It’s Time For Drake To Return To Acting

Drake’s music career has never been better. His latest release, Views, is his fourth studio album, and sold enough copies in it’s first week to garner constant comparisons to the Queen, Bey. With a slew of successful mixtapes under his belt as well as his upcoming Summer Sixteen tour with Future and a reputation for discovering and breaking new artists in the music industry, damn. It’s good to be Drake.

So now it’s time to switch things up a bit. A lot of critics wasted no time noting that Views isn’t really anything that much different than what we’ve come to expect from Drake musically. Ok, so blowing people’s minds with something completely new wasn’t on his to-do list. That’s fine! Do you, Drake. He knows what works for him and he wasn’t in a place to mess with that. Perhaps we don’t need something surprising from him in our headphones. But you know where we do? On our screens.

Drake is set to host and perform on Saturday Night Live this weekend, for the second time since 2014, and it’s a pretty good bet that he will be great. Seriously, watch those promos. They’re so funny! And there’s butt stuff!

If the “Slumber Party” sketch wanted to come back this time, viewers would probably be more than ok with that. Sure, the performances will be nice too. It will take some strong will to turn off that dad dancing during “One Dance”, but it will be the sketches where he shines. Drake’s got the comedic timing necessary to help him nail his hosting duties.

Obviously, this is not his first time at the rodeo. He’s tackled the double duties at SNL before, as well as a fast-but-important cameo in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, and don’t forget his voice role as Ethan the mammoth in Ice Age: Continental Drift. 2013’s Anchorman 2 was the last time we saw him act in a role not as himself. So, Drake. It’s time, my man. We need you to return to acting.

We didn’t know how lucky we were to have him as Jimmy Brooks in 145 episodes of Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. Well, it was more of a pre-Drake, Aubrey Graham. As Jimmy, he played a sweet basketball player and aspiring rapper who is then confined to a wheelchair after getting shot. If he can tackle drama that intense, as well as romances and love triangles and jump shots, what can’t he do?

Well, there’s one more thing he CAN do. Please take one second to just appreciate the time Drake had to act happy and surprised and unsure if he was going to get an erection. High fives all around!

Now Drake’s got a few options here. He can go the Justin Timberlake route, and take a little bit of time off from music to focus on it. Putting those comedy chops to use would be a smart move for him. If he was up for it, he could even take on a fun action comedy. The world is ready to fork over their dollars to watch Drake chase after bad guys. Or even better: race after them. Take a note from Ludacris who has carved out a nice film career for himself, most notably in the Fast & Furious franchise but with fun spots in rom coms like New Year’s Eve and No Strings Attached. But Drake can go bigger. The ensemble is not a bad choice, but Drake is naturally a star and that would undoubtedly translate on the big screen. A rom com, a sci fi adventure, even a thoughtful indie film should all be on the table for him.

Not an option, however, are any roles as a rapper. That’s not what he should be going for here. Show us a new side! Both ladies and men would be intrigued, to say the least. If he can fill up arenas on tour, he can fill up movie theaters too.

So here’s what we know: Drake can be fun, sensitive and sink baskets on screen. Wait, have they started casting that Space Jam sequel yet? Get him in some basketball shorts! He’s got a lot to consider here, but one thing’s for sure. Acting is ready for Drake whenever he’s ready to take the jump, man.