| Drake | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Aubrey Drake Graham |
| Born | October 24, 1986 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Hip hop, R&B, pop |
| Occupations | Actor, rapper, singer |
| Years active | 2001–present (actor) 2005–present (musician) |
| Labels | Young Money Cash Money Universal Motown |
| Website | www.myspace.com/thisisdrake |
Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986)[1] is a Canadian actor and recording artist. He originally became known for playing character Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. As a rapper, he performs under the mononym Drake.[2] Drake continued to recognize a close affiliation with Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment,[3] before officially signing with the record label in June 2009.[4] His first studio album, Thank Me Later, is expected to be released on the label sometime in 2010.
At only the beginning of his musical career, Drake has already worked with hip-hop moguls Lil' Wayne, Birdman, Kanye West, Eminem, and Jay-Z. With the success of his mixtape So Far Gone, Drake has earned and been nominated for several awards, including the Grammys. He performed at the 2010 Grammys.
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Aubrey Drake Graham was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Dennis Graham, a drummer who worked with Jerry Lee Lewis; he is the nephew of musicians Larry Graham and Teenie Hodges.[5][6] Graham's father is an African American from Memphis, Tennessee, while Graham's mother, an educator, is a white Jewish Canadian.[7][8][9][10] His parents divorced when he was five, and he was raised by his mother in Toronto's wealthy Forest Hill neighbourhood,[11] attending elementary school at Forest Hill Public School, and high school at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, where he began acting,[8] but did not graduate.[12] He also spent many summers with his father in Memphis, Tennessee.
In 2001, Graham began his acting career, playing the role of Jimmy Brooks, a character on Degrassi: The Next Generation. In the show, Brooks is a basketball star who became physically disabled after he was shot by a classmate. His role on the show ended in 2009, when his character graduated from Degrassi. He appeared in 138 episodes. He appeared in the 2008 television movie Degrassi Spring Break Movie.
In February 2006, Drake released his first mixtape Room for Improvement. It was made available via his website and official MySpace page. In 2007, he released another mixtape, Comeback Season, spawning a single and a music video for "Replacement Girl" featuring Trey Songz. Also in 2007, Drake became the first unsigned Canadian rapper to have his music video featured on BET when his first single, "Replacement Girl" was featured as the "New Joint of the Day" on April 30, 2007.[13] It also contained a freestyle over a song with Lil Wayne, a remix of "Man of the Year" originally by Brisco and Flo-Rida. In 2008, Lil Wayne was given some of Drake's music from Rap-A-Lot founder, J. Prince's son and he immediately called Drake to invite him to fly to Houston and tour with him. Drake and Wayne recorded a couple of songs during this time, including "Ransom", the original version of "I Want This Forever", and the remix to Drake's song, "Brand New". Though now part of Lil Wayne's crew, Young Money, Drake was still not signed.
On February 13, 2009, Drake released his third official mixtape, So Far Gone, for free download on his blog site which included Drake's mentor Lil Wayne, Bun B, Omarion, Lloyd and his friend, Trey Songz. It received over 2,000 downloads in the first 2 hours of release. It was extremely successful in the underground and eventually made its way to radio. Due to the success of the mixtape's two singles, "Best I Ever Had" and "Successful", it was released as an EP featuring only five songs from the mix tape and one new song. MTV named it, "The Hottest Mixtape of 2009 (So Far)'.[14] Since So Far Gone, Drake worked with DJ Khaled, Young Money, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Young Jeezy, Mary J. Blige, Timbaland, Birdman, Trey Songz, and Jamie Foxx. Drake has also written for Jazz Cartier, Bishop Brigante, and Dr. Dre.
He achieved success before signing to a major record label, according to his management Hip Hop Since 1978.[15] In June 2009, it was revealed that an unauthorized album entitled The Girls Love Drake and credited to Drake was up for sale on iTunes. A lawsuit is planned against the label.[16]
On the Billboard Hot 100 chart of July 4, 2009, both "Best I Ever Had", and "Every Girl" by Young Money Entertainment entered the top ten at positions 3 and 10 respectively. Drake is only the second artist to have his first two top ten hits in the same week. The first was fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado who entered the top ten in 2001 with "I'm Like A Bird" the same week as Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On", a remix of which included a credited contribution from Furtado. On June 29, 2009, it was confirmed Drake signed a record deal with Young Money Entertainment.[17] This followed what Billboard purported to be "one of the biggest bidding wars ever".[18] He planned to release his official debut album, Thank Me Later, in late 2009, but it is now slated for a March 2010 release.[19] The album has confirmed collaborations with the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, Danny![20] and Lil Wayne.[4] Drake toured with Wayne and other rap artists on the America's Most Wanted Tour.
On July 31, 2009, Drake, who was performing on an already injured knee, fell on stage while performing "Best I Ever Had", with Lil Wayne in Camden, New Jersey.[21] Drake underwent surgery on September 8, 2009 for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation and is able to walk.[22]
Drake also worked with Alicia Keys on her most recent album The Element of Freedom adding his vocals to the song "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)".
On March 4, 2010, Drake released the first single from his Thank Me Later album, known as "Over".[23]
In March 2010 a track titled "Fall For Your Type" was recently leaked over the internet. There are rumors circulating that this song will be featured on his Thank Me Later album. It is also said it could be a reference track for the popular R&B artist, Jamie Fox.
On March 12, 2010, a version of K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" recorded by a collective of Canadian musicians known as Young Artists for Haiti was released. Drake is featured in the song, performing a solo verse near the end of the song.
Drake is good friends with many of his Degrassi cast-mates, particularly Shane Kippel, who played his best friend Spinner Mason on the show.
In 2008, Drake spoke about his past relationships on a song called "Deceiving" using each verse to address different women. In Verse 1, he spoke about video-girl Dia Edwards. In Verse 3, he spoke about classmate Alisha Phillips.
He then spoke about his past relationship with Keshia Chanté on the Verse 2 of his song "Deceiving", referencing Chanté's mother, Tessa,[24] stating "when I say I'm serious, you claim you're only teasing" and "What up Tessa? I love you like my own mama, and your daughters getting grown mama, and me, I'm just here working, waiting, patient for her to be ready for love and leave alone drama"[24]
In May 2009, Drake finally spoke with MuchMusic about his song "Deceiving" and addressed speculation of his past relationship with Chanté, "Would I call Keshia Chante an ex? I'd be proud to say she is an ex. I'm proud to say we had our time, when we were, like 16 years old. She's great. She's one of the first people in the industry that I met, we just connected."[25]
In June 2009, Drake did two remixes to Chante's song "Fallen" where he addresses his love for her, on Version 1 he raps "Keshia, Keshia, do you remember the old us? They said we'd never be together that's what they told us. Immature kids, to entrepreneur kids." then on Version 2, he raps "you just hold it down for your boy until the plaques arrive, that's why I love you."
MuchMusic later asked Chanté on how she felt about Drake. She kept mum, later saying, "I will love that man unconditionally for the rest of my life. He knows what it is. We have history. I've known him since I was a little girl. We just have a love/hate relationship, so I prefer to love him from afar."
Online rumors swirled stating that Drake was in a relationship with Rihanna. Both parties denied that claim, with Drake stating "we're just good friends."[26]
Drake is a fan of the Kentucky Wildcats and a friend to head coach John Calipari. On October 16, 2009, Drake made an appearance at the University of Kentucky men's basketball event, "Big Blue Madness" at Rupp Arena. On January 2, 2009, Drake also attended Kentucky's game against the University of Louisville and accompanied Calipari to his post game radio show.[27]
He is featured on Complex Magazine first issue of 2010. In the February-March issue he discusses his relationship with Lil Wayne, competition with new coming artist, getting inspired by ex-girlfriends, and the details on his debut Thank Me Later.
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| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2008 | Charlie Bartlett | A/V Jones | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Blue Murder | Joey Tamarin | 1 episode |
| 2001–2009 | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Jimmy Brooks | 8 seasons |
| 2002 | Soul Food | Fredrick | 1 episode |
| Conviction | Teen Fish | Television movie | |
| 2005 | Best Friend's Date | Dater | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Degrassi Spring Break Movie | Jimmy Brooks | Television movie |
| The Border | PFC Gordon Harvey | 1 episode | |
| 2009 | Sophie | Ken | 1 episode |
| Beyond the Break | Himself | 1 episode | |
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   | Official MySpace - Drake on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads |
| | All Things Fresh - ALLTHINGS-FRESH.net | your number 1 source for everything Aubrey DRAKE Graham ! |
| | Replacement Girl - YouTube - Drake feat. Trey Songz - Replacement Girl |
| | Degrassi actor says being different made him stronger - Degrassi Actor Says Being Different Made Him Stronger - InterfaithFamily.com |
| | School's In for Degrassi - School's In for Degrassi | JVibe |
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