Landon Buford
Since Drake dropped his Comeback Season mixtape in 2007 and So Far Gone in 2009, his name has been buzzing in the music industry, but once he signed to Young Money Records.
Cash Money Records on 06/30/2009, his career took off from there.
“Just know that whatever label we sign to it’ll be because they’ll add to what we’ve created on our own,” Drake told Billboard.com in 2009. “I am very happy in my situation now, which is signed to Cortez [Bryant] and Gee Roberson at Young Money and management through ‘Hip Hop Since 1978.’ The most important thing for me is being around my team – they are stronger than any label.”
Since then, Drake has sold over 200 million records, according to Fader in 2018. Giving Drakes numerous hit records such as God Plans, In my feelings, Hold On, We’re Going Home, Hotline Bling, Controlla, Take Care, Marvin Room, Wants and Needs, From Time, and Ignant Shit. That does not include the countless featured and written records for other artists he has pinned over the last 14 years, earning him the artist of the decade for the 2010s by Billboard.
“I’m really self-conscious about my music, and even if I do a good job, I always wonder how I could’ve done it better,” Drake said. “I rarely celebrate anything. Just for anyone watching this wondering how this happened, that’s really the answer. It’s being so unsure how you’re getting it done that you keep going in hopes of figuring out the formula.”
“I want to dedicate this award to my friends, I want to dedicate this award to my longtime collaborators,” he said. “I want to dedicate this award to all my peers, all your decisions, and the music you make really does have me tossing and turning at night trying to figure out what I should do next. Thank you to my beautiful family.”
Someone recently mentioned as the Drake of the 90s was Ja Rule by music manager Wack 100.
Wack was recently in the Sleepless in LA room on the Clubhouse app. He mentioned both artists. Although for context, the conversation was about different artists competing against one another in potential Verzuz Battles, Wack presented the question other than 50 Cent, who could his artist ‘The Game’ take on.
Someone said Ja Rule could beat 50 Cent in a Verzuz battle. Later, Wack 100 shared that “Ja Rule was the Drake of the 90s.”
However, before you start laughing at the comparison, look back at Ja Rule’s catalog during the 90s. Then, the Murder Inc artist had hit records such as ‘Between You and Me,’ ‘Holla Holla,’ ‘I’m Real (Murder Remix),’ ‘Ain’t It Funny’ ‘Mesmerize,’ ‘Always on Time,’ and ‘Wonderful.’ Again, that is not to mention the singles that Ja Rule was featured on with artists.
During the late 90s until about 2003, Murder Inc Records and Ja Rule were at the forefront of the music industry during those four years until their dispute with Aftermath, Shady Records, and G-Unit records. Similar to what Drake has done over the past ten years.
Speaking of Drake, he recently paid tribute to Virgil Abloh who passed away earlier this year with cancer with a tattoo, according to Hypebeast.com.
