Drake Talks 'Take Care,' Joint Album with Rick Ross, & 'Watch the Throne'

Now that Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV is finally in stores, Young Money is looking to continue its winning streak with Drake’s sophomore album Take Care, due October 24. The Canadian rapper-singer spoke at length with Entertainment Weekly about the follow-up to his debut Thank Me Later, a deluxe birthday edition of the album, working with the legendary Stevie Wonder, how Watch the Throne made him push harder, and a potential collaborative album with Rick Ross. Check out some highlights below.

• On the deluxe edition of Take Care: “So what I’m doing is there will be a Take Care physical edition in stores that’ll hopefully have 15 to 17 songs on it. Then I know a lot of people do deluxe editions. But since October 24 [his birthday] is a special day for me, I got, like, a Take Care birthday edition that I’m going to put on iTunes that will have extra songs. I really want to encourage people to be excited about the album releasing.”
• On why he’s taking his time with this album: “I remember when artists used to take, like, four years to make an album. Usher used to disappear for three years. It took Justin Timberlake a really long time to craft Justified. Even Beyoncé’s albums are spanned three years apart. You’ve got to live, man. And now we’ve sort of birthed and encouraged this generation of instant gratification.”
• On how Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne inspired him: “With Jay and with Watch the Throne, I’m so glad that it came out. As artists, we all need extra motivation. And I feel like in these last 30 days, that album is going to make me go 10 times harder from just, you know, hearing all the bars and all the sounds.”
• On a potential joint project with Rick Ross: “One of the people of the people I enjoy rapping with most in this business is Rozay [Rick Ross]. Me and him have talked about potentially doing something after our albums comes out. I just love making songs with him. Every time we make a song it just seems to be something I love listening to after the fact when I’m in my car.”
• On his Stevie Wonder collaboration: “I had a song that’s very powerful, it’s called ‘Doing It Wrong,’ and Stevie boosted it to another level. 40 produced it, but Stevie has a solo on it that he plays. It’s a great piece of music.”
• On why Take Care will have less features compared to his debut: “It was my first album. It was a bit rushed. And I think I found solitude in having features from people I love. It was a heavy feature album. And this album is the complete opposite.”
• On which leaked tracks will make the final cut: “‘Headlines’ and ‘Marvin’s Room’ are on the album. But ‘Dreams Money Can Buy’ and ‘Trust Issues,’ those joints are on that birthday edition. That birthday edition might be a stupid amount of songs. I’m just forewarning everybody. [Laughs] I want to service people a lot of music to get you through fall, winter, spring, and into the next summer. I want this music to last.”

Read the full interview on EW.com.