Aubrey " Drake " Graham

Aubrey “Drake “Graham

Aubrey “Drake” Graham was born October 24, 1986. He was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He is the son of Sandi and Dennis Graham. Drake’s father is an African American from Memphis and his mother is white Jewish Canadian. Drake attended a Jewish day school. His parents got a divorce when Drake was only 5 years old. Drake stayed with his mother and she raised him in a good, well established neighborhood. He lived there until he was in the 6^th grade then he moved to a wealthy neighborhood where he played hockey and other sports. His mother struggled to keep Drake into a good school; Drake was a class clown and sometimes a trouble maker. Drake dropped out of school but decided to go back years later.

At the age of 15 , Drake got a role on the hit TV show called “ Degrassi “ where he played as Jimmy Brooks , a all-star basketball player that got shot by a classmate and had to remain paralyzed in a wheel chair. Drake having a career at such a young age made it harder on him because he didn’t have the money that he thought he was going to get from being an actor. Drake’s mother got very sick at one point of time and the money that the TV show was offering was not enough to him, he wanted more so he could have his mother back on her feet and healthy. Drake continued his acting career on the TV show until his character graduated, overall Drake acted in 138 episodes.

In 2006, Drake released his first mix tape “Room for Improvement “which featured Trey Songz and Lupe Fiasco. He described his mix tape as straight forward friendly meaning it got straight to the point but in a clean way. He had many artists that featured on his mix tape that made his mix tape a success.

In 2010 , Drake planned to release his first debut album called “ Thank Me Later “ in 2008 but it was postponed first to March then to May. Universal Motown pushed it back 3 weeks and the album was finally released June 15.  That same day 25,000 fans gathered at New York's South Street Seaport for a free concert by Drake. The police decided to cancel the concert because the crowd was too much and that led to the crowd almost having a riot.

Drake states that his musical influences are Kanye West, Jay-Z, Aaliyah and of course his mentor Lil Wayne. Drake says that Kanye West is one of his role models and his favorite rapper. He says that Aaliyah has had an incredible impact on his life because of the flow of her music and the real talent in her voice.

Drake’s lyrics are real. They either relate to riches, fame and relationships. Drake has a unique musical style that has set him apart from his Young Money partners, especially on his latest project Take Care. Lil Wayne even commented on the project saying "I can tell, you know, I don't know nothing else out there that can touch it, including my stuff. Drake has been moving in this new direction after the release of Take Care, which featured writing collaborations with The Weekend on 5 tracks ranging from "Crew Love" to "Shot for Me" and 2 production collaborations on "Crew Love" and "The Ride", more than any Young Money/Cash Money collaborate.

During his singing career, Drake has won ten awards from fifty-two nominations. In 2009, Drake received eleven nominations, winning two, including Track of the Year for "Every Girl" and Rookie of the Year at the BET Hip Hop Awards. He received forty-one nominations in 2010, in which he won 8, including Best Male Hip-Hop Artist and Best Group with Young Money at the BET Awards; Best New Artist and Rap Recording of the Year for So Far Gone at the Juno Awards; Cinematographer of the Year and MuchVIBE Hip-Hop Video of the Year for "Successful" at the MuchMusic Video Awards.