Drake Eyes Big Features For "Thank Me Later" LP, "I Really Wanna Get Andre 3000"

Written by Cyrus Langhorne

Drake recently discussed his forthcoming Thank Me Later debut album and what artists he has eyed down for collaborations including renowned singer Sade and OutKast's Andre 3000.

Drizzy says he is looking beyond a typical "hip-hop" sound for his debut.

"I really, really wanna do a joint with Sade," he revealed in an interview. "I really wanna get Andre 3000 on the record. And I really wanna do a song with Kings of Leon. Yeah, slowly, but surely [I'm trying to get the guest features]. We'll see." (Rap-Up)

Drake's producer, Omen, recently revealed an upcoming collaboration track with the rapper and The-Dream.

"We're filming a video for it soon helmed by Hype Williams. The track will be serviced just a few weeks after," Omen revealed. The song came about when Omen teamed up with Drake's longtime musical collaborator, 40, and together they came up with the production. "I was working on some drum patterns and 40 had the melody going. 40 is very skilled and has a crazy ear for obscure sounds and chords," says Omen. "It took us the whole night to come up with the track, but we finished it and played it for Drake the next day, who already had the song's concept." The idea for the track, which Omen describes as a "Prince-like, powerful song," is about "empowering females. Drake said he had a song idea called 'Shut It Down' aimed at club-going females. When they go out and they get dressed up and put their makeup on and get their hair done, they have the capacity to shut the club down," Omen recalls. (Billboard)

Drake recently touched on the importance of lyricism on his debut album.

"Lyrically, I want to keep the album as genuine and honest as 'Fear' is, but musically there will be a little more energy," he promised. "There will be more moments of triumph, because my life is the best it's ever been in my 22 years of existence. I want my music to reflect that, but I still want to be able to relate and connect with people. It's a good indication. There will obviously be some variation -- not every track is going to sound like that. I was actually going to save 'Fear' for the album, but I wanted to give people another reason to buy the [So Far Gone] EP" (Shock Hound)

Aside from music, the Canadian-based emcee will reportedly grace the new VIBE Magazine re-launch issue next month.

The cover with Chris Brown actually shares the print run with covers featuring Drake, another hip-hop artist. But it's the Chris Brown cover that's more likely to get people talking. Now the print edition is coming back with a reduced frequency, four issues next year compared with the 10 once planned for 2009, and a smaller paid circulation guarantee, 300,000 now compared to 600,000 at shutdown. That partly reflects the tough economy. It's a result, too, of abandoning all subscribers to the old Vibe, who now have to buy new subscriptions if they want the new print edition; InterMedia didn't take on liability for prior subscribers when it bought Vibe's assets. The return issue, out Dec. 8 in a slightly over-sized format, is expected to include more than 40 pages of advertising. (Ad Age)

Thank Me Later is slated to land in stores February 2010.

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