Drake has begun work on new songs with the xx member Jamie Smith and Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine. It's still too early to know where this music will end up, but at the moment the rapper's collaboration with Smith is intended for his second album Take Care, while his work with Welch is slated to appear on her next record.

Smith told the NME that Drake approached him because he is a fan of the xx. In an interview with BBC Newsbeat, Drake confirmed the collaboration, saying, "Jamie is probably one of the most exciting producers I've ever heard."

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Regarding his team-up with Florence Welch, Drake told the BBC that the two connected in the studio shortly after meeting one another at last year's MTV Video Music Awards. He says that the two have been hanging out in London, and last weekend she joined him onstage, singing Alicia Keys' part in his song "Fireworks."

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Welch shared some tracks from her forthcoming record with the rapper, and he selected a song for which he will supply a guest verse. No release dates have been scheduled for either Florence and the Machine or Drake, but their respective albums are likely to come out by the end of 2011.

Drake working with Florence Welch and The xx's Jamie Smith [NME]

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