It's no secret that Drake's rise to prominence in the late-2000's not only gave voice to one of hip-hop's most beloved personalities but also helped put a city and, to a certain extent, an entire country on the map as a viable reservoir of rap talent. Those who had the keys to the record companies that had achieved great success in the hip-hop game were all of a sudden looking to the Six as a place where they might find the next great emcee; in some cases, they've succeeded. Names like The Weeknd, Jazz Cartier and dvsn are just a few names that are racking up plays, both on the radio and on the most popular streaming services, and developing a devoted, enthusiastic fan base as a result. This effect on the culture, whose origins can be traced back to the former Degrassi actor's first couple of hit singles, has not gone unnoticed by a filmmaker who has spent a lot of time studying a similar subject.
According to The Toronto Sun, Sean Menard, the director of the Vince Carter documentary The Carter Effect, thinks that a major parallel can be drawn between the NBA star and Canada's claim to hip-hop fame. "You see the impact, there’s almost a Drake Effect happening,” siad Menard, who likened Mr. Graham's ability to capture the national zeitgeist and thrust Toronto, as a city, into the global conversation as very similar to what Carter was able to accomplish at the height of his playing career. “Because you have these young musicians or artists, I’ll put myself in the category. I remember listening to Drake’s lyrics and his albums and feeling a sense of, ‘Well, he made it, I can make it,’" Menard continued. "I think for Vince, it took having these young players, that grew up here, making it to the NBA, tell him the stories, I had the poster on the wall, for him to kind of settle in and go, ‘Oh, wow, all these years later, I had this type of impact."
Both Drake and LeBron James serve as executive producers on the film, which premiered at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. You can check out a trailer for the flick below.