Before becoming one of the biggest hip-hop artists of the current era, Drake starred as Jimmy Brooks in the first seven seasons of the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation.
While celebrating the 20th anniversary of the show, cast and crew did an in-depth Q&A session with the A.V. Club this week, which included discussions about Drake's character being paralyzed after being shot at school. Producer James Hurst recalled getting a letter from a law firm representing Drake, real name Aubrey Graham, over the plot change with his character.
Hurst explained, "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 added that Drake told him he didn't know anything about the letter, and Hurst went on to detail a conversation he had with Drake.
"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 went on to say that Drake didn't push back after their conversation, and he pointed out that his character was walking on crutches by the end of the season.
Source: The Daily Beast
