Young Money's Drake speaks on overcoming his friendly "Degrassi" television image in the upcoming August issue of Q Magazine.
Based on a photoshopped image of his feature, Drake says he is now at ease with being compared to his fictional high school student character, "Jimmy Brooks."
"I watch clips of myself on 'Degrassi' and I'm like, I can't believe people look at this guy and hold me as one of the most respected rappers out there!," he explains in the magazine. "But being Canadian and an actor aren't things to overcome any more - they add to my story...I definitely see [the Will Smith comparisons.] Except that my hip-hop is different from his...When the stars align, anything is possible."
Earlier this year, Drake opened up about not being impressed with movie offers he has received.
"That's probably my biggest goal is to get back into acting and really pick the right projects," he said in an interview. "I've been reading different scripts but I know what I want to do and what type of project I want to be involved in and I've just been getting the typical projects that they'd offer to a new rapper, and it's like, ehh. That's not really what I want to do, or how I see myself...I can actually act. I've studied acting. I've studied the craft and I'm also very open to receiving a role and committing my time whether it's two weeks, a month, two months, before the moviestarts shooting to really get into that role. Like I know what it is to do character research and really live as someone else in preparation for a movie, so that's something I'm willing to do. I care about acting a lot so I'm excited to get back into it."
Last April, the rapper talked about making a move into television.
"Television is sort of an exhausting, repetitive format to be in but I'm definitely, like after this album and I have another project I have in mind that I want to do but after that I'll probably get back into some movies, yeah. I'm excited to do movies again. I like being on set."
The rapper appeared in over 130 episodes of "Degrassi" beginning in 2001.
Legions of TV fans, however, know Drake by a different name -- Jimmy Brooks. That's the name of the character that Aubrey Drake Graham (yes, Drake is actually his middle name) portrayed for seven seasons on the Canadian high-school melodrama 'Degrassi: The Next Generation.' (For those unfamiliar with 'Degrassi,' think 'Saved By the Bell,' only with every installment as full of angst and emotional crisis as the infamous Jessie Spano caffeine pills episode. Needless to say, unintentional comedy abounds.)
Check out footage of Drake on "Degrassi" below:
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