The pressure of today’s entertainment industry is a great one. The stress can be all consuming. And it sends many over the edge to the point of no return. Young Money artist Drake talks about the overwhelming feeling in a brand new interview, and even admits to delving into drugs to cope with fame.
“I can’t lie to you,” he deadpans, “I read what they have to say and it’s … character-building.” He used to find it mortally wounding. “There have been times when a negative comment about me would be the be all and end all, and I’d wonder, Why do you hate me so much? Why would you tell me that you want to kill my mom or see me dead?”
It’s a fair question, one that Drake has grown accustomed to asking. “It’s scary for me to say this on record,” he says, “but artists are only human, and we seek validation like everyone else. You just have to come to the conclusion that it’s OK, there are going to be people who like you and people who don’t. Luckily there are millions of people who love me and a few who don’t.”
Far from an R&B loverman (there was also once some kind of romance with Rihanna), Drake undercuts his every boast with a melancholy that is eminently seductive. He even talks, in We’ll Be Fine, about suicide. “I say: ‘Never thoughts of suicide, I’m too alive,’” he points out, but even to mention the subject in a song, considering his wealth and fame, is strange. “Yeah, I know,” he says, “because you get artists in this position who go crazy and don’t know how to handle it. There are people who have killed themselves. There’s the overwhelming stress, how tired you are, the weight on your shoulders of going out here and giving 18,000 people entertainment … It’s a lot of pressure.”
How do you handle it? Drugs?
“Have I sipped codeine before?” he asks for me. “Yeah, of course. Have I smoked weed? Yes. Do I drink wine? Yes. But do I do it excessively? No. I’m not a reckless guy. I do it all within moderation. I’m not into drugs.” He realizes what he has just said, and bursts out laughing, as do his crew. “I mean any outside the ones I just mentioned.”
Though I’m no fan of Drizzy, I can really appreciate his candor. I’ve been saying it for years, but it’s great to see a celebrity admit it. They are human just like the rest of us. Thus they are exactly like you and me. They need validation, and, like many of us, cope with life with drugs and alcohol.
It looks like a lot of today’s top music stars are a bunch of smoke and mirrors. While other artists sit on the shelf waiting for their shot at the charts, acts like Rihanna and Young Jeezy aren’t performing as well as many would have hoped they would.
Sure they look the part, but numbers don’t lie.
Check this weeks sales wrap by Cyrus over at SOHH.com:
Leading the way this week is Drake’s Take Care album staying at No. 4 with 29,200 copies. The rapper’s sophomore album has shelled out 1,349,800 copies after ten weeks in stores.
R&B singer Rihanna’s Talk That Talk trails closely behind moving up two slots to No. 5 with 20,200. With nine weeks knocked out, RiRi’s latest offering has sold 583,400 records.
Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy’s Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition stayed put at No. 6 with 19,400. Moving into his sixth week in stores, the Snowman’s long-awaited album has moved 380,200 units.
Rap duo LMFAO’s Sorry for Party Rocking dropped two slots to No. 13 with 16,400. With 31 weeks in the books, their newest album has sold 582,100 copies.
R&B veteran Mary J. Blige’s My Life II…The Journey Continues moved up five notches to No. 23 with 11,900. Headed into her tenth week, the singer’s newest album has sold 439,300 copies.
Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV slipped a spot to No. 30 with 10,600. With 21 weeks knocked out, Weezy’s summer release has pushed 1,957,200 units.
Late singer Amy Winehouse’s Lioness: Hidden Treasures also dropped a notch to No. 32 with 9,900. Moving into its second full month, the singer’s posthumous release stands at 318,900 sold copies.
Soulful singer Anthony Hamilton’s Back to Love dropped 17 slots to No. 40 with 8,300. Moving into its seventh week in stores, the album has sold 155,100 records.
In the ever-changing digital space, the endless debate over whether or not music albums leaking online helps or hurts record labels remains constant. We’ve examined the issue on BET Sound Off several times throughout the years. And while most are hard-pressed to find anyone neutral on the matter, Wheelchair Jimmy aka Drake seems to be that guy this week.
One of hip hop’s most anticipated albums has leaked a full week before it’s due to hit stores and iTunes. Take Care, the follow-up to Young Money/Cash Money artist Drake’s critically acclaimed album, Thank Me Later, is everywhere online. Sources close to the situation who I contacted expressed slight alarm due to the popularity of the Canadian-born actor-turned-rapper. But it seems Drizzy himself isn’t too pressed, as he took to his twitter page to express:
“I am not sure if the album leaked. But if it did thank god it doesn’t happen a month early anymore.
Listen, enjoy it, buy it if you like it…and take care until next time.”
A melancholy approach to the situation, the “Headlines” hit-maker isn’t new to giving his music away free to the fans. Back in May, the MC caused a sh*t storm with his record company by leaking “Dreams Money Can Buy,” from his forthcoming sophomore album. Besides offering a download link, the post contained this message: “A song that I felt the need to share. Not my single. Just a piece of my story. Hear me out though …” Reportedly, “Dreams Money Can Buy” is Take Care’s intro track. Drake’s blog post was accompanied by an image with text that reads, “This is a story of dreams mixed with reality.”
Considered an unconventional promotional tool, artists giving their music away to the fans that support them is a business calculation that simply won’t sit well with struggling music companies. Days after the self-imposed leak, Universal Music began targeting hip hop blogs around the world — and even went after 50 Cent’s This is 50.com. The attack was publicly denounced by most hip hop fans — and the artist himself. So while it’s no surprise Drake has taken a more laid-back approach to the leak, the impact the unauthorized action will have remains to be seen.
Here is a picture circulating the internet of the worlds favorite rapper Drake or a Drake look a like. Either way it gave me a chuckle. Word on the street Drake hates the gay jokes, but he could have gotten a job at the Family Dollar as a stock boy and he wouldn’t bare the brunt of so many jokes. But I’m sure those millions helps him get over it.
