Aubrey Drake Graham is a Degrassi Canadian star with a love for music. He eventually got discovered by Cash Money's Lil Wayne, and has become a brand representing a broad collective of the cool, young generation from suburbia to any street corner that share the common interests of loving life, the cars, the clothes..and yes..you know what else. His PR and Marketing angle is simple to digest. But his true success came from a cushioning of loyal fans from television, having a team behind him, using industry relationships well, and the record label creating anticipation in their own circles.
In my first post we discussed why Drake became a success with the public. In this post I will share some of my thoughts on how Drake positioned himself to become a success within the music industry, which enabled his brand to become a success with his consumers.
1. The Cushioning
Drake didn't have to exactly start from ground up. Degrassi allowed him to have a strong following that kept in touch with him after he decided to leave the show. Imagine having millions of people that already know your name from 7 years of acting. Disappear a little while. Come back, create a MySpace page and tell them that you are about to do a mixtape. It's a catch 22. He poured his own earnings into two album's Room for Improvement and Comeback Season, as well as one video with Trey Songz "Replacement Girl." Just because he had a following doesn't mean that they were ready to see him cross over to the music world. I mean, we've seen plenty of people cross over industries and fail! He had to show his fans there was value there. And as the third mixtape came around, there was a solidified following for Drake, the rapper not the actor. Through his likeable music and thought out marketing tactics usually centered around his own interests and lifestyle, he persuaded a community of online followers that they probably have something worth staying around for.
2. There's Always a Team Behind Every Spotlight
Like every other celebrity, Drake has a team behind him. Even before you knew his name. Everyone has a role and carries it out dutifully. They have many names. OVO, ATF...It's really a small group of loyal friends that have their own ends (ends= money/businesses), but they also join efforts to execute, uplift, or promote each others goals throughout their ventures together or separate, whether its in an article, blog, or social gathering.
3. Relationships
Drake did put out two albums and one video prior to his So Far Gone mixtape. What most people don't know is that it was Houston's own Rap-A-Lot CEO J. Prince's son, Jas Prince that brought Drake's Comeback Season mixtape to Cortez Bryant, Lil Wayne's manager. It took less than a day for Cortez to fly Drake to Houston after hearing only two songs from the cd. It's not always about who you know, a lot of times it may be about who knows you. And after touring with Lil Wayne guess who lucked up to be Drake's manager months before he signed his 2 million dollar deal? Cortez Bryant.
4. The Anticipation
What you don't see in the clip provided above is that Wayne shouts out Drake at the end of the song. Why would Wayne take Drake's verse? Industry insiders, the circle of industry insiders, already knew about Drake. What they probably didn't know was how strong his strong viral following would grow into. I mean, it's pretty serious for someone to rap a verse when you aren't even presented on tv, or signed isn't it? Wayne was teasing the fat kids in the audience with some candy they only heard about but never got to get a taste of...until Wayne was ready to share. If anything I took it as a warning to everyone in the audience and at home that the following year would be Cash Money's as well, they just didn't know it yet.
Even this post makes it seem as if Drake's fame was an instant success and in comparison to others, it is. But there's another road between 2007's introduction to Lil Wayne and 2009's mixtape release where Drake had to live life and tell it. He had to take in the skeptical industry executives left standing in order to tell the story of So Far Gone. That road is what his mixtape is about. Look at his OVO blog to see his humble beginnings. Drake had the benefit of being able to watch those who are actually living it, to study them, in order to decide how he'd address his own fans. How he would market himself. How he'd make the most out of the opportunity given. Quite the advantage. He persuaded his counterparts and had co-signers within the industry saying "Have you heard that Drake mixtape yet?"... I mean that is why you downloaded his mixtape anyways right? Your friend heard some notable name talking about it? And when you listened, he painted a lifestyle that came off So Far Gone yet so down to earth and still attainable to the rest of us.
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