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Here's a follow-up to the post below...artist Paul Leli at work on his portrait of Drake.

Toronto's Serious Entertainment Crew presents Drake with this 6ft x 4ft portrait prior to going on stage in Toronto for his homecoming concert. Props to the artist....very dope.

'He knows how to utilize great sounds and great music,' up-and-coming rapper says.

By Jayson Rodriguez

NEW YORK — With its mix of singing and rapping, Drake's buzz-building mixtape So Far Gone has drawn comparisons to Kanye West's latest effort 808s & Heartbreak. For his part, Drake said the Chicago lyricist had a huge impact on his music and even described 'Ye as "the most influential person" in shaping the young rapper's sound.

"Before I ever got the chance to meet him, Kanye West shaped a lot of what I do, as far as music goes," Drake told MTV News on Tuesday night before his show at S.O.B.'s. "We always, always, always took the time to listen to Kanye's music and appreciate it beyond. We searched the samples and we find out where his inspiration came from, because he has one of the best ears in music, period. He knows how to recognize great music that's not his. He knows how to utilize great sounds and great music. So before I met him, I had the utmost respect for Kanye West. I'd even go as far as to say he's the most influential person as far as a musician that I'd ever had in my life."

 Drake said he and 'Ye initially met in Hawaii, where West has been working on music recently. The interaction was brief at first, but now the two are expected to collaborate on Drake's upcoming debut album. 'Ye attended Drake's New York show this week, and one of West's managers, Gee Roberson, acts as a co-manger for Drake.

Over the weekend, West returned the accolades in a post on his blog, saying that one of Drizzy's lines on Young Money's "Every Girl" is the rhyme of the year.

"Drake said, 'Do you like girls like I do?? Les-bi-honest!!!!!' Best line of the year so far!" West wrote in all caps.

As an upstart, Drake said the comment was hilarious and flattering.

"I feel like it's funny, because that's something he might have said," Drake said about the line. "[But] it's an honor that he's even looking at me as somewhat of an equal, somewhat of a peer. I think he's one of the greatest to ever do it."

SRC:  mtv.com

Plenty of famous faces were in the crowd for the still-unsigned up-and-comer's short set at S.O.B.'s.

NEW YORK — You can call him Drake, Drizzy or even Young Angel. He goes by a few different handles these days since he split from "Degrassi: The Next Generation." But one thing is certain about the Lil Wayne protégé (also still known as Aubrey Graham): He's got the biggest buzz in hip-hop these days, new artist or not. 

The upstart MC headlined the Hot 97 Who's Next Live series at S.O.B.'s in Manhattan on Tuesday night, where he swiftly ran through songs from his popular mixtape, So Far Gone, during a lively 30-minute set.

Instead of having to prove himself to the crowd, as others in the monthly radio-sponsored showcase have done, the unsigned (not for long) artist powered through selections in front of an audience that featured heavyweights like Kanye West, Bun B, Talib Kweli, Ryan Leslie, Eminem tour DJ/producer Alchemist and executives from multiple record companies.

Drake hit the stage at approximately 11:20 and had the crowd, which also featured a mix of college kids and plenty of females, singing along with him from the start.

Sporting a striped sweater, jeans and sneakers, the Toronto-based rapper and singer entered to an instrumental version of Coldplay's "Vida la Viva," then quickly dived into his songs "Unstoppable" and "Uptown," for which Bun B joined him onstage. 

"I'm a new artist, by the way," Drake slyly told the packed house. "I don't know if you can tell by this show."

You would think he had a catalog albums-deep by the way his songs were being chanted throughout his set. The rapper has released three mixtapes: the DJ Smallz-hosted Room for Improvement, Comeback Season and So Far Gone, which was released in February of this year and feted with a party attended by NBA superstar LeBron James.

The sold-out S.O.B.'s show marked Drake's last performance before he starts working on his debut album, Thank Me Later. The rapper told MTV News he plans to begin work on his solo project in June. He has yet to announce what label he'll sign to, however...

SRC:  MTV.com For more of this article go to mtv.com