How Drake Became a Rap Legend Through Genius Branding

Drake is a rap legend and branding master. He carved his path to the top by building his brand better than any other in his field. Read this article and apply it to your brand.

Whether you like Drake or not doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you use your mind and duplicate what works.

Self-Promotion is Key

Drake is always promoting himself whether it be through his hit records or his clothing line. He uses phrases that people associate with his brand such as 6 God and YOLO.

When dropping an album he leaks the cover and lets people create thousands if not millions of memes about it. People think they are trolling Drake but in reality they are giving him free marketing.

To prove my point take a look at Drakes latest album Views. Views sold over 850,000 copies in the U.S. alone.

This success wasn’t by accident though. Drake and his team had been marketing this album before they even started working on it.

Since day one Drake clearly understood what propelled some to stardom and kept others in the shadows.

In a early interview Drake spoke on how rappers just use MySpace and then wonder why they only sell 70 copies of their album.

In other words you need to have a website, social-media, and be everywhere. If you don’t do these then the chances of you building anything big are slim to none.

If it weren’t for the genius behind Drake and OVO Sound’s branding it goes without saying he wouldn’t be nearly as big as he is. Drake would be popular due to his association with Young Money, but outside of that he wouldn’t be his own star.

Early on Drake saw the importance of building his own brand through his star power. He quickly setup his own record label, clothing line, and distanced himself from anyone’s shadow.

Even when Drake isn’t marketing his album you still hear about him. He always keeps a buzz going about his brand. Maybe it is dating rumors or the latest project he’s working on.

Network with Others

From the beginning Drake networked with key people in the rap game. It was through him knowing Jas Prince that he was introduced to Lil Wayne.

From there Drake networked with the likes of Jay Z to many other big names. He leveraged their authority to give him more validation in the people’s eyes.

Instead of relying on simply building his own star power he brushed shoulders with the greats. It is all about who you know in the game of business.

You can be a no name with some fame or you can surround yourself with others and gain true fame.

-Dylan Madden

Don’t look at everyone as competition because at the end of the day, you are in your own lane. There is no other Dylan Madden and there is no one else like you. Once you take this to heart, you are on the track to becoming your own star.

Your Image

Since the beginning Drake has been big on his image. He clearly understands what people like and what they don’t like.

If he was just Aubrey Drake you wouldn’t care about him. That is why he became Drake and created his own lane.

People scratch their heads with how he is able to make hit albums but it is because of the image he crafted is well tested.

He talks about emotional events from his life and then paints vivid visions in your mind. Drake amplifies his true character to give you a great experience through his music, concerts, and videos.

For you to take advantage of this you need to become the character. You must stay true to yourself by becoming who you really are.

There is a difference between being fake and being real. If you are fake that means that you act like something that you aren’t.

But if you are a real character then you give people the best of who you are.

An example of image is what I’ve done since coming back. You see professional pictures of me with nice backgrounds.

When you see me what do you see? Shaved head and a beard usually with a cigar in my mouth. That isn’t just a random occurrence.

That is my image and how you recognize me. I took something real about myself and then crafted my image out of it. You will do the same when crafting your image.

Create a Great Product

Drake will spend years testing and crafting his product before he releases it. He doesn’t rush to put out anything even if people are banging down the doors.

This is what separates nobodies from somebodies. If you rush to release products then people will see that you just want their money.

If you have a blog then don’t rush to market a product. Build up your brand and work patiently on your product in the shadows.

Take your time to make something great like Drake. Everything you do should be top-notch and the best it can be.

You aren’t in the eBook business, you are in the solutions business.

-Dylan Madden

People come to you for specific solutions and then you solve their problem with your product or service. That is how business works and always will.

You don’t give them a crappy product so that you can make a measly $10. You give them a great product to solve their problem. You are rewarded with their money.

Tune in next time for some more…

REAL DEALIN’ With The Real Dylan

Next Read: 3 Lessons From George Soros on Bending Reality to Your Will.