CORPORATE TAKEOVER Magazine | The Mouthpiece For Hustlers

(Photo courtesy of AllThings-Fresh.net)

When you think of regional hip-hop icons, a few names immediately come to mind: Common in Chicago, Snoop in Long Beach, Jay-Z in New York, and UGK in Houston. But if Aubrey Graham has his way, you’ll soon be adding Drake in Toronto to that list. The 21-year-old actor turned rapper (he sings too)  wants to be Canada’s first bonafide hip-hop icon.  And not only that, he has big plans for south of the Canadian border as well. Drake is the first-ever unsigned Canadian artist to have a video debut on BET’s 106 & Park.

Graham currently portrays Jimmy Brooks—a physically disabled high-school student—on the tremendously popular Canadian teen drama “Degrassi: The Next Generation.” While the track record for teen idols turned hip-hop stars is about 0-17,  Graham has a quality that his predecessors and many rappers today lack: talent. When it comes to content, flow, and charisma, he has it.

Another attribute that sets Graham apart from his contemporaries is his business acumen. Although music sales have diminished dramatically over the last few years, music consumption is at an all-time high. Consequently, branding and finding alternative ways to generate revenue is more important for artists than ever before, and he is very mindful of that. With so much going for him, it’s easy to see why If Drake were an IPO, we would buy it.

CORPORATE TAKEOVER: I’ve heard the album is going to be an independent release, which is surprising since you had every major label trying to sign you. Are you still going for an independent release?

DRAKE: Not necessarily. I’m working towards a couple of different situations. I just have to find the right setup. I want it to come out with the right cosign and at the right time. It’s not 100% concrete that it’s going to be independent, but even if it is, it’ll still be available like every other album. It’s nothing to worry about for anybody who plans to get it.

CT: Record sales have been declining rapidly over the last couple of years. That must concern you from a business perspective. How do you plan on surviving the drought?

DRAKE: Well, I do the acting thing, I do music, and I also have other talents such as writing for other artists and stuff like that. So in terms of staying afloat financially, I just explore other avenues. I’m getting into the fashion side of things now. One of my best friends works for a clothing company called Ransom in Toronto.

CT: Is that Oliver?

DRAKE: Yeah, Oliver. That’s pretty much my brother. That’s one of my closest boys, and he really does his thing. They own probably one of the biggest fashion movements here, which is like Goodfoot, Ransom,  and they just opened a Stussy store last week. 

I’m really not worried about droughts. I make genuine music, so I’m not just something for right now. As times change, I have always been OK with adapting to my surroundings and just trying to make it happen. So I’m not necessarily worried about industry droughts. Plus, I have a strong viral movement on the internet. The internet isn’t going anywhere, so I’m not worried about it.

CT: A common factor among all major rap artists is branding.  Each artists has that one thing that sets them apart or a subculture that they identify with. Kanye has his eclectic style, Pharrell is somewhat eccentric, and Lupe has his skateboard. Is that something you actively think about as a new artist?

DRAKE: Yeah, I think it’s important to give everyone something to latch on to. Especially when you are talking about a commercial market in terms of monetizing your career and generating profit from it. It’s important to brand yourself with something. For me, I think it’s just being young, man. That’s a great thing. I just turned 21. To be young, to be fly, and to be well-spoken. I pride myself on those things. Hopefully, whatever I attach myself to, whether it be a clothing line or whatever, people will say, “If Drake is messing with it, then it’s something legit.” 

I don’t have a gimmick, and I’m not saying that Lupe’s thing is a gimmick or anything like that, but I don’t really have a story like that for people. I just have a lifestyle. I think Drake, ATF, and the music that I make is a lifestyle. And I think that it coincides with a lot of the best in the game. People like Wayne, Jay, Pharrell, and Kanye. They all embody a lifestyle that people want to live. So I’m just trying to do that same thing for a younger generation.

It’s OK to be 21, be about your business, and be about your grind. And not necessarily be on some thuggy, thuggy bullshit, you know? You can be educated and still be cool, basically. That’s what I’m trying to put forth. 

CT: Tell us about ATF

DRAKE: ATF is like a group of my friends. First of all, it stands for All Things Fresh, and then everybody has their own thing. If you’re in the ATF, you can make it what you want it to be. Like my friend Niko. His stands for All Time Flyest. Everybody has their own thing. And ATF is basically just a group of my friends that have that same mentality. We don’t bullshit, we don’t fight in clubs, and we don’t do reckless stuff. We just go out, we get money, we spend money, we love women, we love music, and we love all the things that young men should enjoy, you know?

It’s really just a movement of people who are all business driven, focused, and have massive goals. Everybody that I am friends with has some goal that almost seems unattainable. But we are all willing to put in the work to try and get it. So that’s what ATF is. A lot of people are ATF. It’s not necessarily like, “these are the members and no one else is allowed.” It’s just a mindset. It’s the same thing. ATF is a lifestyle.

CT: You have a sponsorship deal with Patron, right?

DRAKE: Yeah, I did. But I haven’t really got back with them in a minute, because I haven’t really done any parties or shot any videos. But yeah, me and Patron have a great relationship. Maybe it’s because I like it so much [Laughs]. Hopefully when my album is about to drop, we can do some cross marketing now that I am of legal age. And just really make it pop. But Patron is great. Patron is a great drink, and people should drink it if they are allowed to.

 CT: Did they approach you originally?

DRAKE: Yes and no. I was out in Atlanta, and I knew it was like a big thing. Everyone was like, “Yo, let me get a shot of Patron. Let me get Patron and lime juice,” or, “Patron and pineapple.” So I heard the name, and when I got back to Canada, I heard that it was Dan Ackroyd who did the Patron In Canada. I just had a contact to Dan Ackroyd through the acting stuff. I hit up somebody and was like, “We should brand.” And they were real excited about doing it. Just because it’s a good look for them. In Canada, especially. There are not too many rappers that embody that level of class and maturity that Patron comes with. Patron is like a big brand in the market right now, so they were happy to do it. And I’m sure there are a lot of things to come for me and that brand in the future.  But right now, I’m just focused on music.

CT: You working on anymore endorsement deals?

DRAKE: Right now, I am sponsored by a clothing line called Two Black Guys. It’s a big clothing line up here, and they have some real dope shit coming out. 

I’m always sponsored by Ransom. I’m always repping Ransom. Everybody is wearing Ransom right now. Jay-Z is wearing it like every other day. I’ve seen some pictures of him in Ransom and stuff like that. So I’m officially sponsored by them, and I’m working closely with a lot of people trying to work out some stuff. I’m very selective with who I mess with, you know? I’m not really about that tacky hipster shit. I don’t like that retro bullshit. That’s just not me. I like to keep it grown. 

I really want to get a sponsorship from Moncler. It’s this jacket company. I have to mention Canada Goose too. I have a sponsorship from Canada Goose. They provide me with a lot of stuff for the winter time and stuff like that. But I really want to get a sponsorship from this jacket company called Moncler. I wear a lot of their stuff, I like what they are about, and I would like to start not paying for it.

CT: Usually, if you want to attract corporate America, you have to be good at what you do, have a good personality, and be in a large-enough market. Do you think being from a small-market like Canada or Toronto has hampered your marketability in any way?

DRAKE: Nah, not at all. It doesn’t really matter where I’m from. A lot of people have to ask me where I’m from, you know? What matters is the fact that for the last 7 years I’ve been on a television show that’s in 150 million homes in North America alone, you know? So to talk about markets and demographics, my market for anything is very vast. Even in the UK, Africa, and Spain. I think there are maybe 6 or 7 places where that show isn’t shown. For the rest, it’s like in the top 5 for the teen market. 

Whether I am from Toronto, Minnesota, Baltimore, somewhere in Asia, or some forest, It doesn’t really matter. The demographic is there. You can see it in the Myspace and you can see it in anything I release on Youtube. Those are the people who are interested, and I haven’t even had any marketing yet. I have not put one cent of money into marketing. When it goes down, I think it will be an easy sell.

CT: Right now, it seems like you are identifying yourself with the push to put Canada on the map. You did, however, grow up in Memphis. Couldn’t you easily represent for Memphis?

DRAKE: Yeah, I could easily just, sorta in my opinion, sell out [Laughs] and just be like, “Yeah, I’m American.” But I was born here, and that means a lot. My passport is Canadian, and the other thing is that there are no icons here, you know? We have Kardinal Offishall, and he’s like an older brother and a mentor to me. But at the same time, he’s not an icon yet. It’s more of a challenge too. I was sitting the other week, actually three weeks ago, just talking to Juicy J from Three 6 Mafia. And we talked for hours. He was just telling me about what it’s like to be one of the real icons from Memphis, and how important that is to him. And how much of a staple that is in his life. He put Memphis on the map in terms of hip-hop. There have been a lot of other people who’ve tried to do it from there.

I kinda feel the same way about Toronto. I think I have enough talent and enough drive to be able to do it. To be the Three 6 Mafia of Memphis, the Jay of New York, or the Wayne of Louisiana. I think I could do it. I’m still young. I have a lot of learning to do and a lot of growing to do, but I have time. I’m always rushing. I don’t relax just because I’m young, but it’s not like I’m 28, 29, or 30 trying to be that next dude. I’m young, so I can still be that next dude when I’m 25, if it takes that long, or 26. That would still be a good look. 

CT: In some of your rhymes, you talk about investing and a few wealth building principles. What kind of business moves are you making outside of music and acting?

DRAKE: Right now, a lot of the money I make goes back into my career. But when I do start making enough money to the point where I have funds to play around with, I plan to get deeply involved in real estate. Real estate is something that interests me, and I have a lot of friends who make a lot of money off of that. Then there is this business I was thinking of investing in. It’s like a personal yachting business in Cuba. And my uncle, actually, is one of the main patent holders for Vitamin Water right now. And he’s just trying get all his stuff sorted out. 

I have a lot of great people around me. Just in terms of money making opportunities and stuff like that. Money is lovely. I like money a lot [Laughs], and I hope to do everything I can to make more of it.

CT: How do you plan on taking over  2008?

DRAKE: I plan on doing something that nobody my age has ever done before. I plan on being unafraid. That’s really the best way I can put it. I’m not scared. I’m not scared to release a R&B song, I’m not scared to rap the way I rap, and I’m not scared to dress the way I dress. Before people believe in you, you have to believe in yourself, you know? And that goes for every decision, even when you’re wrong. Even when you’re wrong, you have to make people believe you’re right. That’s the best way I could put it. I just plan on being a risk taker and being unafraid. Hopefully people will fuck with that.

Visit Drake on Myspace.

Download Drake’s “Comeback Season” mixtape.

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NOTES: Many thanks to the big homie T.SLACK!