Drake-Complex-Cover-2011

I love this Drake x Complex cover image! So classy! This riff on vintage Blue Note jazz record covers stands out, especially in comparison to the plague of pop culture magazines who, with their last breaths, hope to grab eyes instead of also minds. Anyways, that’s just me being a cover snob. But I do like this alot, props to Egotripland‘s Brent Rollins, NCB et al.

I started jotting down my thoughts about Drake’s Take Care album after digesting it over the weekend, and now after reading Damien Scott‘s cover story on Drake, I’m having the same reaction to both. In both cases, we have to dodge this pendulum that swings from thug-posturing to emo-sniffling just get to the thoughtful and very sharp artist behind it.

At one moment, Drake is realizing his dream of having a spa shower installed at home:

“It’s a shower that’s lit by all LED lights,” he explains. “It has 10 jets, an overhead, and it sprays out lavender or whatever scents you want. It’s something I’ve always wanted.”

The next moment, Drake is cracking his knuckles in a pair of baggy OJ Simpson gloves:

“I’m ready for whatever,” he says. “I don’t give a fuck. I want to move through life in the most non-confrontational way possible, but I’m not a pussy. Don’t ever get that mixed up.”

It’s both the most absurd and most entertaining part about Drake, the celebrity.

More excerpts, thoughts and photos after the jump…

Another interesting aspect of Scott’s visit to Toronto is the insight into how Drake and OVO feel responsible for their hometown. Even a fleeting moment in Drake’s “Headlines” video was actually a meaningful show of solidarity between guys from rival Toronto neighborhoods, Malvern and Galloway.
But when Scott asks Drake about the traded subliminal between Team Kanye x Jay-Z x Pusha-T and Team Weezy x Baby x Drake….and the answer is diplomatic, non-committal, but with just enough attitude-sauce to show that Drake isn’t bending at the waist:

When he dropped “Dreams” last May, he ruffled feathers with the line “I feel like it went from top five to remaining five/My favorite rappers either lost it or they ain’t alive.” ….

“It wasn’t meant to be a shot at the five rappers that I love,” he says. “I’ve never even sat down and pieced together a top five before. I just feel like I’m really good right now. And I’ve never felt like that before. I’ve always felt reluctant to say anything like that, but I’m very confident in these new raps that I’m about to give the world”

and…

Still, Drake does his best to remain diplomatic—sort of. “Rapping is about being young and doing your thing and being fly,” he says—the implication being that if older rappers catch feelings, so be it. “I’m sure people took it** that way and that’s good, man. That’s great. Wake the fuck up. I hope it makes you go harder. I hope it makes you get mad at me and write a song with me in mind. I hope Kanye’s verse on ‘Otis’ was with that** in mind. Everyone tried to tell me ‘Oh Jay is going at you.’ I don’t hear it, but I hope it was man, that song is fucking incredible. Making each other go harder, that’s what this shit is about.”

LOL. So in 2012, if the war of words graduates from unmanned drones to naming names, will we really be fighting in the name of the Rap Age Limit? It’s been tried before. But time has an annoying way of flying.

Read more of Complex‘s Drake Jan/Feb cover story here!

** “it” and “that”: Do these refer to the “Headlines” top five line? Or the idea that rapping is for being young?

Related: Drake On Pusha-T’s Diss: “It’s a Frustrating Time For a Lot of People Right Now…Just Make It More Direct Next Time.” (Updated)
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