Drake Says He Has Nothing To Do With The Drake: Homecoming Movie
The night after Drake’s surprise mixtape/album If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late dropped, reports of a concert film chronicling the early years of his career surfaced. A trailer for the film, which has been promoted under the titles Drake’s Homecoming: The Lost Footage and Drake: Homecoming, was released and scheduled screenings in select AMC theaters were announced. But Drake himself never commented on the video, and now he’s denied involvement completely. He tweeted as much this morning:
The Drake Homecoming film is not something OVO or Drake have any part in. I feel it is my responsibility to inform and protect my fans.
— Drizzy (@Drake) March 16, 2015
Given the film’s proximity to his tape’s release, it seems like some scheming fans or associates thought they could make some money off whatever footage they stumbled onto. It does seem odd that Drake didn’t deny involvement until now, but of course he’s been busy promoting the mixtape, finishing his album, and engaging in various extracurriculars:
Even without a cosign from the Toronto rapper, the film still looks like it’ll be pretty entertaining. It airs in select theaters this Thursday, 3/19.
UPDATE: According to the LA Times, the doc’s producers are considering suing Drake for his statements, saying that not only did Drake know about the film, but he signed a contract in 2009 agreeing to participate in it:
In his contract, which was obtained by The Times, the rapper agreed to the concert’s filming and was paid a $15,000 cash fee and promised a 15% profit royalty for his participation in the project.
The filmmakers admit that Drake wasn’t involved in the movie’s creation, but that was incidental. Said the doc’s co-executive producer Mark Berry:
“There was no participation [from] Drake in the deals, because frankly he wasn’t needed. Did we want him on board for it? Absolutely. But he just wasn’t coming to the table, for whatever reason.”
Furthermore, Berry believes Drake’s statement is an attempt to renegotiate the contract he signed:
“Fifteen percent back when he was nobody … and [$15,000] handed to him in a paper bag, that’s a lot. [But] I think he wants a higher percentage of the movie.”
Read that story in full here.
[Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images.]
