The son of African-American artist Dennis Graham (born in Memphis, Tennessee) and Canadian Jewish educator Sandi (Sher) Graham, Aubrey Drake Graham was born in Toronto, Ontario. Drake made multiple appearances in advertisements as a young man, including ones for GMC and Sears. Drake first gained notoriety in 2001 when he portrayed “Jimmy Brooks” on Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001), a wheelchair-bound basketball player who was shot by a classmate. Drake’s musical career began in 2006 when he dropped his debut mix tape, “Room for Improvement”. After gaining both critical and financial success with his third mix tape, “So Far Gone,” three years later, he released his formal debut album, “Thank Me Later,” to largely positive reviews the following year. Since he has shown himself to be a gifted young Canadian, the entertainment business has high hopes for Aubrey Drake Graham.
Drake Biography
Full name | Aubrey Drake Graham | |
---|---|---|
Birthdate | October 24, 1986 | |
Age | 37 years old | |
Occupation | Rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, actor | |
Nationality | Canadian and American | |
Couple | Rihanna (2009-2012, 2013-2016) Sophie Brussaux (2017) | |
Parents | Dennis Graham and Sandi Graham Sher | |
Genders | Hip hop, R&B, pop, pop rap, trap, dancehall | |
Zodiac sign | Scorpio |
Personal life of Drake
From 2009 to 2016, Drake and Rihanna were in a relationship, but it was rocky and filled with arguments, making it difficult for the two of them to stay together. Drake acknowledges that his desire to have a family with her made him feel really depressed. Adonis, his son, was born in 2017 as a consequence of his union with Sophie Brussaux, a French adult film actress. Numerous rumors were raised by the pregnancy, however Drake later acknowledged his paternity on his album Scorpion in 2018. This well-known performer has a history of contentious performances; he has feuded with Pusha T and Common.
Additionally, he allegedly threw glass bottles at Chris Brown after a physical argument at the WIP nightclub in Manhattan, New York’s SoHo neighborhood.
Chris Brown and Drake demonstrated that their disagreement was over on July 16, 2014. Later on, he got into a fight with rapper Meek Mill after Mill criticized him harshly on Twitter for employing ghostwriters. Drake’s song “Charged Up” was an oblique response. Meek Mill then gave a “Wanna Know” in response.
Drake Family
Rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, producer, and native of Canada, Drake has had enormous success in the music business. He is the son of percussionist Dennis Graham and educator Sandi Graham. He was raised by his mother in Toronto, Canada, following the divorce of his parents when he was five years old.
Dennis Jr., Drake’s elder brother, and Stephanie, his younger sister, are his siblings. Music producer Dennis Jr. has collaborated with Drake on several occasions. Since Stephanie is an artist, they frequently work together on projects. LeBron James, a basketball star and four-time NBA champion, is a cousin of Drake. African-American Dennis Graham, Drake’s father, is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. He was a Jehovah’s Witness, as was Sandi Graham, Drake’s mother.
Drake claims that because of his father’s musical influence, he was exposed to a wide variety of music genres during his early years, including gospel, country, and R&B. Verna Frangipane, the grandmother of Drake, was a vocalist who performed alongside Elvis Presley and was a part of the choir during Presley’s memorial service. Dennis and Sandi, Drake’s parents, have both married again. Dennis and Sandi are both married to men called Larry and Audrey, respectively. Drake frequently shares photos of his stepparents on social media because he is close to them.
Drake Net Worth
Occupation | Rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and businessman |
Net worth | $250 million |
Childhood & Early Life
- Aubrey Drake Graham was born on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Canada. His father, Dennis Graham, worked as a drummer for legendary musician, Jerry Lee Lewis, and his mother, Sandi Graham, was an English teacher and a florist.
- Being born to an African-American Catholic father and a white Canadian Jew mother, he has a unique racial and religious background. According to him, he is “more immersed in black culture”, while his being Jewish is a “cool twist”.
- His parents divorced when he was 5 years old, following which he was raised by his mother in Toronto. His father moved back to America and settled in Memphis, where Drake visited him occasionally.
- He spent his early childhood near Weston Road in the city’s working-class neighborhood. After his sixth grade, his family moved to Forest Hill, a more affluent neighborhood in the city. Drake, who attended Forest Hill Collegiate Institute and Vaughan Road Academy for high school, later dropped out of school and completed his high school diploma in 2012.
- He witnessed hardship early on in his life. His father was arrested while trying to cross the border, his sick mother struggled to support the family, and he faced bullying in his predominantly white school for being the only black Jew.
Early Acting Career
- In 2001, Drake started acting after the father of one of his friends, an acting agent, offered him a role in the Canadian teen drama series ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’. He played the role of Jimmy Brooks, a wheel-chair bound former basketball player, for a total of 145 episodes.
- He has acted in a number of other television series over the years, including ‘Soul Food’, ‘Being Erica’ and ‘Sophie’, and also made guest appearances on ‘Beyond the Break’, ‘Saturday Night Live’ and ‘Punk’d’. He did voice acting for the film ‘Ice Age: Continental Drift’.
Music Career
- Following his acting fame, he decided to self-release his debut mixtape, ‘Room for Improvement’. He followed it with another mixtape the next year, ‘Comeback Season’, which contained the single ‘Replacement Girl’ that earned him widespread recognition as a singer for the first time. He founded October’s Very Own label to release the mixtape.
- In 2009, he released his third mixtape ‘So Far Gone’ as a free download from the website of his record label. It consisted of tracks like ‘Best I Ever Had’ and ‘Successful’, featuring Lil Wayne, Trey Songz, and Lloyd among others, and became a commercial success. He released his debut EP by the same name following the success of the mixtape, which made it to No.6 on the ‘Billboard 200’.
- His debut studio album, ‘Thank Me Later’, was released on June 15, 2010. The album, which was under production for the past two years, featured artists like Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. The single ‘Find Your Love’ reached top-10 on the ‘Billboard Hot 100’.
- On November 15, 2011, he released his second studio album ‘Take Care’. The album contained hit singles like ‘Make Me Proud’ featuring Nicki Minaj and ‘Take Care’ featuring Rihanna. He received his first Grammy Award for the album.
- His third album, ‘Nothing Was the Same’ (2013), continued his journey to fame, opening to positive reviews like its predecessors. It was his first full-length album that was released from his own record label, OVO Sound. All of the seven singles of the album became commercially successful.
- He released his fourth studio album ‘Views’ on April 29, 2016. It contained five singles, including the Grammy winning track ‘Hotline Bling’, ‘Pop Style’ featuring Kanye West and Jay Z, and ‘Too Good’ featuring Rihanna. Recently, he released a playlist titled ‘More Life’ on March 18, 2017.
- On 2018, he released an EP titled ‘Scary Hours’ and his fifth studio album, ‘Scorpion’.
- In 2019, to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of his third mixtape, ‘So Far Gone’, he re-released it onto streaming service.
- In 2020, Drake released the commercial mixtape ‘Dark Lane Demo Tapes’.
- His album ‘Certified Lover Boy’ was scheduled to be released in January 2021, but was postponed. It was released in September the same year.
Major Works
- Drake rose to fame with his debut studio album ‘Thank Me Later’ which debuted at No.1 on the US ‘Billboard 200’ chart. The album sold 1.83 million copies in the US and received Platinum certification in Canada and US.
- His second studio album ‘Take Care’ also debuted at No.1 on the US ‘Billboard 200’, selling over 631,000 copies in the first week. The album was Platinum certified in US, UK and Canada.
- ‘Nothing Was the Same’, his third studio album, received both critical acclaim and commercial success. It was named ‘Best Album of the Year’ by multiple magazines. The album sold over 1.78 million copies in the U.S. alone, and received Platinum status in US, UK and Canada.
Drake albums
- Thank Me Later (2010)
- Take Care (2011)
- Nothing Was the Same (2013)
- Views (2016)
- What a Time to be Alive (2015) (colaboración)
- Scorpion (2018)
- Certified Lover Boy (2020)
Awards
- Billboard Music Award
2017 | Top Artist | Winner |
2017 | Top Male Artist | Winner |
2017 | Top Billboard 200 Artist | Winner |
2017 | Top Hot 100 Artist | Winner |
2017 | Top Song Sales Artist | Winner |
2017 | Top Streaming Songs Artist | Winner |
2017 | Top Rap Artist | Winner |
2017 | Top Rap Tour | Winner |
- Grammy Awards
2019 | Best Rap Song | Winner |
2017 | Best Rap/Sung Performance | Winner |
2017 | Best Rap Song | Winner |
2013 | Best Rap Album | Winner |
Love Life
- Drake has been romantically linked with a number of women from the entertainment industry. However, he is most known for his on-and-off relationship with the Barbadian singer Rihanna. They first met in 2005, following which he had a crush on her. They later became close and worked together a number of times. However, they apparently broke up after Rihanna rekindled her relationship with Chris Brown.
- In June 2012, he got involved in a fight with Chris Brown, reportedly over Rihanna. Brown blamed him on social media and released a song criticizing him. Incidentally, the two later performed together in a comedic skit at the 2014 ESPY Awards, hinting at reconciliation.
- In 2012, a girl named Ericka Lee revealed herself to be his ex-girlfriend and claimed that he used her voice in the song ‘Marvins Room’. She filed a lawsuit seeking credits and royalties; while Drake’s lawyer refuted the claims initially, they reached an out-of-court settlement in 2013.
- He started dating singer, Jennifer Lopez, in late 2016. They often post pictures together on their respective social media accounts, however, it has been reported that his attempts at getting Rihanna back has affected his relationship with Lopez.
- In 2017, he had a son named Adonis from a French painter and model, Sophie Brussaux. Drake was also romatically linked to Serena Williams. He began dating reality star Johanna Leia in 2021, but they broke up later that year.
Drake son
Named Adonis, the musician has a lovely son. Drake’s ex-girlfriend and fellow artist Sophie Brussaux is his baby mom. French model Sophie is well-known for her appearances in music videos. In addition to feminist themes, science fiction, religious, and popular culture inspirations can be seen in her works as an artist today.
Fast Facts
- Raised in Toronto by his Canadian-born mother after his parents’ divorce when he was 5; spent summers in Memphis with his father, an American
- Is the son of musician Dennis Graham, who wrote for Al Green and performed with artists including Jerry Lee Lewis
- Played paralyzed basketball star Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-09)
- Released three successful mixtapes and the seven-track EP So Far Gone (Rap Recording of the Year at the 2010 Juno Awards) before putting out his first official album, Thank Me Later
- Landed 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 from 2009 to ’10, led by Top-10s “Best I Ever Had,””Find Your Love” and “Forever
- ” Named Best New Artist at Canada’s 2010 Juno Awards and was nominated for four awards at the 2011 Grammys, including Best New Artist and Best Rap Album
- Enjoys basketball and had LeBron James host his So Far Gone release party in 2009
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