Whether you are a fan of rap music or not, you surely have heard of Drake.
Though Drake first came into the public view for acting, he quickly rose to prominence due to his mixtapes, before being signed by a music label owned by Lil Wayne in 2009.
Ever since, this Canadian rapper has taken the world by storm and made everyone fall in love with his music. Drake's first solo album, called 'Thank Me Later' was an exceptionally big hit.
The first single released from this album was nominated at the Grammies. Even though he did not win the award that year, his very next album helped him bring Grammy's 'Best Rap Album' home in 2013.
Throughout his career, Drake has experimented with various kinds of music and styles to create raps that cannot be compared to most other contemporary rap songs. This has led to him winning numerous awards and plenty of recognition. Drake is often described as one of the defining rap artists of this generation.
Apart from being involved in creating music, Drake also takes a keen interest in basketball. He was made the global ambassador of the Toronto Raptors, a team he has been loyal to throughout his life.
A look into Drake's personal life will let you know about how he comes from a musical background. As if his career was written in the stars for him!
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Fun Facts About Drake
Given the fame and popularity Drake has gotten throughout his career, you must be thinking you already know all there is to know about this artist. However, you will most definitely be surprised to learn some of these fun and amusing facts about this super famous rapper!
While the name 'Drake' is more than enough to identify this rapper, Drake's real name is Aubrey Drake Graham. Drake's middle name was given to him by his father Dennis Graham, who also had quite a career in music, as he was a drummer for the famous artist Jerry Lee Lewis.
While Drake himself isn't sure about why his father chose this middle name for him, needless to say, he embraced the name enough to be identified as just that.
Drake was born on 24 October 1986. He is currently 35 years old.
This hip-hop artist gave himself an early start, as he started writing lyrics when he was a teenager. In fact, not only did he start writing his own music at that point, but also made an effort to understand the flow of music and how the right lyrics can be created through studying and analyzing these topics.
Drake was born in Toronto and spent his early years in the neighborhoods of Weston Road and Forest Hill. While he lived in Weston Road, he was a part of the minor ice hockey league of the Weston Red Wings.
So, he is quite adept at ice skating. However, his own personal favorite sport is basketball.
In 2013, he was declared the global ambassador of the very famous Toronto Raptors. As the global ambassador, his job description includes hosting games, rebranding the franchise, and even helping design a clothing line that will cater to his team.
Before becoming a world-renowned artist, Drake had a career in acting. If you are wondering, 'Is there anything this man can't do? ', you are not alone.
Drake was a student of Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, located in Toronto. However, he ended up dropping out in order to pursue his career in acting more seriously. He found his start in a Canadian drama series, known as Degrassi.
He played a character by the name of Jimmy Brooks, a basketball star, who eventually became paralyzed in the show. Drake's character lasted on the show from 2001-2009, before being taken off the air.
Another interesting fact to know about Drake is that he can play the guitar and piano. However, he usually plays these instruments to enjoy and relax, so you might not witness him putting his piano or guitar skills to use anytime soon!
Facts About Drake's Music Career
Even though it might seem like Drake's career has only witnessed good days, that is far from the truth.
Drake had to go through his own struggles before his rap career took a flying start. Hence, whether you are a true fan or not, you will surely be fascinated by the trajectory of this man's career.
Before releasing studio albums, Drake made his debut through mixtapes. In 2006, he released his first mixtape, title 'Room for Improvement'.
However, this was not a great hit and Drake only managed to sell 6000 copies of the tape. The very next year, Drake released another mixtape, this time through his record label, named 'October's Very Own Label' or 'OVO Label'.
This mixtape was called 'Comeback Season'. Fortunately, this mixtape gained much more traction, with one of the songs, titled 'Replacement Girl' being featured on the Black Entertainment Television Channel. In 2009, Drake's third mixtape, called 'So far Gone' was released. This mixtape featured a number of famous artists like Lil Wayne, Bun B, and Trey Songz.
The quick success of 'So Far Gone' caused this mixtape to be released again, as a form of Extended Play or EP. Following the release of several hit songs from his latest mixtape, Drake became the most sought-after rapper of the time.
Ultimately, Drake joined Lil Wayne and his record label by the name of Young Money Entertainment in 2009.
Eventually, in 2010, Drake's career fully took off, with the release of his debut album named, 'Thank Me Later'. Not only did this solo album feature a ton of the biggest artists like Jay Z, Nicki Minaj, and Kanye West, it took the album under a week to become certified as platinum in Toronto.
Additionally, Drake sold 447000 copies of this album in just the first week. His first song, released from the debut album, was called 'Over', and made it to the Billboard Hot 100.
Drake's next studio album titled 'Take Care' was released the very next year and put the spotlight on Drake's musical range and capabilities. Not only did this album go platinum four times, but it also created a unique fusion between hip-hop and emotions.
You would be surprised to know, the acronym 'YOLO' was made famous through a rap song called 'The Motto', which was the third single that this rapper released from the 'Take Care' album.
Over the next years, Drake has worked tirelessly to produce some of the best rap songs of this generation. In total, Drake has recorded six studio albums to date, named 'Nothing Was the Same', 'Views', 'Scorpion', and 'Certified Lover Boy', in addition to 'Thank Me Later' and 'Take Care'.
His latest album, which was released on 3rd September 2021, peaked at the top of the music chart in Canada, the UK, and the USA, among others.
Apart from that, he has released 139 singles, out of which, he has been the featured artist in 80. While all of his songs have been major hits, some of the most popular ones remain to be 'Hotline Bling', 'God's Plan', 'In My Feelings', and 'One Dance'.
All these singles held the number one position in the music charts of various countries.
Facts About Drake's Family
Aside from facts related to Drake and his music, there are quite a few fascinating facts related to Drake's family, as well. Surely, you will be surprised at most of these facts, if not all!
Drake was born to Dennis Graham and Sandi Graham in 1986. While you already know that Drake's father was a drummer for Jerry Lee Lewis, did you know that his mother belongs to a musical family, as well?
Additionally, his uncle Larry Graham was a bassist for a band named 'Sly and the Family Stone'. Teenie Hodges, another one of Drake's uncles was also a musician, who was a songwriter and lead guitarist working with the famous Al Green, among other artists.
So, you can very well imagine how the musical gene runs in his family! Drake has a younger sister named Raemaiah, however, not much is known about her.
When it comes to heritage and ethnicity, Drake has quite a unique mixture. While his mother is white, Jewish, and Canadian, his father is African-American and Catholic. Drake is known to embrace each side of his diverse heritage.
Unfortunately, Drake's parents got divorced when he was five years old. He was then brought up by his mother, with whom he lived in Toronto.
However, he did spend time with his father who lived in Memphis. For much of Drake's childhood, his father was incarcerated many times. This certainly strained their relationship, with Drake accusing Dennis Graham of being an absent father.
Facts About Drake's Achievements
When it comes to Drake's achievements, the list is quite endless. This rapper has reached several milestones in his career and is still continuing to take the world of rap by storm.
Overall, Drake has won 192 music awards to date. He has also created a record by winning 28 Billboard Music Awards, out of a total of 81 nominations. In the prestigious Grammy ceremony, Drake has scored a total of four Grammy awards till now in the rap category.
One of Drake's earliest career achievements came in the form of the Rap Recording of the Year Award, which he received in 2010 for his third mixtape. This award was presented by the Juno Awards, based in Canada.
Consecutively, his first album did significantly well and his first solo gained a nomination at the Grammies, under the 'Best Solo Rap Performance' category. Even though he did not win this year, subsequently, his second album 'Take Care' won the 'Best Rap Album' award of 2013.
Interestingly, his single 'Hotline Bling' won two Grammy Awards, under the categories 'Best Rap Song' and 'Best Rap Performance'. His first Billboard Music Awards win came in the year 2016 when he received the award for the 'Top Rap Artist'.
Subsequently, he has won awards like 'Top Male Artist', 'Top Song Sales Artist', and 'Top Streaming Songs Artist' among many others. In 2021, he won the 'Top Streaming Songs Artist' once again.
Outside of America, Drake has been bestowed with a lot of international recognition, as well. In 2015 and 2016, Drake won the titles of 'International Album' and 'Best International Act' at the MOBO Awards, which is held annually in Britain.
He also won 'Best International Act' at the MTV Africa Music Awards, in the year 2016. In the same year, he received the award for 'Best Hip-Hop' from the MTV Europe Music Awards.
Apart from his music, a number of his music videos have gained considerable popularity as well. One of his first music videos to win an award was the music video for the song 'Successful'.
Drake received the awards of 'Cinematographer of the Year' and 'MuchVibe Hip-Hop Video of the Year'. He also won the 'Best Director' award once for the single 'Nice For What' and 'Director of the Year' for 'Started From The Bottom'.
Outside of music, Drake has also achieved noteworthy feats in other spheres of life. For instance, his collaboration with Nike and Air Jordan was a huge success. More recently, he announced the release of a sub-label in partnership with Nike. This label, named Nocta, primarily focuses on clothing, with many of its releases including t-shirts, jackets, shorts, and hoodies.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for facts about Drake then why not take a look at Michelle Obama facts, or Barack Obama facts.
