Although Drake has had a string of hits on radio and in the club, from his own “Best I Ever Had” to collaborations like “Forever” and “Say Something,” the pressure was on for the first official single from Thank Me Later to deliver. And, judging from the reaction he’s getting from some of hip-hop’s biggest tastemakers, Drizzy has another smash on his hands with “Over.”

Over is real dope,” DJ Statik Selektah said. “He could have chose to run with a soft, candy-coated record, but he didn’t. The beat is crazy. I’m looking forward to his album!”

I love this record,” DJ Khaled told MTV News. “It’s amazing! It’s special! Drake did it again! It’s a hit!

I think Drake’s record is dope,” said host of MTV2’s “Sucker Free” and Power 105.1 on-air personality DJ Envy. “I know he had a lot of pressure and the world staring at him, but I think he delivered. He did it his way — outside the box.

Drake’s song talks about how he’s dealing with his fame since coming on the scene last year. • Read full story

Drake and Nicki Minaj will help headline MTV Spring Break 2010, along with other members of the YM supergroup, performing their No. 2 single in the country “BedRock.” Drizzy will get the crowd hyped with “Over,” the first offering from his debut album Thank Me Later, while Young Money’s First Lady ambushes the stage with the first live performance of her new single “Massive Attack,” produced by Sean Garrett and Alex Da Kid.
Hip-hop’s Barbie won’t only pop up during Young Money’s set. Minaj will storm the sandy shores of Mexico with Ludacris for their collaboration “My Chick Bad” from Luda’s Battle of the Sexes album.
The ATL rapper will have spring breakers asking “how low can you go” when he performs the remix to his smash hit with Pitbull, who will get the party started with some of his own crowd pleasers. • Read full story

LOWDOWN: Drake’s LP is a reflection of how the upstart Toronto MC has become hip-hop’s new leading man. “I tried to capture every great moment I’ve had in the last year,” he says. “It’s triumphant.” To wit: He raps about a presumed love affair with Rihanna and his friendship with mentor Lil Wayne on “Fireworks.” Drake mostly eschewed big names in favor of home-town producers (Boi-1da, Noah “40″ Shebib) and a collaboration with New York indie rockers Francis and the Lights. “It’s gonna be interesting,” he says. “I hope it’s pleasing to the ear.”

Source: Billboard.com

The wait is over. Drake’s 1st single off Thank Me Later.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download DIRTY / Download CLEAN

Lyrics
I know way too many people here right now
That I didn’t know last year, who the fuck are y’all?
I swear it feels like the last few nights
We been everywhere and back
But I just can’t remember it all

What am I doin’? What am I doin’?
Oh, yeah, that’s right, I’m doin’ me
I’m doin me
I’m livin’ life right now, mayne • Read full story

I have uploaded photos from Drake’s GQ photoshoot. Enjoy!

Lil Wayne was a free man last night… so what did he do with his extra night of freedom He went to the studio, and also performed at Jay-Z’s Madison Square Garden show in New York with Young Jeezy and Drake. They performed “I’m Goin’ In“, and Nicki Minaj also joined them and performed her verse in “Bed Rock“.

Drake coached a basketball team in his “Best I Ever Had” music video, and he recently had a chance to call plays with NBA legend Magic Johnson during the NBA All-Star Game festivities in Dallas.

Drake and Magic’s team beat the squad coached by Alonzo Mourning and assistant coach Mario Lopez. Common, Chris Tucker and Pitbull were among the celebs who played with athletes such as Rick Fox, Chris Mullin and Terrell Owens.

Magic, an NBA Hall of Famer, said working with Drake earned him cool points at home.

“Drake is bringing a lot to the table, man, with a young audience,” Magic said in Dallas. “He’s from Toronto. I think he’s bringing it hard and heavy, you know? My daughter said I was cool because I was coaching with him instead of him coaching with me. All right, thank you!” • Read full story

Check out a video of Drake performing at the Jay-Z concert last night.

It’s almost time for the 2010 JUNO Awards and our boy Drizzy is up for the 4 nominees. The award show is broadcasted in Canada and is basically the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys. Drake is also set to perform that night live on CTV on Sunday, April 18 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Expect ATF to post coverage from the event.

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

Rusted From The Rain – Billy Talent

Anybody Listening – Classified

Best I Ever Had – Drake

Haven’t Met You Yet – Michael Bublé

Love Is A First – The Tragically Hip

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Carly Rae Jepsen

Danny Fernandes

Drake

Justin Bieber

Shiloh

RAP RECORDING OF THE YEAR

Still Fly _{Big Page} ft. Drake

Self Explanatory – Classified

So Far Gone – Drake

Yes! – k-os

Troubadour – K’Naan

Portraits of the GQ shots, Wayne and Drizzy shoot a video for Thank Me Later, the crew visit Kingston, Jamaica and of course Wayne, Drizzy and Jeezy perform live at Madison Square Garden at Jay-Z’s BP3 Tour last night.

Check out pictures of Drake at Jay-Z’s Official Madison Square Garden Concert After Party last night.

Grammy-nominated recording artist Drake will join undefeated World Boxing Council super lightweight champion Devon Alexander “The Great” during the boxer’s walk to the ring for his world championship unification match on Saturday at Mohegan Sun that will be televised live on HBO (9:30 p.m. ET/PT) from Mohegan Sun. The event is being promoted by Don King Productions.
Drake will perform his smash-hit “Forever,” which will provide a perfect opportunity to play to the song’s lyric, “Last name ever, first name greatest,” as Alexander’s ring nickname is “The Greatest.”

After laying down tracks for his debut album Thank Me Later in his hometown of Toronto and traveling to Hawaii to record with Kanye West, Drake’s globetrotting brought him to Jamaica, where he’s reportedly working with dancehall artist Mavado. Drizzy has been holed up at Geejam Studios, but took a little time to pose for photos with fans and even received some herbal “gifts.”

He also shared a photo of a computer screen displaying the file name for the final mix of his first single “Over” under the heading “Almost Time Again.”

Here is part 2 of a brief interview that we had with Drizzy, who performed at the Sprite Step Off Show in Atlanta this weekend. (watch part 1 here)

With this being the last part of our brief interview with Drake, I can say it’s perfect timing. If you watched what I watched from XXL earlier today you’ll know definitely what I mean. In the video Drizzy talks about the freshmen list as well as “returning the favor” to the magazine and when asked about his recent spread with GQ, he speaks on his relationship with Jordan Brand and shows off his Air Jordan Anniversary 9’s “like a basketball player.”

With what seems like the weight of the world on his shoulders, Drake still strolls into a room with the confidence a newly crowned winner. HipHollywood caught up with the rap phenom in Atlanta at the Sprite Step Off competition and he revealed that he can’t quite step, but he can cut a few moves. “I can’t step, but I can slow dance…if I find the right slow dancing partner.”

Drake spends quite a bit of time in Atlanta and reveals that it reminds him a lot of his hometown.

“I love everything about Atlanta. I just shot a Complex cover here. I love lights, and Atlanta at night is beautiful. The women are beautiful, the food is good. The condos are nice. It’s a great place. I’m always looking for elements of Toronto whenever I go somewhere because that’s my favorite city.” • Read full story

Drake and most of the Young Money crew were down here in the MIA clubbing it out at Club Play. (February 5)