, but mentioned you still need to get in the studio with Wayne.
Drake: Me and Wayne have done so much already, but if anybody has a repeat feature on this album, it’d probably be Wayne. We have a formula, a musical bond that works when we come together. I just wanna do it super-big—bigger than “Every Girl,” bigger than “Best I Ever Had.” I’d love to have a number-one record with Wayne. That’s the only record on the album that I think that way about.
Do you know what you want it to sound like?
Drake: Yes and no. We tried to go into it with a song called “My Darling Baby,” but it leaked. It was me and Wayne using our wit to entertain women, alternating mini-verses. They’re all cool punchlines and nothing sounds repetitive. When I think of a record for me and Wayne, I want to do something that’s sexy. Something that still has us rapping, but for women to enjoy.
Would that song have made the album?
Drake: Definitely. I write best about two things, which is evident from the cover of So Far Gone: the constant quest to understand love and money. I want it and I want to understand it.
Where does that need come from?
Drake: The relationship I was in before So Far Gone influenced a lot of lyrics. A lot, a lot of the lyrics. The first five records on the mixtape are sort of like a timeline of that relationship, you know?
Anyone well-known?
Drake: You wouldn’t know her. She’s great; I was able to walk away with moments, which I guess is better than walking away with nothing. But ultimately, I’m still trying to figure it out. I come up with the answers, about myself and my own thought process when it comes to love, as I’m writing. That’s when my realest thoughts manage to make their way out.
So we’re going to hear that on Thank Me Later?
Drake: This album is me trying to catch my footing again because everything’s changed. It’s a beautiful thing, ’cause I’ve just been waving, like, “Hold on, stop.” Part of being able to make a new album is taking things day to day, being observant, being able to write about the shit that’s going on
*The album is highly anticipated, but is it worth it?!
