Drake Says Kanye West Changed From Inspirer To Competitor, "...He Was A Really Great Competitor..."

Young Money's Drake graces the new Source magazine cover for November and shares his respect for G.O.O.D. Music leader Kanye West.

Based on an excerpt from his feature, Drizzy admits he now views Yeezy as competition.

Just weeks before the release of his sophomore effort Take Care, Drizzy further acknowledges that the throne is for the taking. "When I was a kid trying to figure out what I liked, it was [Kanye] who I related to the most. He was an artist, in every sense, from his cover art to his music. Now, I would say he was a really great competitor...." (The Source)

A few months back, Drake poked fun at Ye and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne after previously revealing plans to do a joint effort alongside Lil Wayne.

"I'll be on [Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV] -- we've done a great song...We're going to do another one... and another one. We still got to do that [collaboration] album. I heard two other guys are coming out with an album together, too. There's two other rappers [that] are coming out with an album together. I don't know where they got that idea but -- I caught wind of it through the grapevine that there's some other album with two guys rapping on it. [laughs]" ("Tim Westwood TV")

Last year, the Canadian-bred emcee named Ye in his Top 5 favorite rappers list.

Lil Wayne: It's hard as a rapper not to become repetitive, and he always has a new way to make it fun. Andre 3000: If I wasn't myself, I would want to be that guy! Kanye West: I've never been so moved by a person's entire career. He's the guy I'll tell my kids about. Nas: He influenced this album a lot. I had to break down how he raps. Jay-Z: You look at [other] rappers from his era, and they couldn't transcend generations. But he's still completely relevant. (All Things Fresh)

In early 2010, he described Ye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album as having the potential to become a hip-hop masterpiece.

The Canadian rapper-singer revealed to GQ magazine that he has been in Hawaii laying down tracks for both his and Mr. West's albums. When asked how they divide time between the two projects, Drake joked, "More like we work on his album until he gets tired." Little is known about West's fifth studio effort, but the Young Money star offered his inside take. "His album is going to be one of the best hip-hop albums in the last 10 years," he declared. (Rap-Up)