A Night with Lil Drake

Three months ago, I was sitting by myself in my office, annoyed at my Mac Mini (2007 AD) computer. I was on the verge of bashing the keyboard into the screen when a Facebook link flashed into my chat window. What I saw before me was Drake embracing a mini version of himself. With only profile pictures to go by, the Mini Him appeared to be an incredibly similar-looking Drizzy double who purported to be his number-one fan in Germany. With 749 facebook likes from German Drake fans, I knew I had to meet him.

To simply do an interview would not serve any justice. No, I wanted to go and watch as Lil Drake lives his life, how people react to him, and why the hell he acts like Drake.

Two months later, I am finally with Julian, my friend, and photographer at Görlitz Bahnhof in Berlin, but Amin (his real name) is nowhere to be found. Half an hour later, he arrives at the Runtergeschlurft station. "Hey, I'm sorry," he says with a mischievous grin, "but there was this girl I had to meet, so I stayed on a few stops with her." Right away, it's apparant this little one has copied the charms of the Great.

Appropriately enough, we first go to the Lark & Owl Bar.

Lil Drake told me that he's 19, his parents are from Morocco, and when he's not playing the doppelgänger to Drake, he's in school for print and is a media wizard. He is very polite, always trying to be cool. He drinks Mate, no vodka (only now and then he does he drink alcohol, he says). He tells me how he met his idol and leaves out no detail: two years ago, at a Drake concert in Berlin, Amin caught Drake's towel and somehow managed to get backstage. A few minutes later, the legend himself walked in. Amin, dressed identically like his new friend, mentioned that the two look the same. Drake said, "Yeah, man, I see dat," whereupon Amin said, "You remember me? I got your towel!" and then, they took a photo. That's it.

We go eat.

When we get to burger joint 36 Kottbusser, we order some cheeseburgers and sausage. Amin has now put on a shirt that I am pretty sure I've seen before on Drake. Why is he doing this? I have to know. He's always been a fan, he says, and he liked Drake's style, and eventually, he and others noticed that he looks like Toronto's Finest. From there, he started the Facebook Amin Drake and now has 404 fans, as well as an Instagram as "Brother Drake" with 578 followers. He did not seem like a potentially crazy fanboy.

"But why are you doing this?" I ask again. "I have not chosen this myself," he says, "but it is what it is and I enjoy the advantages—people talk to you, you might score with girls, and make contacts." Amin said that he had been working on promotion for different clubs. And if one is Little Drake, then of course they have potential.

Surprisingly, we can hardly walk five feet without someone stopping him.

Slowly but surely, I understand. Amin Drake uses his resemblance to build a brand. It's like a job. Anyone who listens to "Rack City" every week or does YMCMB cap touches, is a potential partner or customer. You can never make enough contacts, and this German Drake is a breeze with this clientele.

I ask him it annoys him sometimes when he's perceived as Drake. "Not really," he says, "I am always Amin, Drake is only from time to time." Tonight, it's Drake time, so everything has to be highly professional. This means two outfits, no alcohol, stay cool.

Amin warmly greets the bouncer and waves us through. Our jackets are placed in a side room, Lil Drake himself ensures that the camera is kept safe. Now, everything seems pretty calculated. Nevertheless, the boy is still engaging, especially when he whispers something in his DJ's ear and shortly thereafter, "Started From the Bottom" comes on. Immediatly, he jumps onto the dance floor. You can tell: the boy really loves this shit.

Unfortunately, Lil Drizzys clique is at another club, so no bottles will be popped here today. It's too bad; I actually thought that they would be traveling with Drake. I had even imagined how might throw a bottle towards Berlin's Lil Chris Brown. Unfortunately, none of that happened. At 5AM, we leave the club. The mood falls pretty sparse, because I'm tired and Amin fixed on his cell phone. The first shot of the evening will be posted on Instagram and the girls will be messaged. My day is over, Lil Drake goes even further through 5AM Berlin.