"I often wonder in a time where new artists exist in a impersonal cyber world of instantaneous information, if we will ever have another rap legend that can manage to maintain the image that our idols had prior to this method of promotion. I am not suggesting that this person should be me, I am just urging a generation to understand that in order to have anyone of any significance in our lives that we can look up to there will be things that we must look past. There are people that buy sell and trade evil on a daily basis...when u believe in their brand is when they win." 


"Even photoshop couldn't change me" 
- Me

Aubrey Graham aka Drake is an up and coming entertainer from Ontario, Canada. Recently signing with Young Money  Entertainment/ Universal Motown (with Universal distributing). You may have previously seen him in the teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation where he played the character Jimmy Brooks; a star basketball player until being shot by a crazed classmate and left wheelchair bound(He may want to consider returning to his wheelchair though because he recently torn his ACL in a pick up game of basketball).

Drake however has not been shot in reality like other rappers such as 50 Cent and Obie Trice. Nor does he claim to be a hardcore "gangsta" rapper like many mainstream artists in the Hip Hop industry .

Drake brings forth a new hope to hip hop in a genre plagued with repetitive lyrics, themes, and simple lack of talent. Drake is not only a talented M.C. but also incorporates his ability to sing in his rhymes blurring R&B and Rap genres together. Through a series of mixtapes releases beginning in 2006 on myspace with Room for Improvement. Followed by Comeback Season, Heartbreak Drake and what is being talked about as the mixtape of the year So Far Gone. All available for free online. I encourage you to take the time to give him a listen. So Far Gone is a free album what do you have to lose? (link below)

He already has radio success with hits Best I Ever Had and a feature in Every Girl by Lil Wayne. However these songs do little to showcase his true talent. His mixtape So Far Gone is far superior from his previous releases. This is one of the few albums I can listen to all the way through without skipping past tracks. My favorite track off So Far Gone is "Say Whats Real" (an earlier version was previously released on Heartbreak Drake) where Drake raps over Kanye West's "Say You Will" instrumental. This song addresses his rise to stardom and how he is being received differently by his peers. It starts off with the lines "Why do I feel so alone. Like everybody passing through the studio. Is in character as if we acting out a movie role." So Far Gone contains features from artist such as Lil Wayne (dubbed best rapper alive by Time Magazine in 2008), Trey Songz, UGK's Bun B and even Swedish indie rock group Peter Bjorn & John just to name several. I highly recommend you check Drake, this up and coming rapper is listed on track eight "Off That" (Feat. Drake) (Produced By Timbaland) on Jay-z's highly anticipated Blueprint 3!

Top Tracks Off So Far Gone

• Successful ft. Trey Songz
• Unstoppable ft. Lil Wayne & Santo Gold
  
• Say Whats Real
• Uptown ft. Lil Wayne & Bun B
• Lust for Life
  

Worst Track

• Bria's Interlude (feat. Omarion)

If you enjoy Hip Hop or R & B I highly recommend you give Drake a listen if you haven't already. Even if your not typically rap inclined Drake's raspy singing, mellow beats and universal appeal may be win you over.