Migos’ Takeoff had already changed the sound of hip-hop. He was just getting started on a new chapter.
# 4
# **_The Big Chill_**
“I have a plan for the next three years, man, don’t worry about it.”
—Migos, to DJ Khaled
On the night of April 26, 2017, Drake sat on a stage in a room full of flashing camera lights, an American flag at his feet. He had only nine hours before that same audience saw him perform on television. He and a crew of six were in L.A. to tape a segment for the network that was just starting its relationship with the record-breaking rapper. It was to be the first televised meeting between the two artists. They’d spent the past six months meeting like good neighbors. Drake had invited the rapper to L.A. He’d met Khaled back in his Brooklyn studio weeks earlier, the two of them taking turns inviting their other musical idols, including Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, and A$AP Rocky, to spend time in the studio.
In the days leading up to the interview, the rapper had traveled across L.A. by limo, then by train, on his way to meet the crew of six, one of which was a young producer named Diddy. It was the final stop before the studio in Long Beach, where Drake and Diddy would record a segment for MTV that would air as the network’s first broadcast about the rapper. Drake had asked Diddy to join the group despite his young age. He knew that Diddy was looking to pursue a solo career. For many years, Drake would stay in the studio for only three or four hours a day, coming and going like a night watchman in his neighborhood. He could be seen working away, but never for long, never for more than four or five hours. He would play songs like “Glow (Fade Up),” “Gotta Get You (Back)” and “I’m Bout It,” two songs that he’d written with J Cole and his brother, Aaliyah, and one
