Posted in: News, Trivia Q & A | 1 Comment | Posted on May 13, 2022 by Mary Anne

Q. Drake had a breakthrough year as a rapper in 2009, after having spent eight seasons on what TV show?

A.  Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 2021) is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor raised in Toronto.  Drake initially gained recognition as an actor on the teen drama television series Degrassi: The Next Generation in the early 2000s. Intent on pursuing a career as a rapper, he departed the series in 2007 following the release of his debut mixtape, Room for Improvement.

His father, Dennis Graham, is an African American and a practicing Catholic from Memphis, Tennessee, and worked as a drummer, performing alongside country musician Jerry Lee Lewis. Bass guitarist Larry Graham and the late songwriter Teenie Hodges are his paternal uncles. Drake’s mother, Sandi Graham (née Sher), is a white Jewish Canadian who worked as an English teacher and florist. Drake attended a Jewish day school, and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony.

Drake’s parents divorced when he was five years old. After the divorce, he and his mother remained in Toronto, while his father chose to return to Memphis. As a child, he witnessed his father’s arrest while visiting him in Memphis. His father later collaborated with Canadian music group Arkells for a song entitled “Drake’s Dad”, detailing the events that had occurred following his departure from Drake’s early life.

Drake was often bullied in school for his racial and religious background, and upon realizing that his busy class schedule was detrimental to his burgeoning acting career, Drake dropped out of school. He later graduated in October 2012.

Drake released his debut studio album Thank Me Later in 2010, which debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was soon certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His next two releases were 2011’s Take Care and 2013’s Nothing Was the Same, with certifications of quadruple and triple platinum respectively in the U.S., with the former also earning him his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

Drake released his fourth album, Views, in 2016, breaking several chart records in the process. The dancehall-influenced album sat atop the Billboard 200 for ten nonconsecutive weeks, becoming the first album by a solo male to do so in over 10 years.

Its single “One Dance” topped the chart in several countries, including the U.S., the UK and Canada, where it became his first number-one single as the lead artist. This saw Drake leading the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard 200 simultaneously for eight weeks, coming close to a record held by Whitney Houston.

Alongside his Grammy Award wins, Drake has won three Juno Awards and six BET Awards.

Drake has developed other ventures, including his OVO Sound record label with longtime collaborator Noah “40” Shebib. Drake acts as a producer, producing under the pseudonym of Champagne Papi. Using the “OVO” moniker, Drake has his own clothing line and his own program on Beats 1 Radio. He is also currently acting as the global ambassador for NBA franchise, the Toronto Raptors.