Drake Says Rich Paul Convinced Him to Release "Best I Ever Had" as First Single From 'So Far Gone'

"Best I Ever Had" helped launch Drake into the mainstream, turning him from Jimmy Brooks in Degrassi to the next big thing in hip-hop. The track was the first single from Drizzy's breakthrough mixtape, So Far Gone, but that almost wasn't the case. In his lengthy interview with Rap Radar, Drake revealed that LeBron James' agent and close friend Rich Paul was instrumental in helping him pick the lead single for the project.

Drake initially wanted "Uptown" featuring Bun B and Lil Wayne to be the first single from So Far Gone, but Rich Paul convinced him that "Best I Ever Had" was the better choice. "I was like, 'Yo 'Uptown' is the one, this is what we should go with,'" Drake explained at the 13:07 mark in the interview. "He was like, 'Yo, nah. What are you talking about? This other one is the one.'"

Earlier this year, Drake celebrated the tenth anniversary of So Far Gone, and he made sure to thank LeBron for pulling up to the release party in 2009, wich Rich Paul also attended. "A decade ago you came to my release party at 6 Degrees and made me the biggest artist in the city off your presence alone," Drake wrote.