Drake Talks Ladies

May 15th, 2009

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[ed note: we got a lot of good dish with Drake on Wednesday night, so we'll be rolling out news over the next week!]

A lot of people are surprised by the immense popularity of rapper Drake, considering he’s a dude without a record deal or official album, yet he’s packing venues with 2,300 fans who’ll dish out $40 for a ticket. But we get it. He’s figured out that magical balance of appealing to the ladies while not alienating his male counterparts.

Drake’s lyrics concerning the opposite sex on his latest mixtape, So Far Gone (download it here), convey an honesty and sincerity that’s a rarity in today’s hip-hop. Sure his stories are still filled with bravado, conquests and confidence, but there’s an emotional side shown too. Plus, he smartly lures the ladies by crossing back-and-forth between hip-hop and straight-ahead R&B. So when MuchMusic travelled with him to his first hometown show in Toronto, we grilled him about groupies, his ex and women in general.

“I value women,” Drake said to VJ Sarah Taylor after they debated the definition of a groupie. “Therefore my connections with women always lead me to be able to express some emotion. I would never involve myself with an empty connection with a woman.”

On So Far Gone, there are quiet a few references made to an ex-girlfriend. On “Let’s Call It Off ,” Drake raps: “Leave me, leave me, I can’t f***in’ stand you / Wish I had the courage to say everything I planned to.” Drake admits his ex was not thrilled about him putting their relationship on blast in rhyme, but is very clear about why that happened.

“It is what it is. It’s done. It wasn’t with malicious intent. If it was, I would have mentioned names,” he explained. “I’m not trying to hurt anybody’s credibility. At the same time, it’s fair to say I had good times with that person, I had bad times with that person. It just happened to be the relationship that I was in at the time I was making this mixtape so it was on my brain.”

We’ve got lots more with Drake, so check back next week for more news about his upcoming album, plus some exclusive interview clips.

Tags: drake, interviews, ladies