Aubrey Drake Graham simply known as Drake, is a popular Canadian singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. Drake began his career in the entertainment business as an actor. He is also an entrepreneur. Drake gained prominence for portraying Jimmy Brooks in the Canadian Teen drama series ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’ before he embarked on his musical career that catapulted him to international fame. Drake has released several albums like ‘Thank Me Later’, ‘Take Care’, ‘Nothing was the Same’, ‘Views’ and ‘More Life’ all of which have proved to huge critical and commercial hits.
In the decade of his musical career, Drake has been felicitated with several awards and accolades including 3 Grammys out of 35 nominations, 14 Billboard Music Awards out of 33 nominations, and 3 MTV Video Music Awards out of 17 nominations, among several other awards. He also holds several records on the Billboard charts and has the most charted songs, a total of 154 songs among solo artists.
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Early Life and Education
Drake was born on 24 October 1986 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as the only child of American musician Dennis Graham who moved to Canada and his Canadian wife, English teacher and florist Sandi Sher Graham. Drake has African American ancestry on his father’s side of the family and White ancestry on his mother’s side. While his father is a practicing Catholic, his mother is Jewish. Since the age of 5, Drake was raised in Toronto by her mother after his parents divorced.
Drake attended School in the Weston Road and Forest Hill neighbourhoods of Toronto. While studying at the Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, Drake showcased his acting talents and affinity to arts. He later enrolled into Vaughan Road Academy, where he faced bullying for his inter-racial ethnicity and religions. He dropped to pursue his budding acting career but completed his graduation in 2012.
Career Rise
Drake gained prominence as an actor in 2001 when he started portraying the wheel-chair bound, former basketball player Jimmy Brooks in the Canadian Teen Drama series ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’ that aired from 2001-2007, appearing in 145 episodes. He then appeared in single episodes on several TV series like ‘Soul Food’, ‘The Border’, ‘Being Erica’, ‘Sophie’, ‘Punk’d’ etc and featured on Saturday Night Live’, thrice as a musical guest and twice as a host. He also made cameo appearances in films and voiced the character of Ethan in ‘Ice Age: Continental Drift’.
Drake began his singing career in 2006, and released ‘Room for Improvement’, his debut mixtape after which he independently released two more albums. In 2009, he was signed by Li’l Wayne’s label ‘Young Money Entertainment’. In 2010, Drake released ‘Thank Me Later’, his debut studio album which earned platinum certification from the RIAA and earned the top spot on US Billboard 200. He achieved greater success with his next albums ‘Take Care’ which won him his first Grammy Award and ‘Nothing Was the Same’. Drake released two more mix-tapes ‘If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late’ and ‘What a Time to Be Alive’, both of which earned platinum certifications. Drake released ‘Views’, his fourth album in 2016, featuring the hit single “One Dance” that broke several chart records and earned the top spot on Billboard 200 for 10 weeks. The album earned quadruple platinum certification and earned him 2 Grammys for the hit single “Hotline Bling”. His 2017 album ‘More Life’ also became a huge hit.
Personal Life
Drake’s personal life has been a subject of media speculation for years. Drake’s relationship with singer Rihanna was massively covered by tabloids. The couple dated after they met in 2005 but broke up after Rihanna started dating her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, which even led to a fight between Drake and Brown, with Brown writing a song criticizing Drake. The artists have since reconciled.
with Jennifer Lopez
In late 2016, Drake began dating singer/actress Jennifer Lopez. The couple posted several pictures together on their social media accounts but broke up within a year when Drake started attempting to get back together with Rihanna.
with Rihanna
House
Drake resides in a mansion in the gated neighbourhood of Hidden Hills, California, next to Calabasas. He purchased the mansion for $7.7 million in mid-2012. The mansion consists of several bedrooms and baths and features beautiful wooden beams running throughout the house, an indoor gaming room complete with Pool, foosball and ping-pong tables, a library, a wine cellar, a screening room that can fit several guests, a gymnasium and a Tennis court. The highlight of the mansion is the swimming pool that is intricately designed with a natural spring in a forest-like environment, complete with a man-made grotto on the side and beautiful, natural lights. Drake listed the mansion for sale for $20 Million June 2017.
Drake owns another mansion in Bridle Path, Toronto consisting of three opulent storeys spread over 35,000 square feet. The mansion, includes the first floor, featuring a foyer, kitchen, elevator and snack lounge, entertainment room and Awards room. The second storey has a master bedroom, an en-suite bathroom, the guest room, dressing rooms, and terraces. The lower level of the mansion has a spa, Jersey museum, a mystery chamber, a lounge, a basketball court and a music and screening lounge.
Drake – Net Worth
Drake has an estimated net worth of approximately $90 Million.