Drake Opens Up on ‘VIEWS,’ The Weeknd, Nicki Minaj & More with Zane Lowe.
The moment has finally arrived as Drake’s long-awaited fourth solo LP VIEWS is available now exclusively on Apple Music and iTunes. The 20-track follow-up to 2013’s Nothing Was The Same includes the singles “One Dance,” “Pop Style,” and the smash-hit “Hotline Bling.” Rihanna, Future, PARTYNEXTDOOR, WizKid, dvsn, Popcaan, and the late Pimp C make guest appearances on the album, as Kanye West, Boi-1da, Noah “40” Shebib, Metro Boomin, Southside, Cardo, and Nineteen85 lead an all-star cast of producers.
Shortly after VIEWS released on iTunes, Drake’s sit down with Zane Lowe recorded this week aired on a special edition of OVO Sound Radio. In the 67-minute interview, the two discussed the making of the album, working with Future on What A Time To Be Alive, Toronto’s music scene, thoughts on The Weeknd’s success, the status of his relationship with Nicki Minaj, Birdman vs. Lil’ Wayne, new artists from Toronto (Tory Lanez) subliminally dissing him, acting plans, family, and much more.
Continue after the jump….
Drake on Views From the 6 title and “The 6″ nickname:
“I think the announcement was more than just the album title it was a shift in the city—we saw an opening there. The name took on a life of its own. Now the city is obviously referred to as was it is.”
Drake on Taylor Swift:
“She’s just such a sweetheart. She’s so angelic to me.”
On releasing more music this summer:
“I got other songs I got this summer. By the time I get to the tour, I’m going to have a whole arsenal of songs that don’t even have to do with VIEWS.”
On making “Hotline Bling”:
“Just kind of taking it for what it is. I recorded it in a hotel room in London, I remember my camera man Theo…we had a great classic conversation. I remember…he said, ‘I didn’t get it.’ It’s almost an emotion I search for, I don’t want you to get it right away. If you’re able to get it right away and say ‘okay, I get it. That’s a great song.’ I don’t want that.”
On the theme of VIEWS:
“The album is based around the change of the season in our city. It starts around in wintertime. Starts with “Keep The Family Close.” Winter to summer and back to winter again. It’s just to show you the two extreme moods that we have. We love our summers, but we also make our winters work. You start to value your days a lot more when most people won’t go outside type of thing, it creates a different person. I thought it was important to make the album here during the winter.”
Drake on “Pop Style” with The Throne:
“Jay didn’t really do a verse. Really ‘Ye just sent it to me like that. Jay just did my first few lines for me, people want to hear Jay rap.”
“I’ve expressed my admiration and respect for Jay countless times. Sometimes we just fall on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the rap world.”
Drake on his relationship with Kanye West and a possible collaborative mixtape/album:
“We’ll just sit and collaborate. We have a few things. You never know….he’ll call me tonight and say, ‘I’m putting these two songs out tonight.’ He’s one of my favorite people period, in the world…I love Ye. He’s a really good guy, I grew up with him as a role model. Always given him credit that’s why we’re here right now. It’s amazing to be his friend. We can link each other and discuss anything. Feeling a way on this or just leisure talk, we have a great relationship. I hope we get more music out, we were supposed to do a mixtape together an album together.”
Drake on recording “Too Good” with Rihanna and their chemistry:
“It came to fruition after we did ‘Work.’ She just got in the studio and just bodied it. It was flawless victory. It was every nuance cadence, we do great music together. It’s hard to do guy-girl collabs.”
“I think that’s what makes the records better. We’re not just forcing the story, we have genuine energy between us.”
On The Weeknd and his success:
“At the end of the day, that’s my guy. We’re from the same city, we grew up with the same goal trying to do this. A lot of the time we spent trying to do this together. We spent real time, we put in real work together. I’m proud of his success. We both had our moments where we both felt a way and went a little left. I have nothing but love for everyone over there.”
On new Toronto artists trying to get fame off dissing Drake [Tory Lanez]:
“I encourage anybody to go out there and do the most damage that you possibly can. Do your thing. Get all the fruits…get everything you know, become the biggest artist you can possibly be. Just don’t get up there finally and start talking down on me. Especially when we have like no interaction, don’t get your first big shot to speak out and you think the right thing to do is to start like…coming for The Don.”
“Why would you get up on a public platform and start being like ‘ahh I’m not really with.’ And then what? To come back and to start backpedaling and begging it out? like what’s the point.”
Drake on Nicki Minaj, Lil’ Wayne vs. Birdman:
“I don’t really talk to Nicki. [She’s] another person I have a lot of love for, a lot of respect to her and the past and what we built. I understand what love is and I understand a personal situation. She dealt with me how I would expect her to, with class. I would do the same you know. There were times I was sitting there, waiting to see, you know…how deep is your love? I have respect for Nicki but unfortunately we haven’t spoken.”
“I’m just a person who is grateful for all the names you mentioned. It’s tough to watch, I have a mutual respect for both guys [Lil’ Wayne and Birdman] and pray every day that it gets worked out that we’ll find an amicable place.”
On acting and future endeavours:
“I’d love to go back to acting. I feel like I spent a lot of my life honing that craft. [Movies] is the goal. It’s all about the right decision.”
“I’m working on Top Boy.”
Audio: Drake Talks VIEWS & More with Zane Lowe on Beats 1’s OVO Sound Radio
