Drake Addresses Meek Mill Beef and Ghostwriting Allegations in New Interview
Photo by Pooneh Ghana
In the same week that Drake and Future released their joint collaboration What A Time to be Alive, Drake has returned to the world of media in the form of a new interview with The Fader, where he discussed his forthcoming album, his recent Meek Mill beef, and ghostwriting allegations, among other topics. The interview took place in Toronto, and found Drake opening up about his strengthened relationship with fans, his relationship with Skepta, and more.
Regarding Views From the 6, Drake’s proper follow-up to 2013′s Nothing Was the Same, he said he doesn’t have a fixed release date but will be coming out “imminently.” He referred to this year’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, which was released as a surprise in February, as a mixtape. “By the standard I hold myself and 40 to, it’s a bit broken,” he said. “There’s corners cut, in the sense of fluidity and song transition, and just things that we spend weeks and months on that make our albums what they are.”
He talked about his recent spat with Meek Mill, which began after Meek accused Drake of using a ghostwriter. Drake countered with the diss tracks “Back to Back” and “Charged Up”, while Meek failed to produce a timely response before eventually releasing “Wanna Know”:
This is a discussion about music, and no one’s putting forth any music?… Nobody told you that this was a bad idea, to engage in this and not have something?…It was weighing heavy on me. I didn’t get it. I didn’t get how there was no strategy on the opposite end. I just didn’t understand. I didn’t understand it because that’s just not how we operate.
He also addressed the ghostwriting rumors:
I need, sometimes, individuals to spark an idea so that I can take off running. I don’t mind that. And those recordings—they are what they are. And you can use your own judgment on what they mean to you… It’s just, music at times can be a collaborative process, you know? Who came up with this, who came up with that—for me, it’s like, I know that it takes me to execute every single thing that I’ve done up until this point. And I’m not ashamed.
He talked about why he jumps on songs from lesser known artists, such as Ramriddlz’s “Sweeterman” and Wizkid’s “Ojuelegba”:
It’s just channeling my mom. Like, I’d bring home an essay that I did really well on, and my mom would read it through and give me notes back—on the essay that I just scored like 94 on! So sometimes I just do that. I’ll hear people’s stuff and… I’ll just give my interpretation of how I would have done it…It’s just, literally, I’ve recognized the potential and the greatness in this piece, and I want to take my stab at it too.
He talked about vulnerability and his place in the world of music:
Not being vulnerable is never gonna be my thing. I’m always going to share with you what’s going on in my life… I think I realize that I’m gonna have to be OK with not having that many friends that are peers.
Read the rest of the interview here.
In other previously-reported Drake news, footage has surfaced of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra performing “Know Yourself” from the 2015 Polaris Music Prize Gala. Check it out below.
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