This piece was originally published at Consequence Of Sound in October 2013.
Seated at a restaurant table across from Nadeska Alexis, a red flower and glass of wine between them, Drake bashfully admits, “I have aspirations to be Marvin Gaye, you know, in the back of my head.” He turns away from the camera and the MTV interviewer, letting off a brief, blushing, telling laugh. It’s that sort of modest moment, meant to signify humility and humanity, that separates sincere and sensitive souls from the uncouth braggarts and their insufferable arrogance. Yet in this seemingly staged setting, what comes across instead is disbelief, an acknowledgement of some bittersweet truth conveyed by a reactive tic.