The summers nearly over.
But rap wizDrakeis feeling the heat.
The deadline to submit the final version of his sophomore album,Take Care, is one month out.
To say the least, its crunch time.
Though, it seems hes comfy in the clutch.
Creatively, he says hes at a great place and has a tons a recorded material to select from.
In the EW story on stands now, he gave us five recording rules to live by.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:In what ways are you challenging yourself this album?
DRAKE:I push myself in a lot of aspects when I write a song.
That makes the song easy to learn and catchy.
Thats how I like to challenge myself.
Ill write something and everyone thats around might be like Oh thats that hook right there.
And then Ill write something better than that.
How many tracks are you shooting for here?
Obviously, I can only fit so many songs on a CD.
Then I know a lot of people do deluxe editions.
I really want to encourage people to be excited about the album releasing.
I remember how excited a lot of artists used to make me.
I used to want to buy the physical copy to see the artwork.
And if there were any bonus tracks, Id go find them.
Im definitely trying to cause some of that excitement.
I hope people go get the songs off the birthday edition.
Its going to be great, man.
Ive got a wide array of music this time.
Talk to me about your team.
Who are the people who are helping guide you through the album?
There are about three or four major opinions that I respect.
Obviously, the main one would be [engineer and producer]40(Noah Shebib).
Hes worked with me every single night Ive set foot in the studio sinceComeback Season.
Then my DJFuture the Princehas a great ear for music.
If anyone knows what Im capable of, its Hush.
We love rap the same way and we have the same exact ear.
So I know hes hearing what Im hearing.
I never take criticism personally from anyone.
I love feedback, but especially when it comes to Hush.
He understands rap probably better than anyone else I mentioned.
And hes a close friend of mine.
Rap has become like fast food.
Fans want it quickly and a lot of it.
Its only been a year sinceThank Me Laterand your fans seem to be starving forTake Care.
Do you think theyve forgotten that artists need life experiences to craft their art?
Youve got to live, man.
I remember when artist used to take, like, four years to make an album.
Usher used to disappear for three years.
It took Justin Timberlake a really long time to craftJustified.
Even Beyonces albums are spanned three years apart.
Youve got to live, man.
And now weve sort of birthed and encouraged this generation of instant gratification.
He just releasedHouse of Balloonsa couple of months ago and theyre already like, We need new s!
Youre taking too long.
Its crazy, man.
Its important for our generation to know that its okay to take some time.
Its okay if an album takes a year or two to make.
That just means its probably going to be better than if they took two months and released it.
It was kind of hard to tap into the psyche of myself.
I could still make great songs.
But it was hard to give people a huge part of Aubrey at that time.
I didnt have that much going on other than work.
For this album I spent a lot of time in Toronto.
Ive been here for the longest time since my career started.
I think words are something Im eager for people to hear.
Thats why Im not doing any listening sessions.
I dont people to know what to expect.
Theres a lot of shocking sonic music on this album.
What do you think of how Jay-Z and Kanye West releasedWatch the Throne?
They did a couple of exclusive sessions.I went to the first one.
And they kept the album from leaking by going straight to iTunes.
With Jay and withWatch the Throne, Im so glad that it came out.
As artists, we all need extra motivation.
Have you thought of adopting their release approach?
I think that it was a brilliant approach.
Do I necessarily think that Jay or Ye would do that for a solo project?
Ive discussed doing projects with is obviously Lil Wayne.
Me and him have talked about potentially doing something after our albums comes out.
I just love making songs with him.
So no press previews, huh?
I just want people to be able to form their own opinion.
Itll drop in that fall season.
I thrive in the fall.
Whether its in your headphones at the gym, or your car, however you do your music thing.
At the end of the day, a lot of human minds are malleable.
They can be easily shaped with strong words.
I just want people to be able to form their own opinion.
I know you cant confirm producers and features yet since the album isnt done.
But I have read that Stevie Wonders a role on the album as a writer.
Less writing and more music.
The only person I really wrote with isAbel.
We have a bond with words.
Getting the right words is like a euphoric feeling.
There are a lot of records that we collaborated on.
With Stevie it was a musical thing.
40 produced it, but Stevie has a solo on it that he plays.
Its a great piece of music.
Specifically, what did he bring to the record?
He brought life to it.
Before Id have scattered interludes and songs where Im experimenting with things.
Here I wanted to get back to Brand New, Brias Interlude days.
Its going to be really tight writing and s thats sexy as f. Thats my thing.
Im going to do the jot down of R&B Im good at.
With Stevie its hard for me to explain.
Its an incredible thing I witnessed that night.
And this song has done that for me.
Ive never seen that before.
Ive heard stories where its like So and so cried when they heard this.
And Id be like, Yeah, okay, cool.
Thats always reassuring, to be able to play Stevie Wonder music and have him say that its incredible.
I think me and Stevie immediately formed a relationship where he wants to see me do well.
Hes expressed to me adamantly that he wants to see me succeed.
He wants to see me on the moon.
Its boosted my confidence.
That should be the tag of the album: Stevie liked it.
[Laughs] I mean, he heard a few things.
I leave it to guys like you to approve the rap stuff.
Its a great story, this album is.
Thank Me Laterhad quite a bit of features on it.
Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Jay, Jeezy, Wayne, Nicki, The-Dream, T.I….
Think youre going to relax on the guest appearances this time?
I know that youre about to see Wayne, Stevie, Jay, Eminem, you know?
Its a calming feeling when you know youve got some cards to pull.
And I think that was the deal withThank Me Later.
It was my first album.
It was a bit rushed.
And I think I found solitude in having features from people I love.
It was a heavy feature album.
And this album is the complete opposite.
Some early Drake fans arent as big on you anymore, but not for any good reasons.
Im sure you get We want the kid fromSo Far Gone!
That must be frustrating.
Yeah, people always say I miss the old you.
And I take it.
I go, I hear you man.
I dont ever lash out on online or whatever.
And think what people miss are the time markers.
For a lot of people our albums are time markers.So Far Goneis a time marker.
You may have had a different girlfriend at that time or not graduated for school yet.
Life may have been simpler.
So when people say that, I just think theyre saying they miss that time in their lives.
They associate me with that time in their life.
Content-wise, what can we expect fromTake Care?
With this record, I knew I couldnt talk about Oh, I miss my old friends.
OnThank Me LaterI said something like I wish wasnt famous.
I wish I was still in school.
At that time that was really how I felt.
But when I listen back to it… Im more confident now.
I just got my mother into a nice apartment.
And she just got surgery and shes healthy.
And my friends all have money and theyre getting their own places.
I cant do another album about wanting to go backwards.
If I do that, people are going to be like, Man, f you!
Tell me whats real.
Tell me whats good about this s. Make me want to chase this.
Let me know the ups and downs of this shit for real.
Dont tell you about what you miss.
Thats why I came back [to Toronto], so I couldnt say, I miss Toronto.
I have one song thats sort of about that, but this album isnt about missing anything.
This album is about living it and owning it and letting you know exactly what I go through.
Its not Drake onSo Far Goneand its not Drake onThank Me Later.
I cant go back to the old me.
Im proud of who Ive evolved into, for sure.
As a listener, I can tell youve grown a lot as a rapper.
Have you made the same realization?
Ive heard you say that you really want to step it up on this album.
That night I drove home listening to it and it hit me right there.
It was like I told myself, Congratulations, you’re free to spit better than this now.
But its hard for me to pat myself on the back.
My arms dont reach that far.
I cant really get a good pat.
[Laughs] Im pushing myself.
Im 24 and there are a lot of eyes on me, a lot of pressure on me.
And I just want to be someone they remember.
I want to speak for this generation.
Youve leaked a few singles this summer.
What of the bunch is actually onTake Care?
Headlines and Marvins Room are on the album.
But Dreams Money Can Buy and Trust Issues, those joints are on that birthday edition.
That birthday edition might be a stupid amount of songs.
Im just forewarning everybody.
I want this music to last.
Thats not to say I wont be working on new things.
But I just want to create something that has a long shelf life than the average album these days.
I did this for the people from the jump.
There are no restrictions.
I want people to know that.
That doesnt mean theres no fighting.
But I dont care about anybodys voice outside of my fans.
Im never trying to take the political road and play things safe.
I just want people to have great music.
Music got me through a lot of s. I just want to give people enough to where theyre satisfied.
