How Drake built his dream team
'[Drake and 40] took it to a higher level than we had ever done yet.' — Saukrates
"Was Drake gonna be big, or was this gonna be a one-off here?" — Wild Wayne from Q93 in New Orleans
While we now know the answer to that question, what we don't know is how Drake built the empire that would make him bigger than the Beatles. In a new CBC Gem series, we're looking to find out.
Drake's Plan is an eight-part documentary series starting Oct. 24 with a new episode added to CBC Gem weekly, exploring how Drake solidified himself as one of the savviest icons in the game. CBC-TV will air an abridged version of the series as a 90-minute special on Dec. 10.
In episode 1, which is available now, we look at how Drake met his dream team. Toronto rapper Saukrates takes us back to his early work with Drake, which introduced the up-and-coming star to Noah Shebib, a.k.a. 40 — now Drake's musical right-hand man. We also learn how remixing Divine Brown's "Twist my Hair" led Drake to producer Boi-1da, who's since worked on dozens of tracks for the rapper, including his breakthrough hit, "Best I Ever Had." You'll also get a glimpse into what Drake was like on the set of Degrassi those early years, thanks to Andrea Desiree Lewis, a.k.a. one of Jimmy's love interests, Hazel.
Get a sneak peek at the episode below, and head to CBC Gem to watch the full thing. You can also head to cbc.ca/music/decadeofdrake for our Decade of Drake coverage.