Here’s What We Learned From Drake In His Surprise OVO Sound Interview

Saturday's OVO Sound Radio Episode 38 started with a very lengthy interview between Drake and DJ Semtex, a DJ for BBC's 1Xtra Radio station that was recorded the day after the 2017 Grammys. The interview spanned a lot of topics but here are some important details we found out:

Drake talked about his rise to fame and detailed the relationships he has built since then. Notably, the rapper recounted a time when Dr. Dre gave him a $10,000 check and he remembered it as "the most money I'd ever had in my life." In his joy of receiving that paycheck, he blew off a project and promptly was "sent home."

Drake revealed he contemplated taking all the raps out of Views and keep it "melodic." However he kept them in because "I know my fan base, I know why I'm here." He added that he also believes Views was an important cultural work and said, "whether people want to admit it or not, the influence [Views] has directly had on music is evident."

Speaking on the Grammys, Drake said that he should've been nominated for Best Pop artist over Best Rap artist. He said "One Dance" is a pop song and should've been nominated in the pop category. "I write pop songs for a reason. I wanna be like Michael Jackson, I wanna be like artists I look up to. Those are pop songs, but I never get credit for that."

He also agreed that he definitely feels "racism" within that institution, and insinuated that politics might have some influence behind who wins. He explained that after he declined the Grammy's invitation to the show, someone responded via text: "I got a text back that said, "Blame it on Donald Trump."

Drake then spent a long time discussing his relationship with Meek Mill. Addressing Meek Mill's accusations that Drake didn't write his own songs, Drake said, "I am one of the best writers. Period."

Discussing "Back To Back," Drake said very plainly, "I respect revenge when it's warranted." Semtex asked if Drake and Meek's relationship may heal with time, using Jay-Z and Nas' relationship as example. Drake responded: "I'm not looking to be friends with someone like that. Jay-Z has respect for Nas, I don't have that for him."

Drake genuinely loves the U.K. Grime scene and said that he's been a "fan of Skepta for a long time." "I think the best rappers in the world are in London. I think the complexities and the cadences and the way they piece music together...I really respect a lot of London emcees."

Drake also emphasized Skepta's influence on widening Drake's mind: "I don't know if my mind would've been as open to One Dance or Controlla if I hadn't done that record with Skepta...
This is our music. We're all entertwined. Afro-beats, Toronto to JamaicancCulture, dance hall, London. I gotta hail Skep for that one. That was a turning point for me."

"The style in which its being put together is based on the concept of OVO Sound Radio. It's almost like a radio show. I basically asked myself "What if I did it like OVO Sound Radio but every song was a new Drake song?" It's more like an evolution of a mixtape. After Views, I was inspired and I wanted to keep the music going and get people inspired," Drake said.

"OVO Sound radio was the first of its kind....the OVO blog used to be our headquarters and that used to be where we could share exclusive thoughts and exclusive music with people and it became a hub where people could check in with. With OVO Sound Radio, you gotta make an appointment to listen, and it's such a great feeling to hear. It makes it fun again, it reminds you of those mixtape days, it reminds you of New York old school rap days. I feel like that's the true blessing of OVO Sound Radio is we've got so many artists that's ready to fire off new music. It's nice to know our platform is respected," Drake said.

A video of the interview will be released on Apple Music Monday.