![]() It's undoubtedly informed by Kanye's post-rap opus 808s & Heartbreak, except more polished and less compelling. The embodiment of that forced reality, Thank Me Later ricochets uncomfortably between half-baked rap and half-hearted R&B over a backdrop of hyper-sparse synth-hop. So it's not surprising that Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Kanye West, arguably the three most popular rappers today, all came out as early supporters of Drake. ![]() But even before that tape's release, Drake - whose uncle is famed Sly Stone bassist Larry Graham - was already signed to a management team connected to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella empire, which handles Lil Wayne and Kanye West. Last year, his So Far Gone mixtape was made available for free online and presented as the type of ground-up hustle on which hip-hop often prides itself. Just two years ago, Aubrey Drake Graham was best known for his role on the Canadian teen soap Degrassi: The Next Generation, so it's taken a magnificent sleight-of-hand to get him to this point. He may well be the first fully industry-manufactured rap star. Drake, the 23-year-old Toronto native whose retail debut (titled Thank Me Later) is set to thrust him into the upper echelon of hip-hop celebrity, experienced no such trial by fire. Most of the genre's true crossovers - from MC Hammer to Jay-Z - built their empires from the ground up, spending years toiling in the underground, paying dues on local and indie labels or apprenticing under established acts. ![]() Until recently, instant stardom was not the norm in hip-hop. Poised at the brink of superstardom, 23-year-old rapper Drake just released his debut album.
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