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Drake · S2 E3
Lil Wayne Calls
The biggest rapper alive hears the tape and invites the kid from Degrassi on tour
Late 2008. A Houston music executive named Jas Prince plays Drake's music for Lil Wayne, the most dominant rapper alive. Wayne listens, then makes a call to Toronto.
Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem on "Forever." Within a year of meeting Wayne, Drake is on a track alongside the three biggest rappers in the world. From a Degrassi dressing room to a song with Eminem and Kanye.
Forever (2009)
From the LeBron James documentary soundtrack "More Than a Game." Boi-1da provides the beat, and each rapper attacks it differently. Drake opens with the now-legendary "Last name Ever, first name Greatest." At the time, it sounds like hyperbole from an unknown kid. In hindsight, it sounds like prophecy. The production is massive: triumphant horns, relentless drums, built for stadiums. Drake doesn't try to out-rap Eminem or out-flex Wayne. He finds his own lane.
TAP TO REVEAL: Who actually discovered Drake and connected him to Lil Wayne?
“When Wayne reached out, it was surreal. This is the greatest rapper alive. The guy whose music I studied. And he wanted to work with me? I was still showing up to the Degrassi set.”
— Drake, interview with Complex, 2009
The Wayne Connection: Key Numbers
Used To (feat. Lil Wayne)
From If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015). Years after that first phone call, Drake and Wayne are still making music together. This track captures their chemistry at its most natural: Wayne brings the punchlines, Drake brings the melody, and Wondagurl's hazy production ties it all together. A window into the relationship that started with a MySpace page and a gamble from Houston.
Used To, Drake ft. Lil Wayne (2015)
Read the lyrics while you listen. Years after that first phone call, Drake and Wayne are still making music together. Wayne brings the punchlines, Drake brings the melody, and Wondagurl's hazy production ties it all together.
Who discovered Drake on MySpace and connected him to Lil Wayne?
Drake is on tour with Lil Wayne, rapping in front of real crowds for the first time. But between tour stops, he locks himself in studios and records something that will change his life overnight.
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