Also, even if he "exits" gracefully I don't think he'll ever stop doing music anyway.

For starters, very few acts completely stop. Especially guys that are as popular as Drake. Paul McCartney is 80 and is the new drummer for The Rolling Stones lol

There's always a run, a residency, a random verse or hook on someone's album, an anniversary album w/3 new songs, that you can deliver and pick up a cool 50Ms.

Even if he did other endeavors, he'd never completely stop. His lifestyle not cheap and the music game is too good to him.

Probably still 5 or so years away but this is pretty smart

Even tho we ain’t forgetting he never dropped that blueprint level album lol. Job well done tho regardless. LeBron of the rap game in many senses

I think him exiting is more about him exploring other interests he won't be able to invest enough time in if he sticks to making music.

You're only saying this because you're not trying to see things from his perspective. He recorded his first mixtape at the age of 17. He's 36 now. His entire adulthood has been all about music. He hasn't taken a break since 2006 and I bet he has tons of other stuff he wants to do as he's getting older.

He has already solidified his legacy in music. Nothing can take away from that. He has nothing to prove to anyone and simply making music for the same of it deep into his 40s/50s doesn't seem like something he'd be interested in doing because he's rich as f*** with tons of other interests he wants to dive into.

I also feel like he's considering retiring because he feels he's earned it and he's right. He didn't take breaks during his run (I'm guessing because he knew he wouldn't be rapping deep into his 40s and he knew he'd want to put a end to his music career when he got to that point).

Cole hasn't achieved a quarter of what Drake has and he also feels the same way (and for both of them, music is all they've done for most of their lives). I don't think either of them are faking or doing it for attention because they have no reason to. They just know it all has to come to an end eventually and they'd rather go out on their terms and there's nothing wrong with that. Them saying it now is to prepare themselves and their fans for when it eventually happens.

Obviously, as fans, it isn't what you want to hear your favorite artist say but it is what it is. Drake is a creative so even if/when he stops dropping music, I don't think he'll stop investing his creative energy into other things. That'll just be something else for his fans to support.

You're projecting. We don't even know what "exit gracefully" actually means for Drake. We don't even know if he's hinting at actually retiring lol. His idea of exiting gracefully could be 10 years from now.

He's already said he was retiring 35...only to admit that that was just him talking and that he won't hang up anytime soon and he still loves to make albums, out of his own mouth he said that.

How many Rappers do you see actually retire and hang it up? Not many if any at all. Hov, Snoop, Kanye, Puff, Dr.Dre, the titans of the industry ALL still are active in music.

I don't doubt that he's "earned" the right to retire, that's absolutely true. The reality though is that most rappers do not even fully retire, and it's more likely than not that his idea of retirement would probably include some form of music making or touring.

He cant just stop dropping music it doesnt work that way

Look at wayne and hov or nas none of these guys ever stop

Music would be weird as hell without Drake
I kinda wish he did "retire" but then came back 5, 6 years later with a certified classic, ala MJ or Hov
Just for the s***s and giggles

Better to have him keep repeating this time and again so that it’s not as immediate when he finally announces he’s done.

Doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone, discography is so extensive (possibility of him dropping vaulted stuff over time too). He could probably dip into some more of the HNVM sound once he’s done.

Got his businesses going, nocta line up and running, perhaps entertaining more movie/series work (whether producing or acting).

Go out on a high when the time comes

Wayne, Nas, The beetles, Michael f***ing Jackson, Prince, Hov, Kanye, Snoop,

The music business is not designed for artists to retire.

That's not to say Drake won't do it. It's a new age and he's kind of entering into uncharted territory as far as music income is concerned, but guys do not stop.

Why?

Because they sign crazy deals and their heights and celebrity make it so that keeping the lights on and their overhead costs a billion dollars and as long as their's demand, doing a residency, a tour, a repackaged album, is an easy way to make millions of dollars.

I do not think Drake has surpassed the artists mentioned in that regard.

he signed that deal long before last year. that's just when mainstream blogs started reporting on it

whats he gonna be rapping about at that age tho lol

its better to retire on top

I'd probably agree if he wasn't money obsessed & if he had stuff going on outside of music, but his team's failing at turning him into a businessman & he's constantly bragging about how much money he makes from music so for that reason I just can't see him retiring anytime soon

can you think of superstars that dropped albums this regularly that just retired in their 30s/even early 40s? can't think of any off the top of my head

Honestly we are taking this a bit too literally he probably means something like a eminem/Jay z type “exit”

There’s a huge market for him that will never get tired of his music. No matter how much he’s declined, he gives the fans that are co constantly streaming his music what they want. He’s also great at marketing himself to a point where I can’t see him falling off unless he does something extremely foolish. He can honestly continue this until the very end

I also think like, you don't create a catalogue like the one drake has, and let it just sit ya know

The biggest perk of a catalogue like the one of a Lil Wayne, or a Drake's is that when he's 50, 60 years of age, he can go on a run and make 100Ms in like 2 months.

The Rolling Stones are still on the road.
Michael Jackson was still touring when he died.
Hov is winning grammy's well into his 50's
Lil Wayne is on tour right now and even when he's not on tour, he's hosting and performing
Beyonce same thing
Nas is still active

Again, we'll get more context once this interview airs but the idea that Drake will be the artist / rapper that hangs it up permanently just sounds hella farfetched. Fun thought exercise though.

When did Eminem “retire”

Well not “retire” but he did take a long ass break that’s what I mean and doesn’t drop as frequently anymore

Word, I thought maybe you meant when he somewhat started taking himself less seriously, like with side b

Britney spears and madonna still do shows/ have residency gigs

This might be leverage for his next contract like an nba player saying he wants a trade when he doesnt get offered a max contract ( kyrie).

Who told you he doesn't make a s*** ton of money outside of music? You think Drake advertises all his income sources?

Drake is 1 of 1. Hip-hop has never had a figure like him before so you can't draw comparisons.

I'm compelled to take him at his word because it's something he has put a lot of thought into. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what actually happens.

There you go.

There's countless examples.

I obviously have no way of knowing this but...Drake's overhead (80M home in LA, a f***ing museum of a home in Toronto, security, his own plane) is probably insanely expensive. Hard to say no to a 100M to 200M world tour or something like that, especially when you still love it.

Idk how much money Drake would have to make to turn down what he could make in the future.

Drake at 50, 53 years old may be able to do a Vegas residency for like 200Ms lol

Drake is Drake lol. He isn't any of those niggas. No need to compare him to them.

We'll see what happens.

I feel like drake more in love or equally in love with music as all these artists

He might not be super active but I can’t see him ever just detaching from music .