The internet has been debating on if Drake has reached the icon status of Michael Jackson, Prince Jackson weighed in on the discussion.
In a recent interview with TooFab, Prince was asked about Drake beating a Billboard record that Michael previously held. Nine tracks from Drake’s record, Certified Lover Boy, reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, something that Thriller held since 1982.
“I mean everybody has their own definition of great, and all respect to Drake everything that he does,” Prince said. “But what my father and my family accomplished, in the time that they did it, is very unlikely never to be matched again.”
Drake has previously cited Michael as one of his major inspirations. He featured a sample of Michael’s vocals from an unreleased session with Paul Anka on his 2018 track, “Don’t Matter to Me.”
He later revealed that his viral dance move was also inspired by the King of Pop.
“When I first made that song I was only talking about the moonwalk. But Toosie made a dance to that shit, I didn’t know it was gonna be a dance song like that,” he told OVO.
Earlier in his career, Drake spoke at length to MTV about the impact that Michael had on not only him, but the world. He said that it was the first time that he “realized the power of an entertainer.”
“I remember having Moonwalker on cassette and I remember how religiously I used to watch it. Because I used to feel like, as a kid, this was the most amazing place to escape to. It was that world he created. I just feel like he was the first artist that I ever experienced that made you get lost in Michael Jackson, his music, his imagery, the choices that he made for cover art. Now that I’m older, I can look back and be like, wow, he was one of the most consistent entertainers of all time,” he gushed.