Drake previews his new album for journalists

There’s less than two weeks to go before the release of his debut album and Canadian rapper Drake is already a fast rising star in the hip hop world.

Some of the biggest names in the industry helped out on his first album, including Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Timbaland. He performed Thank Me Later for a room of handpicked journalists and media outlets. Journalists from Billboard, BET, XXL, Entertainment Weekly, VIBE, Us Weekly and the New York Times, among others, were on hand.

The album drops on June 15 after months of preparation with the help of Lil Wayne. The rapper took Drake under his wing and is now spending a year in prison.

Other big names showed up at the listening party, including Chris Brown, Bow Wow and Jay Sean. Drake performed every song off the album and explained the story and motivation behind the making of each track.

Drake was a popular character on the Canadian television series Degrassi: The Next Generation when he went by his real name, Aubrey Graham. He appeared in 138 episodes from 2001-2009 until he left to concentrate on his rap career. 

He launched a mini-album called So Far Gone in 2009 that featured the track Best I Ever Had which made the industry sit up and notice.

Drake’s entire new album was leaked online last week. Since then thousands of illegal downloads have been recorded each day.