Drake Defends His Success

At the ripe old age of 26, Drake has already gone from starring in a Canadian teen soap to a multiplatinum career in hip-hop, but he insists that doesn't mean he's had it easy.

That's the message behind his new single 'Started From the Bottom,' which he recently told MTV was inspired by "kinda the back story of my life." While standing on the red carpet talking to reporters at the 2013 NBA All-Star Game, Drake blamed the widespread misunderstanding of his difficult upbringing on his own intense need for privacy. "I don't really speak on it that much," he explained, "which kinda allows people the opportunity to make up what they want about me."

Just how hard was it for Drake? As he reveals in the 'Started from the Bottom' video, things once got so bad that he was forced to work as the night manager in a Toronto pharmacy. It had to have been difficult for him to share that private shame with his millions of fans, but it was all for the greater good; as he told MTV, "I just wanted to make it known that I did work really hard to get here and it wasn't just a fluke and it wasn't easy by any means."

But all's well that ends well, and as you can see in the 'Bottom' clip, Drake's hellish retail sojourn eventually led to his being able to take all of his friends and family members on a vacation to the Dominican Republic that also doubled as a tax-deductible video shoot. Sighed the appreciative rapper, "All the people in the video from my family to my friends, everybody worked really hard and we're just happy to be here."

Watch the Drake 'Started From the Bottom' Video