'SNL' Helped Drake Land His Next Gig

When Drake released his single "Draft Day", he was apparently giving us all a sign of something other than his love for Jennifer Lawrence. He's been chosen to host the 2014 ESPYs, an award show broadcast on ESPN which recognizes individual and team athletic achievements. He's following in the footsteps of Samuel L. Jackson, Justin Timberlake, and others who have hosted the show before him, though whether the nods he gave to Johnny Manziel and A. Wiggins in "Draft Day" were a clue still remains to be seen.

"It's been a dream of mine for a long time," he explained in an interview with ESPN ."I watched [Jamie Foxx] a guy that I look up to in every aspect of life... do it and I always say if I can follow in his footsteps that'll be a great career for me, so I was blessed with the opportunity to do it. SNL gave me the confidence to do it."

Drake headlined Saturday Night Live in January, showing off his acting chops by turning even the weakest writing in a sketch into something energetic and enthusiastic and then performing as his own musical guest. Maybe that's why ESPN was so eager to hire him for their 22nd edition of the award show. After all, it's hard to resist the charms of a man who apologized in his SNL monologue for coining the term YOLO because he "did not realize his annoying friends and co-workers would use it so much". Before SNL, Drake had also hosted the 2011 Juno Awards.

He announced the news on his Twitter by with a spoof of his album cover for Nothing Was the Same, replacing the section of the cover that once featured himself as a child with a golf ball and cue.

Hopefully he'll bring the same comedic timing and undeniable energy to his hosting spot as he did to SNL and as he does to his music. The only downside to the news is that hosting the ESPYs probably won't require Drake to wear the afro-and-yarmulke outfit he wore for SNL.