Whatever your stance on Drake, the simple fact he’s become one of the biggest and most durable stars of the era is kind of amazing. Lintrollers, yardie roadman impressions, the loooong lingering shadow of Degrassi? Dude has a way to take the fully ridiculous and make it somehow palatable to an audience of millions; that’s a commendable trait, even if you downright detest Drizzy.

He also has an unerring way to command attention, proven with panache by the sudden drop of mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late during Kanye’s high-art Adidas unveil took place on Thursday evening (as in most walks of life though, Kanye always goes one further). There are static-steeped interludes that sound like Modern Love, clear sops to Rich Gang’s weirdo wailing and some typically hard-nosed posturing from a man referring to himself in pretty lofty terms nowadays.

It’s those bangers that anchor the man’s appeal, making the party go from 0 to 100, real quick. So in honour of the globe-straddling enigma, here are six vital Drake (or quasi-Drake) drops from our archives.

Now tell us: Who do you love?

Jacques Greene (March 29, 2011)
“Paris Morton Music”; 00:41

Hudson Mohawke + Busta Rhymes (Aug 22, 2014)
“Look At Me Now (feat. Lil Wayne, Twista & Busta Rhymes)”; 29:25

RL Grime (Sept 5, 2013)
“The Motion (feat. Sampha)”; 26:50

Jam City (Nov 21, 2013)
“From Time (Total Freedom Edit feat. Jhene Aiko”); 15:15

Shlohmo (Aug 29, 2012)
“What’s My Name (feat. Rihanna)”; 45:52

+ Moony’s “Poundcake” edit
First aired by DJ EZ, so we naturally ran a Debut