Drake recently sat down with Canadian broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi of CBC Radio for an hour-long discussion, touching on his background, musical identity, legacy, the songwriting process behind his new album Nothing Was The Same and much more.
How does Ghomeshi's interview compare to Elliot Wilson's CRWN session with Drizzy? Read excerpts from their lengthy exchange below:
On "Nothing Was The Same":
My right-hand partner in music creation, challenged me on this album to trim that fat. To make a very concise project and asked me to—actually gave me a song cap. Asked me to keep it at 13 or 14 songs on the original. And so that was an interesting challenge for me. And now that it’s out and the world appreciates it, it’s a great feeling.
I definitely wanted to tell more of the story. That was one thing that another person I know, whose opinion I respect very much, I asked them ‘What’s next? What comes next? What would you want to hear from me?’ And they said to me, ‘I want to hear you tell—give me more of the story. I know great things about you that other people don’t know. Whether it’s with family, with women. Just give me more of your story. Get more personal.’ More personal, yeah. And I think I pushed it to its max on this record. I don’t know if there is another step to take after this.
On being called 'emotional':
Well, there's a victorious sentiment behind it. I think the most important thing to understand about this record is the sentiment. I'm 26, working as hard as I possibly can with my friends, that I grew up with, making my family happy. I'm so sick of people saying that I'm like lonely and emotional, and associating me with this like longing for a woman. I hate that, it bothers me so much... 'cause I do make music that makes you feel something, but I'm actually not that guy in real life, I'm happy. I'm not content by any means, I wanna keep working but I'm happy person. I'm very excited, my life is constantly exciting it's not some sad depressing story. As far as the soundscapes go, that's just the music that I chose to make, I make music strictly for the purpose of driving at nighttime.
On growing up in Toronto:
We rented someone's basement in the first floor, I didn't have some mansion. I grew up with a mother that was deep in debt because she wanted the best for her family. So being bi-racial was obviously tougher in Forest Hill than it was in the west end of the city. I made friends as I could. And I had a tough time, definitely. I think I started to find myself when I got on Degrassi.
On making hits and what didn't make the LP:
A lot of my hit songs I’ve written in a very short period of time. "Hold On, We’re Going Home," I felt like we finished that in like two hours…I’m not a guy that does 40 songs for a project and picks 13 of them. If I’m gonna go as far as to track over a beat I usually have the utmost faith in it that it’ll end up somewhere. I don’t really dispose of too many songs. I have stuff that didn’t make this album, definitely. But I don’t have 20 or 30 of them. I have four or five records that just didn’t make it because again I was trying to keep it concise.
On success:
I'm just addicted to it. I think that I've sacrificed so much for it already and dedicated so much of my time that I have to push it as far as I possibly can, 'cause I've given up a lot of years, as far as nurturing personal relationships go, and trying to build things like a family or a relationship… I don't do any of that. I just kind of work… at this point in my life I'm okay with that. I think it's a great age to be doing that... I rap. And I'm 26. So I'm still ready to be young and hungry and talk my game.
On his legacy:
I think I'm building my own legacy, as much as I have respect for the gentlemen in my family [Teenie Hodges and Willie Mitchell]. I think I've surpassed a lot of people's expectations, and I think I'm building my own legacy for my own family one day. I grew up knowing a lot about that side of things, but I didn't necessarily come up off that or receive any help or support from those people, you know? They're just in my family. So I look forward to building my own lineage, my own legacy, with whatever I do moving forward and whoever I bring into this world… I care about how long it lasts, for sure. I'm in it for the long run.
Peep the full interview below: