With the FADER 100 issue, Drake has given his first interview since early 2014. As he hasn't spoken to the media during a time when the media wants him most, the new issue finally lets fans hear Drizzy touch on some controversial topics that have surrounded him for much of the summer. Even though he dealt with said controversies about as well as he could have, most of us still have a few tough questions that we want to direct at the "6 God."
First -- we get that music is a collaborative process, but why the Quentin Miller-rapped reference tracks, which sounded much like what ended up on If You're Reading This Its Too Late? Drake's response:
"I need, sometimes, individuals to spark an idea so that I can take off running. I don't mind that. And those recordings—they are what they are. And you can use your own judgment on what they mean to you."
When asked about the context in which he asked for Miller's reference tracks, he responded, "There's not necessarily a context to them. And I don't know if I'm really here to even clarify it for you."
Okay, well, truthfully, we didn't expect a straight answer...
Drake went on to say that the ghostwriting accusations led to a necessary debate about what qualifies as authentic in hip-hop today and that he was happy to take the heat and be the impetus that drove that discussion.
"If I have to be the vessel for this conversation to be brought up—you know, God forbid we start talking about writing and references and who takes what from where—I'm OK with it being me."
He also talked about his state of mind soon after Meek Mill made the initial accusations and why he decided to come out of the gates with two consecutive diss tracks.
"This is a discussion about music, and no one’s putting forth any music? Nobody told you that this was a bad idea, to engage in this and not have something?...I just didn't understand. I didn't understand because that's just not how we operate."
He then spoke on how he knew "Back to Back" had to be the dagger in the short-lived beef.
"I was like, 'I'm gonna probably just finish this.' And I know how I have to finish it. This has to literally become the song that people want to hear every single night, and it's gonna be tough to exist during this summer when everybody wants to hear [this] song that isn't necessarily in your favor."
Think it's been a tough summer for Meek?