Drake Will Keep You Up All Night With His Soundcheck Performance

If you read the Internet (and we kind of think you do), you know that it’s Drake Day, as fans literally jam record shops to snatch up Drizzy’s oft-delayed, but very, very Idolator-approved Thank Me Later (featuring, lest you forget, the Kanye West-produced “Find Your Love” and the Jay-Z/Lil Wayne collabo “Light Up”).

With early projections suggesting that his album will notch one of the biggest openings of the year, it seems like a good night to catch Drake in concert, right? Well, not if you’re in New York, where Drake just tweeted that police have shut down his planned South Street Seaport performance. But for everyone else — good news. Drake’s sizzling performance for Walmart Soundcheck, and a frank backstage interview, just went live. Check them below:

Here’s Drake tearing up “Forever”, “Bedrock”, “Best I Ever Had”, “Successful” and “Over”:

And check Drake’s interview, in which he reveals that it was “definitely a challenge for me to do all original material” for Thank Me Later, rather than sample/recreate/borrow directly from artists that inspire him. (P.S. – did you know he liked Peter Bjorn and John?):

If there’s a reason you AREN’T picking up Thank Me Later, we’d love to know what it is.