Drake On Retiring From Music, Being Typecast & Relationship With His Mother

Drake On Retiring From Music, Being Typecast & His Mother

It’s hard to believe Drake burst onto the scene more than ten years ago. With countless hits under his belt and versatility to match, the charismatic Toronto native is shifting gears just a bit. Earlier in the month, it was announced that he would be adding an executive producer credit to his resume, as he is teaming with Netflix to revive popular British series Top Boy, set to premiere on next year. The 31-year-old has also partnered with Apple on a number of upcoming film and TV projects.

In a new interview, Drake, who starred on the TV series Degrassi: Next Generation for eight seasons, opens up about his working environment, his love for Harry Potter, his taste in TV shows and his relationship with his mother. Check out a few excerpts from the interview below.

On his working environment:

It’s best for me to find an atmosphere that’s quiet. I don’t like a lot of people around when there’s a task at hand.

On his haters:

I mean, people are entitled to their opinion, but this opinion, I’d just rather it be here than anywhere else. People sometimes lose perspective that you’re a human being and have feelings. They think they know you because they’ve read Wikipedia.

On his religious views:

I identify as Jewish. I am a person who, you know, I talk to God. I just try to live a very good life, to be a good person. I’m not necessarily extremely religious, but my mom and I always do the high holidays together.

On his relationship with his mother:

My mother is an incredible woman, she never necessarily implemented anything. She’s always just told me, ‘you know, whatever you want to do, whatever you end up being; I’ll always love you. I’ll always support you.’

On how he landed a role on Degrassi Next Generation: 

Obviously, everything’s for a reason. I met this kid whose dad was an agent. I got the audition for Degrassi, and I started going to a school for kids with outside commitments. I met a lot of people from a different [more economically diverse] side of the city. My friends changed at that point, and I started coming into my own and finding myself.

On how he still feels grounded in Toronto:

I can get in the car in Toronto and drive and go do my own thing. I know the streets. I know everywhere. I know everyone.

On when he will stop making music:

When it starts to feel like I’m making it up. Hopefully I’ll catch it before I ever get there, right? But right now it feels like we just started, so I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. But I do plan on expanding — to take six months or a year to myself and do some great films. Music’s always there.

On his taste in TV shows and why Netflix’s Ozark is one of his favorites:

My taste in television or movies is always kind of similar to my approach to music, which is, I like when people really hit the nail on the head with real human emotions, so with Ozark, it’s just the family dynamic. The arguments. The love. The struggles. I really relate to how accurate it is.

On the series Top Boy series:

And that human element drew me in. I started just looking them up. Like, who are these people? Are these actors I should know? Are they just famous over there? I remember I hit Future, and I was just like, ‘This show is incredible.’

On being typecast:

Being a young black guy, I think there’s definitely the chance to get typecast. But I also have been pretty adamant about showing range. I try to show it through different outlets, like Saturday Night Live, showing people that I can be funny, When I get back into acting, I want to do things that make people go, ‘Wow, I didn’t expect that.’ Like, it’s nice to hear you say, ‘You know, I didn’t expect you to like those things.’

By: –@Thankm3soon