Yo Drake

VIA: MTV.com

Drake Says 'Best I Ever Had' Director Kanye West 'Oozes' Creativity

'Kanye's idea was actually the best out of all of them,' the MC said of getting the star to direct.

By Jayson Rodriguez

NEW YORK — Kanye West sure can be convincing.

Drake recently spoke to MTV News about filming a video for his breakout track, "Best I Ever Had," and the Canadian MC was set on having a strong visual that matched his female fans' passion for the song. "I want women to feel special when they watch the visual and say, 'I wish that was me,' or 'I know that feeling.' " he explained.

But after a late-night recording session with West, things quickly changed.

"At first for this video, I was taking myself way too serious and trying to do some, like, epic sort-of-intimate video ... that would have been cool, but the song is too fun for that," Drake told us on the Brooklyn video set. "So when we were in the studio one night — me, Kanye and Big Sean — we were actually recording a song. And 'Ye ... it oozes out of him, creativity ... he was just being creative Kanye, like, spewing out ideas, and the day after, I texted my manager — we have the same manager — and was like, 'Yo, Kanye's idea was actually the best out of all of them, see if he'll do the video.'

"I don't know if at that point he knew he was gonna be directing the video," he continued. "It was more an idea like, 'It'll be funny if we do this.' Then it turned into 'Let's do this.' "

The Kanye-directed clip is a decidedly lighter take on things.

The video was filmed Sunday at a high school basketball gym where Drake's collection of "bests" manifests as the roster of a basketball team.

"Some of us younger men, we refer to our affiliation with women like a roster," Drake said, explaining the concept. "You have key women in your life when you're single and doing your thing."

But Team Drake faces some stiff competition in the clip — the opposing females aren't so smitten with the rising rap star. Despite the humor in the theme, Drake said the film will be shot to make it have a "Basketball Diaries"-like feel. There's no "Degrassi" hook to the clip, even though a young Drake played a high school basketball player in the teen series.

Cameos for the video will include Trey Songz, Fabolous and Drake's Young Money family: Nicki Minaj, Jae Millz, Lil Twist and Lil Chuckee. Kanye was on set, of course, as was his love interest, Amber Rose, and Common. Rihanna, recently rumored to be dating Drake, was present in New York the night before, but the "Umbrella" singer wasn't on the closed set.

The "Best I Ever Had" clip marks Drake's first "official video," according to the Toronto lyricist. A previous video, "Replacement Girl," was financed by the rapper and featured Trey Songz. The visual briefly aired on BET in the past and has been revived by MTV Jams recently. But Drake said that video was made while he was discovering himself as an artist and that the "Best" clip truly showcases who he is now.

While the buzz for "Best I Ever Had" continues to grow — the song is an airplay gainer on the Billboard Hot 100 — Drake is still ironing out the details on where he'll sign as a recording artist.

He said that for now, being unsigned gives him some much-needed freedom.

"I'm almost there," he laughed. "I'm just taking my time. It's less political and better to do things like today — having a video directed by a man of Kanye's stature and still be unsigned — it just sounds better!" 

Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Soulja Boy and Drake will be sharing stage on a summer tour dubbed 'Young Money Presents: America's Most Wanted Music Festival'.

Rap moguls Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy will be going on a joint tour this summer, hitting at least 21 major cities across United States. They will be joined by fellow rapper Soulja Boy and Young Money affiliate Drake. 

The star-studded roadshow is dubbed "Young Money Presents: America's Most Wanted Music Festival". It will be kicked off at Toyota Pavilion in Scranton, PA on July 27 and then wrapped up at Superpages.com Center in Dallas on August 23. 

Lil Wayne is currently finishing his rock-themed studio album "REBIRTH". After numerous pushbacks, he is now expected to drop the record in U.S. market on August 18. 

Young Jeezy, on the other hand, has released his latest set titled "The Recession" in September 2008. And for his next project, he has an upcoming solo effort titled "Thug Motivation 103" and reportedly works on a collaboration album with Akon. 

As for Soulja Boy and Drake, the two young rappers also have new albums under their belts.Soulja Boy is prepping for "The DeAndre Way", and Drake is gearing up for the release of "Thank Me Later". 

Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy's summer tour dates:

• July 27 - Scranton, PA at Toyota Pavilion
• July 29 - Saratoga, NY at Performing Arts Center
• July 30 - Pittsburgh, PA at Post Gazette Pavilion
• July 31 - Philadelphia at Susquehanna Bank Center
• August 01 - Wantagh, NY at Jones Beach Theater
• August 02 - Virginia Beach at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
• August 04 - Toronto at Molson Amphitheater
• August 05 - Montreal at Bell Centre
• August 06 - Cleveland at Blossom Pavilion
• August 07 - Washington, D.C. at Nissan Pavilion
• August 08 - Raleigh, NC at Walnut Creek Amphitheater
• August 09 - Atlanta at Lakewood Amphitheater
• August 08 - Raleigh, NC at Walnut Creek Amphitheater
• August 12 - Phoenix at Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
• August 13 - Los Angeles (TBD)
• August 14 - Irvine, CA at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
• August 15 - Concord, CA at Sleep Train Pavilion
• August 17 - Vancouver at GM Place
• August 18 - Edmonton, AB at Rexall Place
• August 20 - Denver at Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
• August 22 - Houston at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
• August 23 - Dallas at Superpages.com Center

SRC: aceshowbiz.com

VIA: mtv.com

By Jayson Rodriguez

NEW YORK — Breakout rap star Drake appeared on "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" on Friday, performing alongside Jamie Foxx. The "Best I Ever Had" MC premiered his guest verse on Foxx's track "Digital Girl."

In recent weeks, Drake — who is still unsigned — seems to be everywhere, performing at Hot 97's Summer Jam concert, flying to London to collaborate with Rihanna and now making his late-night-television debut next to an Oscar-winning actor.

 But the Lil Wayne protégé took everything in stride. Or, rather, with a bit of anxiety. Drake had just penned the verses to the remix less than 24 hours before he went before millions of TV viewers.

"The biggest challenge of that whole day, aside from being on 'Conan' and being nervous initially about that, was [trying to] remember the 24-bar verse I just recorded the night before," Drake told MTV News. "It was an all-around challenging day, but when I'm under pressure, I always seem to rise to the occasion in some form."

The rapper, who exploded with the release of his mixtape So Far Gone in February, said the appearance marked one of the best days of his life.

"My uncle saw it, my mother saw it, everyone in my family and in my circle was so excited," he said. "It was something I'll never forget. I don't think an unsigned artist has ever had the chance to perform in that arena."

Next up for Drake is finishing a video for his hit "Best I Ever Had." The rapper was in New York over the weekend filming the video with Kanye West. West inspired the clip, according to Drake, and eventually took the reins as director of the shoot. Also, Drizzy will join Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy on their America's Most Wanted Music Festival, which kicks off July 27 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 

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