S. Samuel
Young Money's Nicki Minaj has shared her thoughts on Drake's influence on the rap game and how his background paves a lane for non-drug laced rhymes.
Featured in the new issue of Rolling Stone, Minaj said she believes Drake is a positive addition to hip-hop.
She’s immensely proud of the fact that her and Drake are proving that rappers can come from any background. “At one point you had to sell a few kilos to be considered a credible rapper,” she says. “But now it’s like Drake and I are embracing the fact that we went to school, we love acting, we love theater, and that’s ok — and it’s especially good for the black community to know that’s ok, that’s embraced.” (Rolling Stone)
Outside of rap, Drake has also embraced his acting career.
“That’s probably my biggest goal is to get back into acting and really pick the right projects,” he said in an interview. “I’ve been reading different scripts but I know what I want to do and what type of project I want to be involved in and I’ve just been getting the typical projects that they’d offer to a new rapper, and it’s like, ehh. That’s not really what I want to do, or how I see myself…I can actually act. I’ve studied acting. I’ve studied the craft and I’m also very open to receiving a role and committing my time whether it’s two weeks, a month, two months, before the movie starts shooting to really get into that role. Like I know what it is to do character research and really live as someone else in preparation for a movie, so that’s something I’m willing to do. I care about acting a lot so I’m excited to get back into it.” (XXL Mag)
Last September, Minaj credited Drizzy for helping steer her away from rap beefs.
“He’s definitely told me, ‘Yo, leave that bullsh*t alone. That’s for people who ain’t got sh*t else to do,'” Minaj said about Drake’s advice. “I’ve watched Wayne handle himself so well. I’ve seen people take shot after shot after shot at him and if it fazed him, I never saw it. People take shots because they’re hoping for a little bit of your energy. They need fuel…It’s not hard when you’re making a lot of money and everything you do is sold out, and people adore you and little kids are crying just to take a picture with you. I’m laughing all the way to the bank, just like Wayne said. Young Money is good.” (Complex)
Over the summer, Drake admitted his affection toward Minaj was deeper than rap.
“When I was on tour … I saw Nicki for the first time and, like, literally fell in love,” he said in an interview with DJ Envy. “She had this snap-back hat on that said ‘Minaj.’ She used to wear that every single day. She was like a theater student and she was so cold at rapping…I remember one of the first nights that we were out in Miami and I went to Jerry’s [Famous Deli]. I was like [to Minaj], ‘You want food, you hungry?,’ and she was like, ‘Yeah, I want some food.’ I was like, ‘I’m in, we gon’ eat food together.’ I came to her door and she took the food and shut the door in my face! I was just like, ‘Man, this is gonna be a long road for us.’ … I’ve always really, actually, really had a crush on her, always really loved her, and she’s always just looked at me as, like, her little brother.” (“Sucker Free”)
Check out a recent Nicki Minaj interview below:
