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Rising rapper Drake has finally found a label home and officially signed with Lil Wayne’s label, Young Money, according to sources.

This deal is a joint venture between Young Money and Cash Money Records as Universal Republic will handle distribution.

Real name Aubrey Graham, Drake has been continuously seen as being part of the entourage of Lil Wayne, so it is of little surprise that the Toronto native would finally choose to lay down his hat in the house of the Young Money General.

This break of news is also a reassure that his forthcoming debut album, Thank Me Later, will not be distributed independently, to the dismay of many fans.

The rapper was able to not only generate, but also maintain, his massive climb to fame without the backing of any label, and some believed that the “Best I Ever Had” hit-maker would continue to push everything on his own.

Initially, Drake himself felt that putting out an album without a label would prove a big point in the transition of the new generation. When sales came in, critics could not say that the label was the reason for his success.

Artists such as Royce Da 5’9, Joe Budden and Fabolous all agreed that such a move would be legendary and had the potential to shake up the foundation of record labels and music.

In response to talks of remaining independent, Drake stated:

“Independent is a funny term. I can go independent, but you need distribution, period. You need somebody to distribute your record and you need that army that a label has to really push the record,” Drake said in an interview with MTV.

Being labeled as the next big thing to hit Hip Hop, Drake was able to independently release material and mixtapes that were critically acclaimed and fans continued to eat up. The release of the mixtape, So Far Gone, would be the nail in the coffin to solidify the notion that he was more than an actor from Degrassi and he was an artist that everyone needed to take notice of.

If it was amazing to see what Drake was able to do by himself, just wait in see what’s in store now that he has help.

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