Drake

Aubrey Drake Graham (/ɔːˈbriː/ *aw-BREE*; born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper, singer, and actor. An influential figure in contemporary popular music, Drake has been credited for popularizing singing and R&B sensibilities in hip hop. Gaining recognition by starring as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series *Degrassi: The Next Generation* (2001–08), he pursued a career in music, releasing his debut mixtape *Room for Improvement* in 2006. He followed this with the mixtapes *Comeback Season* (2007) and *So Far Gone* (2009) before signing with Young Money Entertainment.

Drake's first three albums, *Thank Me Later* (2010), *Take Care* (2011) and *Nothing Was the Same* (2013), were all critical successes and propelled him to the forefront of hip hop. His fourth album, *Views* (2016), saw exploration of dancehall and stood atop the *Billboard* 200 for 13 non-consecutive weeks, making it the first album by a male artist to do so in over a decade, and featured the international hit singles "Hotline Bling" and "One Dance", which has been credited with popularizing Afrobeats worldwide. In 2018, Drake released the double album *Scorpion*, which contained the *Billboard* Hot 100 number-one singles "God's Plan", "Nice for What", and "In My Feelings". Drake's widely anticipated sixth album, *Certified Lover Boy* (2021), achieved nine top 10 hits on the Hot 100, setting the then-record for most US top-ten hits from one album, with its lead single "Way 2 Sexy" reaching number one. In 2022, Drake released the house-inspired album *Honestly, Nevermind* and the collaborative album, *Her Loss*, with 21 Savage. Known for frequent accompanying releases to his albums, Drake achieved critical and commercial success with the mixtapes *If You're Reading This It's Too Late* (2015) and *More Life* (2017).

As an entrepreneur, Drake founded the OVO Sound record label with longtime collaborator 40 in 2012. In 2013, Drake became the "global ambassador" of the Toronto Raptors, joining their executive committee and later obtaining naming rights to their practice facility. In 2016, he began collaborating with Brent Hocking on the bourbon whiskey Virginia Black. Drake heads the OVO fashion label and the Nocta collaboration with Nike, and founded the production company DreamCrew and the fragrance house Better World. In 2018, Drake was reportedly responsible for 5 percent (CAD$440 million) of Toronto's CAD$8.8 billion annual tourism income. In 2022, he became a part owner of Italian soccer club A.C. Milan.

Among the world's best-selling music artists, with over 170 million records sold, Drake is ranked as the highest-certified digital singles artist in the United States by the RIAA. He has won five Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, a record 34 *Billboard* Music Awards, two Brit Awards, and three Juno Awards. Drake has achieved 11 number-one hits on the *Billboard* Hot 100 (12 counting "Sicko Mode") and holds further Hot 100 records, including the most top 10 singles (68), most charted songs (294), the most simultaneously charted songs in one week (27), the most Hot 100 debuts in one week (22), and the most continuous time on the Hot 100 (431 weeks). He additionally has the most number-one singles on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Songs, and Rhythmic Airplay charts.

### Early Life

Aubrey Drake Graham was born on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Ontario. His father, Dennis Graham, is an African-American Catholic drummer from Memphis who once performed with country musician Jerry Lee Lewis. His father's ancestry includes various countries from West Africa including Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon, whereas his mother, Sandra "Sandi" Graham (née Sher), is a Canadian Ashkenazi Jew, who worked as an English teacher and florist. Graham performed at Club Bluenote in Toronto, where he met Sandra, who was in attendance. Drake is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, the former derived from Graham. In his youth, he attended a Jewish day school and became a bar mitzvah.

Drake's parents divorced when he was five years old. After the divorce, he and his mother remained in Toronto; his father returned to Memphis, where he was incarcerated for a number of years on drug-related charges. Graham's limited finances and legal issues caused him to remain in the U.S. until Drake's early adulthood. Prior to his arrest, Graham would travel to Toronto and bring Drake to Memphis every summer. His father later collaborated with Canadian music group Arkells on the music video for a song titled "Drake's Dad". Graham claimed in an interview that Drake's assertions of him being an absent father were embellishments used to sell music, which Drake vehemently denies.

Drake was raised in two neighbourhoods. He lived on Weston Road in Toronto's working-class west end until grade six and attended Weston Memorial Junior Public School until grade four, playing minor hockey with the Weston Red Wings. Drake was a promising right winger, reaching the Upper Canada College hockey camp, but left at the behest of his mother following a vicious cross-check to his neck during a game by an opposing player. He then moved to one of the city's affluent neighbourhoods, Forest Hill, in 2000. When asked about the move, Drake replied, "[We had] 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." Demonstrating an affinity for the arts, at age 10, Drake appeared in a comedic sketch which aired during the 1997 NHL Awards, featuring a riff of Martin Brodeur and Ron Hextall and their record as being the only goalies to have scored multiple goals.

He attended Forest Hill Collegiate Institute for high school, and then attended Vaughan Road Academy in Toronto's multicultural Oakwood–Vaughan neighbourhood; Drake described Vaughan Road Academy as "not by any means the easiest school to go to." During his teenage years, Drake worked at a now-closed Toronto furniture factory owned by his maternal grandfather, Reuben Sher. Drake said he was bullied at school for his racial and religious background, and upon determining that his class schedule was detrimental to his burgeoning acting career, he dropped out of school. Drake received his high school diploma in October 2012.