Birdman has revealed that he foresaw Drake‘s path to success during their initial encounter.
During a recent appearance on JalenTV, the Cash Money Records head touched on his first introduction to Drake as a young artist.
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“Wayne brought the music to me. Wayne asked me what I thought about it. I’m like, ‘I think that n-gga dope, man. That n-gga bad,'” he began. “We ain’t never heard no shit like that. That n-gga had them long words and added that singing flow. We ain’t never heard no shit like that in Hip Hop.”
Baby added, “First time I met him I told him he gonna be a legend. He was like ‘For real?’ I’m like ‘Yeah, Drake. You gonna be a fucking legend in this game.’ Cuz the Hip Hop ain’t heard nothing like that.”
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Watch the full video below. The section about Drake begins at the 28:13 mark.
Drake’s rise to stardom is often considered one of the most unexpected and successful journeys in the rap game. From his start on the set of the popular teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation in the early 2000s to his transition to music with the release of his first mixtape Room for Improvement in 2006, the OVO label executive has since landed in the conversation of GOATs.
Continuing on the momentum of his debut release, the Toronto native dropped Comeback Season (2007) and So Far Gone (2009), both released under his self-founded label, October’s Very Own. Notably, So Far Gone featured the smash hit “Best I Ever Had,” which became the first top 10 hit of his career.
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In 2009, he joined forces with Lil Wayne, signing to his new label Young Money. After much anticipation, in 2010, Drake released his debut studio album, Thank Me Later, which featured contributions from Hip Hop heavyweights JAY-Z, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Timbaland and his mentor Wayne. The offering topped the Billboard 200 and spawned the Top 5 single “Find Your Love.”
In 2011, he took home his first Grammy for Best Rap Album for his sophomore disc, Take Care. To date, Drizzy has scored a whopping 55 nominations and 5 wins at the annual ceremony which recognizes outstanding achievements in the music industry.
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However, not everyone has been impressed with Drake’s contributions to Hip Hop, comparing his tunes to the backdrop of a shopping trip to Target.
Earlier this month, Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, was featured on The Cutting Room Floor podcast, where he was questioned by host Recho Omondi about whether he viewed Drake as Hip Hop. Bey didn’t shy away from expressing his unfiltered opinions.
“Why are you doing this to me,” he said. “Drake is pop to me, in the sense like, if I was in Target in Houston and I heard a Drake song… it feels like a lot of his music is compatible with shopping. Or shopping with an edge in certain instances… It’s likable.”
He continued: “What happens when this thing collapses,” he said. “What happens when the columns start buckling? Are we not in some early stage of that at this present hour?
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“Are we seeing the collapse of the empire? Buying and selling, where’s the message that I can use? What’s in it for your audience apart from banging the pom-poms?”
