Drake has been the topic of much discussion since exploding on the rap scene under the Young Money / Cash Money brands. He receives more than his fair share of adulation and hatred, but indifference is not a word associated with him. So, it was only fitting that AllHipHop.com got the Canadian’s Top 5 Dead or Alive to get the artists and influences that got him to his lofty perch in the rap game. The list is as unique as the 23-year-old.
AllHipHop.com: AllHipHop needs your Top 5 Dead or Alive. Can you talk about your influences of your music?
Drake: I would say…. I won’t say rappers…. Leonardo DiCaprio…
AllHipHop.com: Wait, wait, wait, they are typically rappers, but you can say whoever you want. Lupe Fiasco went way off course and it was all good. But can you tell us why Leonardo?
LEONARDO DICAPRIO
Drake: I like the way he [Leonardo DiCaprio] carries himself and how much he lives his work. That is something that I hope to accomplish. I don’t think I live my work. I don’t think that I prep enough for my music like someone like Kanye West, his work ethic is so crazy. He studies it, he sleeps it, he breathes it. When he’s making an album, there is no distraction, no clubs, there might be some for the most part, but its really intense, and his work ethic I hope to achieve someday.
JIMI HENDRIX
“Second would be Jimi Hendrix, I love how he just performed under pressure. I read a lot of things about him. I watched a lot of things, being put on at the wrong times, being f##### around, being high and under the influence and performing in the unbelievably sedated mindstate. Just how he dressed and how rebellious he was and how he performed and took the world by storm on a Beatles type movement as one man.”
JAY-Z
“Third would be Jay-Z. Everything about Jay, how long he has been in the game as a rapper, you know how intelligent he is, you know who he is married to. Everything about Jay in his lifestyle is very inspiring to me.”
KANYE WEST
“Fourth, I would have to say, in my life, I would have to attribute Kanye West with a lot of inspiration. There was a time in my life when I was completely engulfed in everything that Kanye had to offer like when he first came out to College Dropout. Everything about him, how he dressed, his crew, you know everything about Kanye was so intriguing to me.”
ANDRE 3000
“And last I would have to say Andre from Outkast. The whole Outkast being a part of my childhood. He was always unafraid to be intelligent, and I respect that. I don’t change my voice and talk a certain way because I am doing an interview with AllHipHop.com . I will still speak to you how I speak.”
THE SIDEBAR – LIL’ WAYNE
AllHipHop.com: No Wayne?
Drake: I would say that when it comes to Wayne, I am talking outside [the crew]. Wayne is the closest thing that I have ever come to an idol or hero. I am speaking outside my camp, I feel like if you ever hear any of my interviews you understand Wayne is a given. Wayne is my hero. He has built up something from the ground that you have never seen in a lot of years. If you ever heard an interview of me you know that Wayne is a given. Coming back from being a Hot Boy to recreating his flow, to taking over the game. I don’t think that there is any other rapper that is as iconic as Lil’ Wayne. I think the only thing that is more iconic than Lil’ Wayne is the diamond that people make for the Roc.