How Drake uses the internet to generate viral moments
'I forgot he was an actor' — Jae Richards
Drake's ascension to the top of music's power rankings is largely based on the success of his music, but he also possesses an added skill that few artists have truly mastered: wielding the internet.
In episode 6 of the CBC Gem series Drake's Plan, we explore the Toronto star's most viral projects and how he has massaged the online masses to create one-of-a-kind moments. From lyrics to album covers, and even embarrassing moments, Drake has figured out how to spin everything into internet gold, coming out of it victorious and even more beloved than before.
An example of such would be 2017's T-Dot Goon Scrap DVD 2, a sequel to a viral video by Toronto creators 4YallEntertainment. After seeing the original clip, Drake producer Boi-1da reached out to 4Yall's Trey and Jae Richards for permission to use it on the More Life track "Madiba Riddim." The Richards brothers' response: "Of course!"
"Immediately, Twitter started going crazy," Trey shared in the episode of Drake's Plan.
This soon led to the brothers asking Drake to come onboard for the sequel via "a risky text," as Trey described. But Drake replied and even insisted on coming back to Toronto to film it. "I forgot he was an actor," Jae added, praising Drake's comedic performance in the clip, which can be seen in its entirety below.
Watch a clip from the episode, above, and head to CBC Gem to view the full thing. Drake's Plan is an eight-part, weekly documentary series. For all of our Decade of Drake coverage, go to cbc.ca/music/decadeofdrake.