Degrassi: The Next Generation

Drake Allegedly Threatened Legal Action Against “Degrassi” In 2006

by

Drake is really pushing his career into uncharted territory. The rapper has filed a petition against UMG. He believes the label boosted the streams of his rival, Kendrick Lamar. He plans to sue the label and Spotify for using bots and “schemes” to ensure the success of Lamar’s smash hit single “Not Like Us.” There’s been a lot of discourse surrounding Drake’s decision. What it could mean for his career, and the future of artists as a whole. It has also, however, led to renewed interest in a story from 2021.

The AV Club ran an anniversary piece on Degrassi: The Next Generation, the show that launched Drake’s career as an entertainer. One of the show’s writers, James Hurst, reflected on his relationship with Drake, and the concern he had regarding his portrayal on the show. So much concern, that the actor threatened legal action before the start of the sixth season. “There was a letter from a law firm in Toronto, and it was from Aubrey,” Hurst alleged. The letter allegedly stated that Drizzy would not return to Degrassi: The Next Generation “unless his [character’s] injury is healed, and he’s out of the wheelchair.”

Read More: Drake’s Team Allegedly Asked Rob Markman To “Show The Boy Some Love” In Exchange For Access

James Hurst Claimed Drake Was “Apologetic” After Threat

Hurst told the outlet that he confronted Drake about the letter. The actor was reportedly sheepish at first. He eventually admitted he didn’t like the storyline that his character had been given. The writer recalled the issue stemming from Drake’s friends in the hip hop community. “He’s like, ‘All my friends in the rap game say I’m soft because I’m in a wheelchair,’” Hurst stated. “I said, ‘Tell your friends in the rap game that you got shot. How much harder can you get? You got shot, and you’re in a wheelchair.’” Hurst claimed Drake got onboard after their discussion. His character remained in a wheelchair.

The former Degrassi writer described Drake as “nice” and “apologetic” once he realized what the show was going for. Hurst’s wanted to take the “coolest” kid on the show and prove there’s nothing wrong with being in a wheelchair. Hurst claimed there was only one other arc in which Drake needed convincing, and it’s supremely ironic in retrospect. The writer alleged that Drizzy was reluctant to rap as his character on the show. He eventually came around, though, and the rest is history.

Read More: Kevin Durant Shows Love To Drake On Instagram Amid UMG Lawsuits

[via]

The post Drake Allegedly Threatened Legal Action Against “Degrassi” In 2006 appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Drake Revived His Classic ‘Degrassi’ Character During His Apollo Theater Concert

by
Drake December 2022
Getty Image

Drake postponed his first-ever shows at the Apollo Theater from early December to Saturday, January 21 and Sunday, January 22, and the general consensus is that he could have postponed them to January 2024 and the wait would have been worth it. From performing an exhaustive set list to teasing a potential new project, Drake brought everything to the stage.

According to Billboard, Drake’s set was just as much a visual chronicle of his journey as it was a musical one. Drake opened the show with “Over My Dead Body” from 2011’s Take Care while wearing the same basketball jersey worn by Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Drake starred in the role from 2001 to 2009 — when he was still best known as Aubrey Graham — and he also mocked his haircut from that time elsewhere in the show.

“I wanted to make this show about gratitude,” Drake told the crowd near the top of the show, per Billboard. “This is a little story we put together about my deep love for my family, for my dear friends and for each and every one of you that have been supporting me for a long time.”

Drake also shared the stage with his Her Loss collaborator 21 Savage, Dipset, and Lil Uzi Vert across the two nights. Check out clips below.

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Drake’s Reluctant Portrayal Of A Paralyzed Student Receives Praise From The Nonprofit Wheelchairs 4 Kids

by
Getty Image

After Drake’s reluctance to allow his Degrassi character Jimmy to be paralyzed after an episode about a school shooting became public, his portrayal is now being praised by the leader of an organization dedicated to kids with mobility issues for helping normalize wheelchairs. Madeline Robinson, executive director of Wheelchair 4 Kids, told TMZ that Drake’s role — however reticent he initially was to play it — gave kids in wheelchairs confidence. “When was the last time you went to a mall and saw a kid in a wheelchair hanging out with other kids?” she wondered, saying it’s rare.

“It is great when we see our kids being represented,” Robinson asserted. That was the logic that the show’s producers used to get Drake on board with the character development when the actor threatened to quit after seeing the script, worried that it would have a negative effect on his then-nascent rap career. In AV Club’s oral history of Degrassi: The Next Generation, writer James Hurst recalled telling Drake, “Aubrey, there’s some kid somewhere in a wheelchair, who’s completely ignored, who’s never on television, never gets represented. I need you to represent this person. You’re the coolest kid on the show, and you can say there’s nothing wrong with being in a wheelchair.”

Drake is now arguably the biggest star in hip-hop, so it’s clear he’s surmounted his worries, however well-founded they may have been.