Don’t bother reading any of the text if you can view the vids

Video of Jaime Foxx Raving about Drake on Conan

Mary J Blige is a MASSIVE Drake Fan: “The kid Drake is amazing [...] a savior.”(Starts at 1:51)

Jay Z thinks So Far Gone is “one of the greatest mixtapes of all time.”

50 Cent on Drake’s meteoric rise: “Drake is coming up. I heard Jay got him on a single? That was fast. That was ill. For him to put him on a single, that’s ill. I don’t know if he’s rhyming or singing. The fact that he’s on it, that was a fast come-up. Jay won’t even rap on his own artists’ records.”

Kanye West is Directing the “Best I Ever Had” video

Drake Says ‘Best I Ever Had’ Director Kanye West ‘Oozes’ Creativity

NEW YORK — Kanye West sure can be convincing.

Drake recently spoke to MTV News about filming a video for his breakout track, “Best I Ever Had,” and the Canadian MC was set on having a strong visual that matched his female fans’ passion for the song. “I want women to feel special when they watch the visual and say, ‘I wish that was me,’ or ‘I know that feeling.’ ” he explained. But after a late-night recording session with West, things quickly changed.

“At first for this video, I was taking myself way too serious and trying to do some, like, epic sort-of-intimate video … that would have been cool, but the song is too fun for that,” Drake told us on the Brooklyn video set. “So when we were in the studio one night — me, Kanye and Big Sean — we were actually recording a song. And ‘Ye … it oozes out of him, creativity … he was just being creative Kanye, like, spewing out ideas, and the day after, I texted my manager — we have the same manager — and was like, ‘Yo, Kanye’s idea was actually the best out of all of them, see if he’ll do the video.’

“I don’t know if at that point he knew he was gonna be directing the video,” he continued. “It was more an idea like, ‘It’ll be funny if we do this.’ Then it turned into ‘Let’s do this.’ ” The Kanye-directed clip is a decidedly lighter take on things. The video was filmed Sunday at a high school basketball gym where Drake’s collection of “bests” manifests as the roster of a basketball team.

“Some of us younger men, we refer to our affiliation with women like a roster,” Drake said, explaining the concept. “You have key women in your life when you’re single and doing your thing.”

But Team Drake faces some stiff competition in the clip — the opposing females aren’t so smitten with the rising rap star. Despite the humor in the theme, Drake said the film will be shot to make it have a “Basketball Diaries”-like feel. There’s no “Degrassi” hook to the clip, even though a young Drake played a high school basketball player in the teen series.

Cameos for the video will include Trey Songz, Fabolous and Drake’s Young Money family: Nicki Minaj, Jae Millz, Lil Twist and Lil Chuckee. Kanye was on set, of course, as was his love interest, Amber Rose, and Common. Rihanna, recently rumored to be dating Drake, was present in New York the night before, but the “Umbrella” singer wasn’t on the closed set.

The “Best I Ever Had” clip marks Drake’s first “official video,” according to the Toronto lyricist. A previous video, “Replacement Girl,” was financed by the rapper and featured Trey Songz. The visual briefly aired on BET in the past and has been revived by MTV Jams recently. But Drake said that video was made while he was discovering himself as an artist and that the “Best” clip truly showcases who he is now.

While the buzz for “Best I Ever Had” continues to grow — the song is an airplay gainer on the Billboard Hot 100 — Drake is still ironing out the details on where he’ll sign as a recording artist.

He said that for now, being unsigned gives him some much-needed freedom. “I’m almost there,” he laughed. “I’m just taking my time. It’s less political and better to do things like today — having a video directed by a man of Kanye’s stature and still be unsigned — it just sounds better!”

MTV News speaks to Drake about his Tonight Show performance on the set of the ”Best I Ever Had” video

Drake Will ‘Never Forget’ His ‘Tonight Show’ Debut’
NEW YORK — Breakout rap star Drake appeared on “The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien” on Friday, performing alongside Jamie Foxx. The “Best I Ever Had” MC premiered his guest verse on Foxx’s track “Digital Girl.”

In recent weeks, Drake — who is still unsigned — seems to be everywhere, performing at Hot 97’s Summer Jam concert, flying to London to collaborate with Rihanna and now making his late-night-television debut next to an Oscar-winning actor.

But the Lil Wayne protégé took everything in stride. Or, rather, with a bit of anxiety. Drake had just recorded the remix less than 24 hours before he went before millions of TV viewers with it.
“The biggest challenge of that whole day, aside from being on ‘Conan’ and being nervous initially about that, was [trying to] remember the 24-bar verse I just recorded the night before,” Drake told MTV News. “It was an all-around challenging day, but when I’m under pressure, I always seem to rise to the occasion in some form.”

The rapper, who exploded with the release of his mixtape So Far Gone in February, said the appearance marked one of the best days of his life. “My uncle saw it, my mother saw it, everyone in my family and in my circle was so excited,” he said. “It was something I’ll never forget. I don’t think an unsigned artist has ever had the chance to perform in that arena.”

Next up for Drake is finishing a video for his hit “Best I Ever Had.” The rapper was in New York over the weekend filming the video with Kanye West. West inspired the clip, according to Drake, and eventually took the reins as director of the shoot. Also, Drizzy will join Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy on their America’s Most Wanted Music Festival, which kicks off July 27 in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Drake talks about his new single with Mary J Blige which was released as the first single off of her new album and the song he recorded with Jay Z which Jay may/will release as the first single off his new album.

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I agree with MJB’s comment re:Hip Hop and women. I don’t get worked up over the lyrics; I’m just tired of rappers still trying to do what Tupac was doing 15 years ago. It’s monotonous and beyond cliched at this point. I swear, if I hear another rapper used the line “fucked her face,” I won’t be responsible for my actions. It’s kind of why I’m not feeling Kid Cudi; he’s not a hardcore rapper, but he still seems to have this chip on his shoulder where women (and everything else TBQH) are concerned; like he’s still bitter about not getting any pussy in high school.

I think I might get tickets to the Most Wanted Tour if they add an NYC date. What concerts are you looking forward to seeing this Summer ?
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