Drizzy has been taking his album leak in stride. He already addressed it briefly on Twitter. Much like J. Cole, he’s thankful it leaked with only 8 days left before Take Care’s official release. Back in October, Billboard actually presented Drake with this very scenario and asked his thoughts on his albums leaking early.

“I look forward to leaks-knock on wood. I shouldn’t probably, but I do. Like I said, if it’s a reasonable leak, I look forward to it. We’re all sitting here in the studio like, “Oh man the night this leaks, it’s gonna be so crazy!”  People talk about, “Are you gonna go on the Internet? Are you gonna stay off the Internet? What are you gonna do?”

40 protects the music really well, and I think God willing I get like the same thing I’m talking about, like a 10 day leak. And that’s something I’d be extremely excited about because I feel like if people get the opportunity to live with the music for a week before they go buy it, it’s only gonna help me, not hurt me. So I’m looking forward to hearing the feedback from everyone-that’s gonna be an exciting night when it comes out.

more of Drake’s thoughts…
Derick G’s footage of YMCMB in Hawaii
Related Drake coverage from around the web
after the jump…

Billboard: J. Cole’s album “Cole World: A Sideline Story” leaked a week early and then came in at No. 1. There’s been talk that positive reception to his leak spurred sales.

Drake: I agree. I think that giving people the opportunity to judge before they go and buy, I think that can only help. There’s a loyal fan base that’s gonna go and support you just based off the fact that they want to own a copy of your material, and they know what it means to give you that one sale, and they hope that there’s another hundred, two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, five hundred thousand people that are gonna do the same thing. And then there’s genuinely the people who heard it that night and were like, “Yo, I need to support this, I need to go buy it, I need to own this.” His leak was like 10 days before, seven days before. I think those leaks are very beneficial to artists who have the product, who can reel people in with their music as opposed to turning people off.

Billboard: Do you anticipate leaks? Is that something you factor in and assume is going to happen?

Drake: Yeah, always. I look forward to leaks-knock on wood. I shouldn’t probably, but I do. Like I said, if it’s a reasonable leak, I look forward to it. We’re all sitting here in the studio like, “Oh man the night this leaks, it’s gonna be so crazy!”  People talk about, “Are you gonna go on the Internet? Are you gonna stay off the Internet? What are you gonna do?” And [producer Noah "40" Shebib] has his own views of what he wants to do, and I have my own idea of what that night’s gonna be like for me. The thing about 40, as well as being a great producer and great musician, he’s also an incredible, incredible engineer and protector of our music. He set us up a system for this album that I think worked very well. We’ve suffered no leaks. I’ve heard rumor of a couple records floating around out there that people are just listening to for their own personal enjoyment, like early demos and sh– like that. But most of the records that they’re talking about are features, so you know, usually when you start sending to other camps, stuff gets a little messy. 40 protects the music really well, and I think God willing I get like the same thing I’m talking about, like a 10 day leak. And that’s something I’d be extremely excited about because I feel like if people get the opportunity to live with the music for a week before they go buy it, it’s only gonna help me, not hurt me. So I’m looking forward to hearing the feedback from everyone-that’s gonna be an exciting night when it comes out.

(via Billboard.com)

Previously: Drake & Rick Ross Working on ‘Y.O.L.O.’ Mixtape; Shelves Joint LP with Lil’ Wayne
Drake Feat. The Weeknd – “Crew Love” + Reacts To Take Care Leak

Related Stories from around the web:
The Source:Drake On Why He Hates Social Media (The Source)
VIBE: The People and Places Name-Dropped on Drake’s Take Care Album
Beta Beat: Drizzy Drake’s Mastery of Internet Album-Leak Diplomacy
Vulture: Leaked: Drake Cares, a Lot