[M84G]

Written by Cyrus Langhorne

Grammy-winning rapper T.I. recently spoke on his relationship with Drake and why he thinks the Young Money emcee belongs in a class of his own.

Tip believes Drizzy has the ability to make his own lane.

"I think Drake is one of the coolest of the new kids, man," Tip said in an interview when asked about working with Drizzy in the studio. "I think he has an outstanding ability to do him without doing anything, anything else is doing, you know? I think he sets himself apart and as long as he's able to do that, he'll have his own lane in this thing that we called hip-hop." (Rap-Up)

Speaking with radio personality Angie Martinez last month, Tip said Drizzy could easily push out around 500,000 records in his first-week sales.

"I'm confident in my man," T.I. said about Drake's first-week. "I think if 500 [thousand] was the over, under, I would take the over. Given his potential and his presence, I would. I think that's safe, that's a safe bet. He hasn't put out a dud yet. He hasn't put out a dud, not even as a feature, so I think that warrants about a half [a million]." (Hot 97)

Kicking things up a notch, Young Money associate/producer Sean Garrett recently predicted Drake's Thank Me Later selling a million its first week.

"I'm gonna bet a mil. I'm gonna bet Drake sells a mil first-week. It's because I know the anticipation on Drake's sh*t is outta here, it's outta space. Because when you look at everything he's been on, he's done so much for other artists on their sh*t that people are just dying to hear his sh*t. I think he's gonna be all right, I'm gonna put a mill ticket on it." (SOHH Guest Star)

However, Drake's album leaked online last week which prompted the rapper to address its illegal release.

"I always said if I had put out an album that was poor quality and music that people didn't enjoy, then I think the leaks would hurt me," Drake said in an interview. "Because a lot of the feedback has been great. The word of mouth, music is something that is to be enjoyed. I think it can help me so, June 15th, I'm still confident." (The Life Files)