Jas Prince is the son of J Prince (founder of legendary label Rap-A-Lot Records). Jas is following in the footsteps of his pops by being one of the young CEOs in the game. In this interview with Ozone Magazine’s Julia Beverly he talks about his family legacy, the biz and how he connected Drake with Lil’ Wayne. Via ILL but to read the full interview click here!
What was your involvement with Drake?
I found Drake on Myspace. I believe Myspace is the easiest way to find hot artists in every region. I was going through a bunch of artists and did a worldwide blast to find out who had the most hits. I came across Drake’s page; yellow boy from Canada. The first song I clicked on was “Replacement Girl” with Trey Songz, and I was like, “Damn, this nigga can rap!” I wondered if he was signed. He’s got a video, a song with Trey Songz.. no label? I sent him a message and introduced myself. A couple days later I got a response back. “No, I’m not signed.” He gave me his number and we talked for a while. In my mind, I’m like, “This boy is a star. He raps, sings, and acts.” So I’m pushing it to everybody, like, “I got this artist named Drake, and I’m gonna sign him.” I hit Wayne like, “Yo, bro. I got this artist I want you to hear.” Wayne kept pushing it back, like, “Yeah, yeah. Alright.”
Two years ago I did a concert [in Houston] on New Year’s Eve with Wayne. The next day, after the concert, we were chillin’ at the hotel and Wayne asked me to take him to the jewelry store. He jumped in my truck. All the time, I’m thinking about business, so I put in this Drake CD. He was feeling it, bobbing his head. Drake said some slick line, and Wayne was like, “Yo, who is this, man? This boy nice!” I said, “That’s the nigga Drake I been telling you about.” Then I played “Brand New,” a song where Drake is singing. Wayne was like, “Man, who is this?” I said, “That’s Drake!” He’s like, “Bro, he sings too? Man, call him right now. Get him on the next flight to Houston.”
I called Drake, and he was at the barbershop. He’s like, “Yo, this Drizzy,” and Wayne was like, “Yo, it’s Weezy.” He was kinda shocked. Wayne said, “Get on the next flight to Houston. I’ma holla at you when you get here.” Drake called me back like, “Was that Wayne for real?” He flew out the next morning and we went to the studio that night. The next day we got on the bus and rode from Houston to Atlanta. We had a long ride and got to talk over some things. That night we went to the studio, and that’s when he recorded “Forever” and “Stunt Hard.” From then on, it’s history.
