“We looked at a lot of artists for this campaign,” says Joe Tripodi, chief marketing and commercial officer of the Coca-Cola Company. “As we filtered through, we realized we wanted someone with a breadth of interest across the globe — a new, fresh, young talent.”

“Drake’s ability to combine the purest rap with emotional R&B and coming from a child acting career in Canada to a worldwide music career was the ultimate spark in fresh thinking in the youth platform,” adds Katie Bayne, chief marketing officer of Coca-Cola North America.

The Sprite “Spark” Music Project which launches in March, is an online interactive music mixer that allows users to make their own tunes and remix music from Drake with emerging artists around the world. Drake is also partnering with Sprite for its “Step-Off” competition in Atlanta, which awards $1.5 million in college sponsorships.

The program has been running through historical Black colleges since last fall, Drake will make appearances as a judge and performer at the finale. So far Drake participated at the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown during the NBA All-Star weekend as a judge and performed along side LeBron James check the jump for the performance.

This partnership will most likely help Drake promote his album Thank Me Later which is due later this year. Could the Sprite deal be as beneficial to Drake as Vitamin Water was to 50 cent?

• VIDEO: Behind-the-Scenes of Drake’s Sprite ad
• Kanye West’s GOOD Music teams w/ Sprite Green for urban campaign
• VIDEO: Drake’s new Sprite commercial
• VIDEO: The making of Coca-Cola’s ad campaign w/ Cee-Lo
• Cee-Lo Green teams with Coca-Cola for new ad campaign

The campaign, called “Spark,” will also feature globally recognized artists and actors and extends to a corresponding digital campaign. Nice to see Drake getting some major publicity on this one. We will have more details on the entire campaign soon. Via: KissMyBlackAds

• Details On Drake x Sprite “Spark” Campaign
• VIDEO: Behind-the-scenes of Drake’s “Sprite” TV ad
• VIDEO: Drake’s new Sprite commercial
• VIDEO: Drake x Sprite TV ad (better version)
• Kanye West’s GOOD Music teams w/ Sprite Green for urban campaign

• VIDEO: Drake’s new Sprite commercial
• VIDEO: Behind-the-Scenes of Drake’s Sprite ad
• VIDEO: Behind-the-scenes of Drake’s “Sprite” TV ad
• Details On Drake x Sprite “Spark” Campaign
• Kanye West’s GOOD Music teams w/ Sprite Green for urban campaign

Here is the official tour poster for Drake’s “Away From Home Tour” which runs April 6 – May 8. Full tour dates here.

• VIDEO: Drake Makes Come Back In Toronto
• VIDEO: Drake x Sprite TV ad (better version)
• Video: Movie poster & trailer to Beyonce’s “Obsessed”
• VIDEO: Behind-the-scenes of Drake’s “Sprite” TV ad
• VIDEO: Drake’s new Sprite commercial

• VIDEO: Behind-the-Scenes of Drake’s Sprite ad
• VIDEO: Drake’s new Sprite commercial
• VIDEO: Drake x Sprite TV ad (better version)
• Details On Drake x Sprite “Spark” Campaign
• VIDEO: Drake Makes Come Back In Toronto

• VIDEO: Behind-the-scenes of Drake’s “Sprite” TV ad
• VIDEO: Behind-the-Scenes of Drake’s Sprite ad
• VIDEO: Drake x Sprite TV ad (better version)
• Details On Drake x Sprite “Spark” Campaign
• VIDEO: Drake Makes Come Back In Toronto

Drake is the new cover boy for the latest issues of “Complex” magazine….one of the few urban print pubs that is still standing. Check after the jump for the Drake x Complex interview.

Around the time that Kanye directed “Best I Ever Had,” it seemed like there was strife between your camp and Cudi’s camp because Kanye was so enamored of you while Cudi’s project was being worked on.

Drake: I wasn’t aware of that. Even so, I could understand. If Wayne were to be enamored—which is a great word—of another young artist, I would be like, “Damn, I’m here too!” But at the same time, it happens in more than one situation. It happens with ‘Ye, and I have a great relationship with Jay, and Jay’s got Wale and J. Cole, who’s one of my favorite dudes rapping right now. I’ve happened to have had more success. I made the most money, I have number-one records, those guys don’t have that shit. And it’s just facts, it’s not even my feelings or that I feel I’m more talented. That’s what the game is about, making great music that earns profit. When it comes to my relationship with the new dudes, I’m just excited for them. I get to sit back in a cool position and be like, “Yo, I’m excited to see you do it now because I know what it’s like, it’s gonna be so much fun for you…”

I think it’s just that you were so far from what people expected when they thought “Young Money.”

Drake: Everyone seems to have a comment for me about Young Money, “Fuck Young Money” or “Why are you with them?” But what people have to understand is maybe there was a way for me to be successful without Young Money. But we’ll never know. My loyalty is to Wayne, and that goes for anybody who genuinely believes in me. We don’t have the most personal relationship where we hang out every day or we talk that much, but Wayne’s admiration and respect goes without being verbally said. He put his neck out there for me at a very early stage, and those actions tell me everything I need to know about how he feels about me as an artist.

• BET Music Award nominations led by Kanye West
• VIDEO: Drake Collapses on Stage at Concert in NJ
• L.A. Times Disclose Drake’s Record Deal
• Kid Cudi talks Reebok situation
• VIDEO: Drake new face of Strapped Condoms

Rising from the ashes comes the new VIBE Magazine…which really looks a lot like the old one except with new owners, management and structure going on behind the scenes. To kick off the re-launch Breezy graces the cover with Drake as the alt. Check the Drake cover after the jump…

• VIBE set to relaunch next month with stronger online presence
• Jay-Z covers “Interview” Magazine
• Birdman covers “Urban Ink” magazine
• VIDEO: Behind-the-scenes of Drake’s “Sprite” TV ad
• Lil Wayne’s cover of new Billboard Magazine

“I did this song that no one has ever heard before, ever,” he explained. “[It's] a song called ‘Fear.’ I recorded it when I did So Far Gone ‚Äî the first verse and half of the second verse I had gotten through. But then I just stopped because it was getting eerie. It was getting where I didn’t know if I could [finish it]. And then the other night I had a moment and I finished the song. That’s gonna be the last song on the retail [version of] So Far Gone. And the third verse transitions into Thank Me Later. So the last line of the third verse is gonna be the first line on my album.”

Seems like the label wants to test Drake’s commercial success, the issue is will people buy the re-release that they already downloaded for free just for one new song?

• DOWNLOAD: Last Train To Paris Mixtape
• VIDEO: Behind-the-scenes of Drake’s “Sprite” TV ad
• Damon Dash to release “tell-all” book
• EA Sports uses Mixtape to promote NBA Live 10
• VIDEO: Drake Collapses on Stage at Concert in NJ

Props: MTV

• Details On Drake x Sprite “Spark” Campaign
• VIDEO: Drake’s new Sprite commercial
• VIDEO: Behind-the-scenes of Drake’s “Sprite” TV ad
• VIDEO: 50 Cent on America‚Äôs Most Wanted Tour
• L.A. Times Disclose Drake’s Record Deal

In a recent MTV interview Drake admitted to disregarding doctors warnings,

“I didn’t really get any approval from my doctor, but I made a personal decision 48 hours ago that I’d be letting a lot of people down if I didn’t show up and at least show them I’m there for them…”
“I’m not doing my own set. That’s one thing I have to apologize to my fans about. It’s too much of a risk, if I hit that wrong turn [doing] 30 minutes every night. If I tear my ACL again, the doctors say I might not be able to walk again. I have to be cautious.”

Drake later said on his Twitter account @drakkardnoir “All is well…on bus laying down..getting surgery this week but I’m walking. Thank my whole YM family for the help! Lion Hearts!”

Props: MissInfo

• BET Music Award nominations led by Kanye West
• Reps confirm T.I. is NOT using his own Twitter account
• VIDEO: Drake new face of Strapped Condoms
• Mos Def to guest appear on episode of “House”
• VIDEO: Was Lil Wayne hired by Twitter to start tweeting?

Under the unusually lucrative agreement he struck with Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money Records distributed through Universal, Drake received a $2-million advance. He retains the publishing rights to his songs and cedes only around 25% of his music sales revenues to the label as a “distribution fee,” his managers said. By contrast, the overwhelming majority of new artists sign financially restrictive “360 deals” that sap their touring and merchandise income and offer much more restrictive profit-sharing.

“The record company doesn’t have any ownership of Drake,” Bryant said. “The label does not have participation on profits. They don’t have ownership of his masters. We control his entire career. Those deals don’t happen anymore.”

There hasn’t been an upcoming artist with such a big buzz since 50 Cents debut in 2003. Drake has sold out concerts from his So Far So Gone Mixtape. The leading single ‚ÄúBest I Ever Had‚Äù has been receiving more then 1300 spins on radio, and has sold 600,000 digital downloads. He’s been featured on records with Jay-Z, Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna and Fabolous. He‚Äôs currently working on his debut album ‚Äú Thank Me Later‚Äù and will embark a 22-city tour starting July 27th with Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, and Soulja Boy in ‚ÄúYoung Money Presents: America’s Most Wanted Music Festival‚Äù.

Drakes manager,  Cortez Bryant teamed with firm Hip Hop Since 1978 whose marketing has resulted in first week releases of 1 million copies sold in Kayne West’s “Graduation”and Lil Wayne’s “The Carter III”.

Could Drake be the next artist to sell 1 million copies with all the hype he has generated?

• VIDEO: Fabolous “Loso’s Way” # 1 on Billboard Charts
• Drake covers latest issue of “Complex”
• Bow Wow Signs To Cash Money Records
• The future of hip-hop? More artists looking for consumer brand support, not label support
• Def Jam to Advertise on Mariah Carey’s CD Booklets

• Drake covers latest issue of “Complex”
• L.A. Times Disclose Drake’s Record Deal
• VIDEO: Drake Collapses on Stage at Concert in NJ
• BET Music Award nominations led by Kanye West
• MUSIC VIDEO: Young Money – “Roger That”

• VIDEO: Behind-the-scenes of Drake’s “Sprite” TV ad
• VIDEO: Drake Makes Come Back In Toronto
• BET Music Award nominations led by Kanye West
• VIDEO: Drake’s new Sprite commercial
• VIDEO: Drake new face of Strapped Condoms

• New Diddy “I Am King” cologne print ads
• Eminem covers newest issue of Complex Magazine
• VIDEO: Drake’s new Sprite commercial
• Q Da Kid’s new TAG Bodyspray print ad
• Video: Swizz Beatz w/ Street Science educational PSA