Drake took to the comments section of Instagram yesterday to share a list of his top-five favourite rappers of all time. Commenting on a post by the Toronto-based rapper Young Tony (also known as OVO Hush), in which Tony had shared an image of some of his early mixtapes, Drake took the opportunity to reveal the artists who’d made the biggest impact on him, comprising JAY-Z, Lil Wayne, The Notorious B.I.G., Andre 3000 and OVO Hush himself.
“My top 5 is Biggie, Hov, Wayne, Young Tony, and 3000 since nobody asked,” Drake wrote in the caption, which has quickly attracted numerous likes and comments.
Fans of Drake will likely be unsurprised by the list, as he has collaborated with Andre 3000 on the 2011 album Take Care, and frequently expressed his admiration for Biggie, who he has previously cited as a major influence on his music. The inclusion of JAY-Z is more surprising; though the two artists have worked together, they have also traded jabs in the past, leading to frequent speculation about an on-and-off rivalry between them. As an early mentor of Drake’s, Lil Wayne’s inclusion is the most expected.
Young Tony has been name-checked on Drake records in the past, including on the 2010 single “Miss Me” and on the track “Deep Pockets” – the title itself a reference to Young Tony’s early mixtapes – which was part of the Dark Lane Demo Tapes, released earlier this month.
