I was down in Boston a few weeks ago and there was an awkward moment involving Drake. I was riding around with a couple local Bostonians and the driver turned around and asked, “so being Canadian, you all must be into the Drake right?” We all gave him blank stares and he lost his shit. So let me update you on this so that it doesn’t happen you too.

If you ever watched Degrassi: The Next Generation you might remember him as Jimmy Brooks. If your like me and never watched that show, he’s a Canadian rapper / r&b artist making a lot of noise on Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money Records. I hesitate to call him rap as much as I do calling him r&b.

Suffice to say if you’re not into Kanye West and more particularly 808’s and heartbreak you probably won’t get into Drake. On his 2009 EP So Far Gone, he raps over songs from Peter, Bjorn and John, Santigold and Lykke Li. On the other hand his single from that album “Best I Ever Had” sounds like a straight up top 40’s radio hit. His first full length album is scheduled to come out in 2010 and is entitled Thank Me Later.

The track Forever has been getting a lot of attention lately, considering it is a rework of a mixtape song from last summer. It features Drake along with Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne and Eminem. This much hip hop star power could only the be result of something like…a Lebron James documentary! It’s called More Than a Game. The song itself pretty formulaic but I thought it was worth mentioning anyways.

Drake – Ignant Shit [feat. Lil' Wayne] (zshare)

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Drake – Unstoppable [feat. Santogold] (zshare)

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As someone who is also graduating into what might be the worst economic times in the last little while, I enjoyed this. It’s a cover that a college grad/rapper called Nyle made with a 2,000$ grant from the government and some of his fellow graduates. It’s got some hopeful lyrics about making it as a university grad in a horrible economy and some pretty great production.

Nyle – Let the Beat Build [Lil Wayne Cover] (zshare)

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Here’s a cover The Roots did of A Milli in at a Miami show which is bittersweet to me because it’s something I know we won’t be seeing too much of when they start putting in 5 days a week playing as Jimmy Fallon’s (shudder) back up band when he takes over for Conan O’Brien. Almost every Roots fan I’ve talked to has reacted to this with a mixture of shock, disbelief and disappointment but I’ve finally come to terms with it. I read an interview with them that said they were conflicted on the decision too and went that way so that they could avoid the rigors of touring and enjoy the stable lifestyle in one city. I suppose they’ve earned it, but Jimmy Fallon just leaves me unsettled. Enjoy one of your last root-flavoured suppers.

The Roots – A Milli [Lil Wayne Cover] (zshare)

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Lil Wayne’s Mr Carter instrumentals featuring Wale’s wonderful personal brand of hip hop.

Wale – Mr. Carter (zshare)