subject: Drake Tickets - Returning To Roots With New Mixtape [print this page] Though old-school as it may sound, mixtapes are still the way most rappers get their brand recognized by big name celebrities. For Drake, who was discovered just a few years ago, he remains all too familiar with the process. But while he has seen mainstream success with hits like "Best I Ever Had" and "Find Your Love," the Toronto rapper plans on paying tribute to his origins with a free mixtape for fans.
Talking to MTV during his OVO Festival performance, he said "I think I got a great body of work with that tape." The modified LP will be available soon, as fans can expect to begin downloading the free genre-swapping tape before the end of the summer. See the new tracks live with Drake tickets from StubHub, as he travels around the world supporting his June debut Thank Me Later.
Drake, who has been selling out stadiums since fans caught on to the leaked tunes of Thank Me Later, plans on releasing a mixtape similar to those that first introduced him to the business. Since 2006 Drake has been the talk of the town, albeit in the underground rap scene who caught wind of his first mixtapes and collaborations with artists like Trey Songz, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne. The newest mixtape, though it comes post-commercial success, will be much the same. "I'm gonna do it like I do all my other tapes," he added. "I feel the people deserve [the free tape]. It's hard for me to put out free rap albums these days. So the best I can do is switch genres and put something out for free."
The rapper stirred up controversy in June when his record label Young Money wanted to release his debut a few weeks ahead of schedule following leakage. The rapper was not interested, he said, and prepared to give fans a chance to absorb everything and spread the word - good or bad- to friends. "I was really like, 'June 9 isn't enough time to let them digest all the leaked music. If they go the music already, let's let them listen to it." The result instantly turned Thank Me Later into a hot commodity and helped to make it a Billboard favorite.
Drake, who was born Aubrey Drake Graham, was already a well known face by the time he stepped out in the hip-hop world. An actor who starred in the Canadian sitcom Degrassi: The Next Generation, Drake had made a name for himself long before his mixtapes appeared. Yet it was the rap industry he was gearing to tackle next, and he worked hard to get there. Even without a record label Drake released the single "Replacement Girl" with Trey Songz, which allowed him to garner a name for himself by way of mixtapes and remixes.
Eventually he released the June 2009 single "Best I Ever Had," with fans in Kanye West and Jay-Z, among others. The Billboard Hot R&B single finally gave him a record contract with Universal Motown for the EP So Far Gone. The full length appeared a year later, after a 2010 Juno Award win for Rap Recording, with Young Money.
