VIA: rollingstone.com

Drake's Big Break: Lil Wayne's Protege Graduates From Degrassi to Hip-Hop

 The hottest MC in the game is an unsigned 23-year-old prodigy who's got girls, executives and rap's biggest names hanging on every word

This is what Drake-mania looks like up close: It's just after 10 p.m. on a balmy Tuesday night in May and downstairs inside the cramped confines of New York venue SOBs, Drake is receiving what feels like a hero's welcome. Kanye West, Ryan Leslie, Talib Kweli, the Alchemist and Bun B (who'll later join the upstart MC onstage) are all here to acknowledge the much-hyped rapper before his performance, Drake's last before he'll officially begin work on his debut LP, Thank Me Later.

Upstairs it's more of the same. The rap media cognoscenti are all present, as are the executives who have been bidding for Drake's services, including a high-ranking Universal/Motown chief and Warner Music Group Chairman Lyor Cohen. And don't forget the girls. Soon-to-be shrieking girls are lining up just in front of the stage, ready to scream at a moment's notice. It's hard to believe it, but tonight's performance is a part of the New York radio station Hot 97's Who's Next showcase. It's not even a proper Drake concert.

"I'm a new artist, by the way," a cheeky Drake told the packed house when he finally made it onto the stage in designer duds, a striped Commes des Garçons shirt and crimson Nike Air Jordans. "I don't know if you can tell by this show."

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE