Drake Makes "Thank Me Later" Single Deadline, "All These People Are Asking Me For This Album"

Young Money's Drake has announced his plans to release Thank Me Later's first single no later than the top of next year.




Although not giving away too many details, Drake also said he had no intention to stop his work ethic despite the holidays.



"Work [laughs], yeah, work man because all these articles are coming out and all these people are asking me for this album, and yeah, I really wanna get it done," Drake revealed in an interview. "I'm gonna take my time with it but you know, perfection has no deadlines...There's no telling where I'll be [for Christmas], the industry shuts down supposedly in December but my life is just gonna keep going through. I mean, I really wanna dominate a first, second quarter time period so I need to have a single out by the top of next year and just keep going man." (Rap-Up)

He recently promised collaborations with Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne on his debut.



"I'm making progress on it," Drake said in an interview this week. "I'm hoping for March now. It's just pulling everybody together: I had a wish list for my managers of everybody I wanted involved that stem beyond hip-hop. I'm trying to pull it all together. I'm really trying to work with Sade. Lil Wayne will be on it. Young Jeezy, Jay-Z, Kanye will be doing work on it. It's in the family." (MTV)

The singer had previously discussed his hope to grow and advance his skills on the forthcoming solo project.



"You can expect the same sound, I'm still going to be telling a story," Drake explained in an interview. "I've got a great story to tell now -- it's been a crazy year. I just want to make it a little bigger, a little more energy. Sonically, I want to advance. I think I've gotten better at rapping since the last one so I'm excited to share it with the world. That's how I come up with songs, I'll sit there and rap to myself. There are people who are phenomenal at freestyling, but I'm a writer." (The Boom Box)

He also touched on the importance of lyricism for his debut album.

"Lyrically, I want to keep the album as genuine and honest as 'Fear' is, but musically there will be a little more energy," he promised. "There will be more moments of triumph, because my life is the best it's ever been in my 22 years of existence. I want my music to reflect that, but I still want to be able to relate and connect with people. It's a good indication. There will obviously be some variation -- not every track is going to sound like that. I was actually going to save 'Fear' for the album, but I wanted to give people another reason to buy the [So Far Gone] EP." (Shock Hound)