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We Saw 'Drake's Homecoming: The Lost Footage' with the Makers of the Film

We saw the controversial documentary and remembered the true meaning of Drake.

“I hope they document what I’m becoming” says a 23-year-old Drake in the opening moments of the controversial flick, Drake’s Homecoming: The Lost Footage. While in most movies the scene would foreshadow the humble words of a legend in the making, I instead found myself thinking of this:

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

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For those unaware, Homecoming chronicles Drake’s first show at Toronto’s Sound Academy in 2009. However, the film is currently mired in controversy after Drake distanced himself from the project. Shortly after, the movie’s distributor, SpectiCast, reportedly sued him, citing that his tweets were made in an attempt to sabotage the movie’s release. As a result, I decided to email the directors and producers of the film to ask if I could join them in a screening of the movie. And surprisingly, they agreed.

“ [Homecoming] is just a great piece of Canadian music history. It’s like the Beatles playing at the Cavern Club,” says co-executive producer Mark Berry alongside fellow producer, Sam Cole-Elkind. While there was no doubting their enthusiasm, I was skeptical of such a bold statement, so I decided to test their Drake fandom by asking what their favorite song was. Berry responded that his was “Best I Ever Had” while Elkind said, “I’m such a huge Drake fan I could name any song.” In any case, I was unimpressed. Although maybe I’ve grown bitter after going six years without finding anyone besides me who likes “King Leon.” I let them off the hook.

Having never been to a “concert film” in theaters—mainly because I was too ashamed to support Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert in public—I was unsure what the audience would be like. Looking around the theater, Berry and Elkind sat along director Evan Kosiner and family while I developed theories as to why PartyNextDoor is the new Memphis Bleek. There were murmurs from a guy in a TOPSZN hat that Drake would appear at the screening, but when’s the last time you took someone wearing a TOPSZN hat seriously? Either way, the crowd was a mix of young and old. The theater itself wasn’t super packed but it definitely wasn’t empty either: think watching a matinee showing of Chappie. Eventually, the lights dimmed and the movie began.

If there’s one thing that stands out while watching Drake perform, it’s that he tends to take the posturing of a penguin losing its balance. I’m not sure where this odd behavior originated from, but I couldn’t help counting how many times he did it while firing through So Far Gone cuts like “Congratulations” and “Ignant Shit.” While naturally charismatic, Drake really was an uneven performer and if nothing else the movie documents that his persistence was as much a factor in his success as his talent. This is further evidenced by the interviews with Rap-A-Lot CEO, James Prince, his son Jas Prince, and rapper, professor, and author of coloring book, Bun B. (For the record, he is credited as “author of colouring book” in the movie.”) I can also understand why the Prince family reneged on the film, because they kind of destroy the myth building the movie tries to employ. The film explains that Wayne really liked “Brand New” and so Jas asked his father to sign him. J. Prince was unsure but Jass said, “Trusss me Daddi” and then the two signed off on a partnership deal with Young Money because Drake had a buzz. There was also a great part where Bun B mentions that Drake’s music gives an insight into what Toronto is—specifically “how beautiful the weather is” to which everyone laughed.

Back to Drake's performance: “For all my Toronto ladies,” Drake says a bunch of times in the film. “I wanna…I wanna go out, have some roasted chicken breast with some Pinot Grigio and give you a hot oil massage.” It was at that very moment I realized what the purpose of this movie is: to remind us of when Drake was still having fun as an upcoming rapper, and not someone burdened with the weight of being great. In between regular cult like chants of “running through the six with my woes,” I’d forgotten Drake was capable of lines like “you could have my heart, or we could share it like the last slice.” At the tail end of the movie we also get a heart-warming interview with one of Drake’s school teachers, recalling when in the the midst of his rising stardom he came to visit her. It’s a shame there weren’t more moments in the film that highlighted Drake’s humanity, and not his success. Instead, during the film’s already brief hour and a half run time the movie was padded with reused interviews of Jas and J. Prince, giving near identical responses. Members of the audience seemed to notice as well as. They filed out during the post-credit interviews. However, Barry and co. seemed unfazed.

“We actually got into it with the distributor about the run time,” Barry explained after the film. “We’d love to have had Drake’s support, but ultimately it didn't work out, so we had to pad out the film to meet the run time.” I felt like their sentiments were genuine, however outside of the Prince interviews the film didn’t add much to the mythology of Drake. In general, it felt like a missed opportunity that given time and OVO’s blessing could have been something more. But at the very least, the film serves as a quaint time capsule of Young Money’s young angel—before he became a 6 God.

@DaysandWeekes is adamant the second half of "Fancy" is Drake's greatest song ever.