Jim Jones says he couldn’t get past Drake’s television-friendly image when he was given the opportunity to sign the Canadian rapper.
Drake’s meteoric rise from child actor to bonafide rap star is something we might see for a while. Drake’s first major introduction to the masses was back during his days on Degrassi: The Next Generation where he played Jimmy Brooks, a role that earned him the nickname Wheelchair Jimmy. However, his hustle as a rapper was totally separate from his character on television. Unfortunately, not many people were able to see that.
During a recent interview, Jim Jones recounted the story where he was first introduced to Drake’s music. He explained Alan Grunblatt, the current president of MNRK Music Group, called him about the then-budding Canadian. “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,” Jones admitted. However, he was taken aback after seeing a picture of Drake.
“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 — what is it, Disney Channel?’ I’m like, ‘Boy, I don’t know how to make this work out,'” Jones continued.
“Once again, I just wasn’t seeing past what I seen in front of me,” he added before praising how Lil Wayne built Drake up. “Weezy was smart enough to do so, and I remember being on another tour in the back of the bus and hearing Weezy and Drake rapping, and Drake saying something about Princess Diana and it’s going crazy. I’m like ‘Wow, life is crazy. This n***a is dead nasty, fuck what he look like.’”
