‘SOFT’

Drake Worried His ‘Degrassi’ Character’s Wheelchair Made Him Look Weak, Producer Says

He reportedly thought the wheelchair made him look “soft” to fellow rappers.

Drake worried his wheelchair on Degrassi: The Next Generation made him look soft. In an interview for the show’s 20th anniversary, producer James Hurst said he once received a letter from a law firm in Toronto ostensibly representing Drake, legal name Aubrey Graham. Hurst said, “It was an odd letter that said, ‘Aubrey Graham will not return to Degrassi Season 6 as Jimmy Brooks unless his injury is healed, and he’s out of the wheelchair.’” Hurst called Drake into his office for a conversation, and Drake said he did not know about the letter. Hurst recounted that when he asked Drake how he did feel about the wheelchair, “He’s like, ‘All my friends in the rap game say I’m soft because I’m in a wheelchair.’ And I said, ‘Well, tell your friends in the rap game that you got shot. How much harder can you get? You got shot, and you’re in a wheelchair.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, yeah.’” Hurst said Drake backed down after their conversation, though the character, Jimmy, did end up walking on crutches by the end of the season.