How Drake’s acting once delayed his music career
Before Drake‘s transformation into a Grammy Award-winning rapper and global superstar, he was a teen actor. Before the ‘God’s Plan’ singer had even considered a music career, he first and foremost thought of himself as an actor. At the tender age of 14, the musician was cast for the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation.
Drake played the role of Jimmy, an aspiring basketball star who, after a school shooting, was forced to use a wheelchair. Although the character, referred to as ‘Wheelchair Jimmy’, was loved by many fans, strangely, it almost cost the actor-turned-rapper a shot at success in the music industry he now dominates.
During the period he played Jimmy Brooks, Drake released mixtapes, such as Room for Improvement in 2006. He quickly followed up with Comeback Season in 2007 and So Far Gone in 2009. However, early in his career, some of his music came across Jim Jones’ desk.
Most know Jim Jones as a member of the iconic Harlem crew Dipset alongside Cam’Ron, Freekey Zekey and Juelz Santana. On the contrary, few know that in the mid-2000s, he had an opportunity to sign Drake, but his perception of the Canadian’s Degrassi character stopped him from even considering the idea.
Speaking to Complex magazine, Jones recalled, “Drake definitely ran across my desk. I got a call from Alan Grunblatt. I think I was on tour, and Alan was like, ‘I got this guy named Drake, uh, he’s an actor, he’s on Degrassi.’ I’m like, ‘Who the fuck is Drake on Degrassi?’ He let me hear him rapping like this boy could rap his ass off.”
That said, although Jones was impressed with Drake’s lyrical ability, he couldn’t overcome the fact that he was listening to ‘Wheelchair Jimmy’ and was insistent that Drake wasn’t right as he just didn’t fit the mould of the ’00s gangster rapper.
Jones recalled his rejection of Drake to Alan Grunblatt, remembering, “I looked at him, I’m like, ‘Boy, what do you mean? What am I going to do with boy? He’s an actor. He’s in a wheelchair on like uh, what is it, Disney Channel?’ I’m like, ‘Boy, I don’t know how to make this workout.”
His sentiments and hostile reaction to Drake were similar to the response of many others from the time. Degrassi’s reputation as a show for kids followed Drake, especially when his character’s rap career was much more family-friendly than his own, people couldn’t detach him from Jimmy.
Still, irrespective of this, when Lil Wayne heard and saw Drake, he knew he could tap into a hole in the market and, now, over 15-years later, the Toronto native one of the most decorated artists in hip-hop.