Salman Rushdie Recites, Evaluates Drake Lyrics

Acclaimed author Salman Rushdie (The Satanic Verses, Midnight’s Children, Fury) recently stopped by the CBC in promotion of his new novel, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights. As Noisey points out, after discussing the novel, the CBC gave him some Canadian literature to read aloud. No, not Margaret Atwood or Alice Munro, but, rather…Drake lyrics.

Below, watch the Booker-Prize-winning Rushdie read excerpts from five Drake tracks – “6 PM in New York”, “Forever”, “Know Yourself”, “What’s My Name”, and “6 God” – and offer his commentary on each.

It is very hard not to laugh while watching him recite, “You was poppin’ back when Usher wore a U-Chain/God damn, you changed.”

Reciting Drake’s “Forever” line, “Last name ever, first name greatest/Like a sprained ankle, boy, I ain’t nothing to play with”, Rushdie comments, “I like the half-rhyme. I like ‘greatest’ and ‘played with’. That’s good.”

He also complements Drake on a subtle Marilyn Monroe reference in the “What’s My Name” line “Okay, away we go/Only thing we have on is the radio”. As he explains, “She [Monroe] posed in the nude and she was asked if she had nothing on, and she said ‘I have the radio on’.”

Read our feature on Drake’s Toronto called “Views From the 6″.

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