Drake
by Finnall on Jul.01, 2010, under Drake
Aubrey Drake Graham, better known as simply Drake, is a hip hop/pop artist from Canada.
Born 24th October 1986 in Toronto, Ontario, Graham comes from a musical family. His father used to be a session drummer (who worked with artists like Jerry Lee Lewis), while his uncle Teenie Hodges was a popular rhythm and lead guitarist (famous for his work with Al Green) and his other uncle Larry Graham is a popular singer-songwriter, musician and record producer (who gained prominence as a member of the psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone). Naturally, Graham took an interest in music from a very young age.
However, he actually began his career in the entertainment industry as an actor. In 2001 he took the role of Jimmy Brooks in the popular Canadian television teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. He remained in this role until 2009, appearing in a total of 138 episodes and one television movie.
While still a cast member on the show, Graham released the mixtapes Room for Improvement (2006) and Comeback Season (2007). They found their way to the US rapper Lil Wayne, who invited Graham to come and tour with him. He released another mixtape in 2009, entitled So Far Gone, which produced the US Top 20 hits Best I Ever Had and Successful, and was subsequently named Hottest Mixtape of 2009 by MTV. He also scored a Top 10 hit with the Lil Wayne collaboration Every Girl, and was subsequently signed to his label Young Money Entertainment.
Graham released his official debut album on June 15th 2010. Thank Me Later debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 450,000 copies in its first week of release in the US and reaching platinum status in Canada within seven days.
To date the album has produced three Top 20 singles: Over, Find Your Love and Miss Me.
