Life and career
1986–2005: Early life and acting career beginnings
Aubrey Drake Graham was born on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Ontario. He is the son of Sandi Graham (née Sher), an educator, and Dennis Graham, a drummer who worked with Jerry Lee Lewis. Two of his uncles, Larry Graham and Teenie Hodges, are also musicians.[11][12][13][14] Drake's father is an African American from Memphis, Tennessee, and Drake's mother is a white Jewish Canadian. He attended a Jewish day school and had a Bar Mitzvah.[15][16][17] His parents divorced when he was five years old, and he was raised by his mother in two Toronto neighbourhoods; he lived on Weston Road in the city's west end,[18] until the sixth grade, when he moved to the wealthy Forest Hill.[19][20] As a youth, he played minor hockey with the Weston Red Wings.[21] Drake has commented on the move to Forest Hill and his mother's struggle, saying that "She wanted the best for her family. She found us a half of a house we could live in. The other people had the top half, we had the bottom half. I lived in the basement, my mom lived on the first floor. It was not big, it was not luxurious. It was what we could afford." Drake then began attending Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, where he began acting,[22] but did not graduate.[23] It was the first of two high schools he would attend, as he later went to Vaughan Road Academy, describing it as "not by any means the easiest school to go to. It's a tough school."[18] Despite dropping out of high school, years later, he finally graduated in 2012.[24]
At the age of 15, Drake was a high school cutup who had a friend with a father who was an agent. He got him a role on the Canadian TV show Degrassi: The Next Generation asJimmy Brooks.[25] In the show, Brooks is a basketball star who became physically disabled after he was shot by a classmate. Drake describes how his early acting career affected his family, "My mother was very sick. We were very poor, like broke. The only money I had coming in was off of Canadian TV, which isn’t that much money when you break it down. A season of Canadian television is under a teacher’s salary, I’ll tell you that much. It’s definitely not something to go fucking get."[18] He would continue his acting career on Degrassi: The Next Generation until 2009, when his character graduated from Degrassi. Overall, he appeared in a total of 138 episodes. Drake is mentioned in the 2010 television movie Degrassi Takes Manhattan, making him one of two Degrassi actors (along with Shenae Grimes) who exist within the series' fictional universe independently of their characters. Besides Degrassi, between 2001-2009 Drake appeared on other various Television shows in smaller roles such as, Blue Murder as Joey Tamarin, Soul Food as Fredrick, The Border as PFC Gordon Harvey, and Beyond the Break as himself.
Looking back on his early life, Drake had to essentially live two different lives because of his parent's divorce; he lived in a very upper-class part of Toronto, and, when in Memphis, was told he was “the furthest thing from hood.” He witnessed many life-changing experiences because of this, one being his father's arrest, which he describes by saying “The fact that I didn’t have a father, because he was in jail two separate times. He did a two-year bid and a three-year bid, I was there when he got taken down. We had just gotten back from Memphis.” However, Drake comments on his childhood experiences by saying “I’ve seen things that didn’t make me happy. They were character building. That’s why I think people in the hood can still connect with what I’m saying even though I’m not saying ‘yeah I got crack in my pocket’ ’cause that wasn’t my struggle necessarily, [but] I speak from a place that’s just human emotion.” Drake stated that his parents' divorce greatly affected him as a person, saying, “I had to become a man very quickly and be the backbone for a woman who I love with all my heart, my mother." At the age of 24, Drake commented on his early life by saying "I’ve seen a lot man. I’ve seen a lot of life, put it that way. I’ve been with the most blessed kids in the world. I’ve been with people whose life is right at the bottom of the barrel. I was on a TV show, I went to art school, I went to hood schools. I’ve lived. I’ve lived a full 24 years man."[18][26]
2006–09: Mixtapes and So Far Gone
In February 2006, Drake self-released his first mixtape Room for Improvement. The mixtape features artists Trey Songz and Lupe Fiasco. He described it as "pretty straightforward, radio friendly, not much content to it." In a TeenNick interview from that time, he cited his influences as rappers Jay-Z, Clipse, Talib Kweli, Mos Def and singersAnthony Hamilton and Maxwell.[25] In 2007, he released another mixtape, Comeback Season, spawning a single and a music video for "Replacement Girl" featuring Trey Songz. Also in 2007, Drake became the first unsigned Canadian rapper to have his music video featured on BET when his first single, "Replacement Girl" was featured as the "New Joint of the Day" on April 30, 2007.[27] It also contained a freestyle over a song with Lil Wayne, a remix of "Man of the Year" originally by Brisco and Flo Rida. In 2008, Lil Wayne was given some of Drake's music from Rap-A-Lot founder, J. Prince's son, Jas Prince, and he immediately called Drake to invite him to fly to Houston and tour with him. Drake and Wayne recorded a couple of songs during this time, including "Ransom", the original version of "I Want This Forever", and the remix to Drake's song, "Brand New". Though now part of Lil Wayne's crew, Young Money, Drake was not signed. On February 13, 2009, Drake released his third official mixtape, So Far Gone, for free download on his blog site which included Drake's mentor Lil Wayne, Bun B, Omarion, Lloyd and his friend, Trey Songz. It received over 2,000 downloads in the first 2 hours of release. It was extremely successful in the underground and eventually made its way to radio. Due to the success of the mixtape's two singles, "Best I Ever Had" and "Successful", it was released as anEP featuring only five songs from the mix tape and one new song. MTV named it "The Hottest Mixtape of 2009 (So Far)".[28] Since So Far Gone, Drake worked with DJ Khaled,Young Money, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem, Young Jeezy, Mary J. Blige, Timbaland, Birdman, Trey Songz, and Jamie Foxx. Drake has also written for Alicia Keys, and Dr. Dre.So Far Gone is credited as being his commercial and critical breakthrough as it was much more critically acclaimed and commercially successful than his previous two releases.
He achieved success before signing to a major record label, according to his management Hip Hop Since 1978.[29] In June 2009, it was revealed that an unauthorized album entitled The Girls Love Drake and credited to Drake was up for sale on iTunes. A lawsuit was planned against the label.[30] On the Billboard Hot 100 chart of July 4, 2009, both "Best I Ever Had", and "Every Girl" by Young Money Entertainment entered the top ten at positions 3 and 10 respectively. Drake is only the second artist to have his first two top ten hits in the same week. The first was fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado who entered the top ten in 2001 with "I'm Like A Bird" the same week as Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On", aremix of which included a credited contribution from Furtado. On June 29, 2009, it was confirmed, that Drake signed a record deal with Young Money Entertainment.[31] This followed what Billboard purported to be "one of the biggest bidding wars ever".[32] Drake toured with Wayne and other rap artists on the America's Most Wanted Tour. On July 31, 2009, Drake, who was performing on an already injured knee, fell on stage while performing "Best I Ever Had", with Lil Wayne in Camden, New Jersey.[33] Drake underwent surgery on September 8, 2009 for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. He underwent rehabilitation and was soon able to walk.[34] On September 15, 2009, So Far Gone was released as a seven-track EP in which five of the tracks were from the original mixtape. It debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. Since then the album was certified gold by theRIAA with over 500,000 copies sold in the United States. On April 18, 2010, the album won Rap Recording of the Year at the 2010 Juno Awards.[35]
2010: Thank Me Later
Drake planned to release his official debut album, Thank Me Later, in late 2009, but the album's release date was postponed, first to March 2010,[36] then May 25, 2010.[37] Universal Motown then stated the album had been pushed back three weeks for a June 15, 2010, release.[36][38] Thank Me Later was finally released on June 15, 2010. On that day, 25,000 fans gathered at New York's South Street Seaport for a free concert by Drake and Hanson. A near-riot ensued after police canceled the show due to overflowing crowds.[39]The week of the album's release, the album sold 447,000 copies and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.[40] Due to his first week sales, Drake had sold the most records for any hip hop artist in one week in 2010.[41] Eminem surpassed that accomplishment a week later.[42] The album has collaborations with the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z[43] and Lil Wayne while forgoing planned duets with Trey Songz[44] and Danny!.[44] On March 9, 2010, Drake released the first single from his Thank Me Later album, titled "Over".[45] The song was well-received and performed well both commercially and critically. The song reached a peak of No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Rap Songs chart. The song also received a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards. [46] On March 12, 2010, a version of K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" recorded by a collective of Canadian musicians known as Young Artists for Haiti was released. Drake is featured in the song, performing a solo verse near the end of the song. In June 2010, it was announced that Drake would have a prominent role in the video game Gears of War 3. He was scheduled to play the part of Jace Stratton, but a scheduling conflict meant it went to someone else.[47] On April 29, 2010, it was announced that Drake had finishedThank Me Later. According to reports, Drake announced the completion of the album to a crowd during his April 26, 2010, show at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. His camp has since confirmed that Drake was finished with the final track to the album and the next single from the album would be titled "Find Your Love".[48]
"Find Your Love" was released as the second single on May 5, 2010. Critics commended Drake's attempt to move into the singing lane on the song, and compared it to Kanye West's work on 808s & Heartbreak. The single became the most successful single from the album, peaking at number 5 on the Hot 100 and receiving a Platinum certification by the RIAA.[49] "Find Your Love" also performed well internationally and was Drake's first top 40 appearance in the United Kingdom and Italy. To date it also remains Drake's only solo top 10 appearance in his home country of Canada. The music video for the single was shot in Kingston, Jamaica and tells the story of Drake being involved in a fateful encounter with a gang-affiliated woman. The video was criticized by Jamaica's minister of tourism, Edmund Bartlett who said "We just have to say that care has to be taken by all, including our creative artists, in portraying images of our destination and people, Gun culture, while not unique to Jamaica, is not enhancing [the island's image]"[50] The third single from the album, "Miss Me", featuring Lil Wayne, was released on June 1, 2010.[51] The single proved to be moderately successful, and reached No. 15 on the Hot 100.[52] The fourth and final single released from the album was "Fancy". The song was performed at the MTV Music Video Awards in 2010 with appearances by Swizz Beatz and Mary J. Bligein the performance. The song proved to be his least successful single of the era, peaking at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, it managed to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Rap Songs chart and received a nomination at the 53rd Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group. Drake hosted the first annual OVO (October's Very Own) Festival. In that festival he brought out the VIP list of rap stars including Jay-Z, Eminem, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Bun B and Fabolous.[53] Drake kicked off his "Lights Dreams and Nightmares Tour" on September 20, 2010 in Miami, Florida.[54] The tour traveled to major cities in the United States, winding down on November 6 in Las Vegas.[55]
2011–12: Take Care
On November 17, 2010, Drake revealed the title of his next studio album to be Take Care.[56] In late January 2011, Indiewire announced that Drake was in negotiations to join Eva Green and Susan Sarandon in the cast of Nicholas Jarecki's forthcoming feature-film "Arbitrage.".[57]However in April 2011, it was announced that Drake would no longer star in the movie in order to focus on his sophomore album. On June 9, 2011, it was unveiled that Drake's second studio album would be released on October 24, 2011.[58] However, the album's release date would eventually be postponed to November 15, 2011.[58] Drake posted a new track, "Dreams Money Can Buy", on his October's Very Own blog on May 20.[59] The song was never featured on the album's official release. On June 9 another track from the album, "Marvins Room" was made available on his blog.[58] After the song began to gain considerable airplay on Urban radio, "Marvins Room" was officially released on July 22, 2011, via iTunes as a promotional single.[60] The single performed relatively well, obtaining a Gold certification by the RIAA,[61]peaking at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100,[62] and reaching the top 10 of the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[63] On June 28 he released a music video for "Marvins Room" that featured him feeling depressed in a club.[64]
The first single from Take Care was released officially to iTunes on August 9, 2011 and was titled "Headlines". The song received positive critical reviews and was also commercially successful. The song reached No. 13 on the Hot 100 and was eventually certified Platinum both in the United States and Canada.[65] The song also became his 10th single to reach the summit of the Billboard Rap Songs chart, which led him to be the artist with the most No. 1 hits on that chart ever, a record which he still presently holds with 12 number one hits.[66] In January 2012 Drake performed "Headlines" on ice during the second intermission of the NHL All Star Game in his home country of Canada.[67] The music video for the single was released on October 2, 2011 and depicts Drake rapping in various locations around Toronto such as Guild Park and Rogers Centre. The second single released "Make Me Proud" which features Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, was released on October 16, 2011.[68] The single was commercially successful reaching a peak position of No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.[62] It also holds the record for largest jump on the Billboard Hot 100 for a male artist (tied with Akon's Smack That), when the song vaulted from No. 97 to No. 9 in a 88 position jump.[69] The song also reached the peak of both the Billboard Rap Songs chart and the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart, marking Drake's 11th and 8th No. 1s on both charts respectively.[70] "Make Me Proud" also became Drake's fourth consecutive single from the Take Care era to receive a Platinum certification by the RIAA.[71]
"The Motto", which features American rapper Lil Wayne, was released as the third from Take Care on November 29, 2011. The track proved to be one of the most successful singles Drake has ever released, performing very well commercially. It peaked at No. 14 on the Hot 100 and topped both the Rap and R&B/Hip-Hop songs charts, further extending his lead for most No. 1 hits on the rap chart and matching a record set by fellow rapper Jay-Z, for most No. 1 hits on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart for a Rap artist.[62][72] The song has also proved to have cultural impact, especially in the United States, popularizing the phrase YOLO which is featured in the song's hook with the line "You only live once: that's the motto, n#gga, YOLO".[73][74] The official music video for the single was released on February 10, 2012, and features appearances by fellow Young Money rapper Tyga, E-40, and Mistah F.A.B..[75] The fourth single released from Take Care was the album's title track, "Take Care" featuring Rihanna on February 21, 2012. The song is Drake's biggest worldwide hit as a lead artist with the song being his first top 10 hit in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.[76] The single was certified 2x Platinum in the United States for sales of over 2,000,000 units, being the second single after "The Motto" to do so.[61] The music video for the single was released after many delays on April 6, 2012, simultaneously with the music video for the 5th single "HYFR".[77] The video for "Take Care" depicts various scenes of both Drake and Rihanna embracing along with various scenes of natural landscapes and wildlife. Critically, the video was praised with a review from MTV even saying "None of his contemporaries — not even the ever-obtuse Kanye [West] - make videos like this, mostly because no one else can get away with it."[78] The music video received four nominations at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Male Video, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and even Video of the Year.[79] The fifth single from Take Care, "HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right)" was released on April 24, 2012 and proved to be the least successful single from the 'album peaking only at No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100.[80] However, even though the single performed poorly, it still managed to obtain a Gold certification from the RIAA indicating sales of over half a million units.[61] The Judaism themed video for the song won theMTV Video Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Video.
2012: Third studio album
Jake One produced a song for him, which seems to be personal.[81] A video of Drake previewing the song while smoking hookah was released on June 26, 2012 via Vimeo.[82] It is unclaimed who he's retorting to and unknown if it will be featured on his upcoming album. The song was thought to be released in anticipation for the third annual OVO Fest. However, "Enough Said" by Aaliyah featuring him was released instead on the day of the concert.[83] While touring the UK in support of his latest album Take Care, Drake announced in an interview that he has just started work on his third studio album. He has recently worked with 40. While in the UK, Drake is hoping to work more with Jamie xx who produced the title track on Drake's second album, Take Care. He also stated he wants Jamie xx to "have a bigger presence on my third record".[84] Drake said his upcoming third album will sound differently compared to Take Care.
