Drake Musical Career, How Everything Started

Aubrey Drake Graham famously known as Drake was born on October 24, 1986. Drake was born to biracial parents who separated when he was five years old. His mother Sandra is white and Ashkenazi Jewish from Canada, and his father Dennis Graham is an African American Catholic.

The middle name that Drake's father gave him served as the inspiration for his stage name.

He was "very poor" growing up and was raised by his mother in Toronto, Ontario.

Despite spending a portion of his adolescence in the affluent neighborhood Forest Hill, Drake has also spoken about growing up "very poor, like broke." 

"It just so happens that my mother is Jewish. For her family, she wanted only the best. She located a partial house for us to live in, "He went on. "It was neither spacious nor opulent. It was the best we could manage."

He got a part on the renowned Canadian teen drama "Degrassi" in 2001 when he was just 14 years old.

In the original cast of "Degrassi: The Next Generation," Drake, who was still going by the name Aubrey Graham, was cast as Jimmy Brooks, a popular eighth-grader, basketball star, and eventual paraplegic.

"I had a habit of making jokes in class while I was there. I was an excellent talker and liar. And one of the students in my class said, "Yo, my dad is an agent." You ought to speak with him because you're funny and good at what you do." In 2012, Drake clarified to GQ. "I just did well. I was the son of my father. You know, I was cunning. I have always had the ability to charm and know what to say."

As a teenager, he began writing song lyrics.

According to him, "17 and 18 is when I really got into that hip-hop phase, you know, and really studied the things that I needed to study as far as learning about flows and learning about lyrics."

"I write songs and make music," he explains. "These are full of songs from front to back, pages and pages of lyrics and ideas — something I'll probably never use because they're old. I just keep them around for nostalgia's sake."

In 2008, Drake quit acting in order to pursue music full time.

Jimmy made his final appearance on "Degrassi" in the eighth season.
Due to his hectic schedule, Drake claims he was "kicked off" the show. In 2006, the rapper released his debut mixtape, "Room for Improvement," and in 2007, he released his second mixtape, "Comeback Season."

"Back then, I'd spend a full day on set, then go to the studio to make music until 4 or 5 a.m., sleep in my dressing room, and then be back in front of the cameras by 9 a.m.," he told W magazine in 2015. "Eventually, they realized I was juggling two professions and told me I had to make a choice, which I did, and I chose this life."

In May 2009, Drake and Rihanna were first romantically involved.

Following their highly publicized split from Chris Brown, Rihanna and Drake were spotted making out at New York City's Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge. The two artists appeared to be "really cute together," according to Page Six, and were "making out all night."

Drake would later admit that he had fallen in love with Rihanna even though she continued to insist that they were just "friends" with each other.

In an interview Drake gave to The New York Times in 2010, he claimed, "I was a pawn." "You are aware of what she did to me? She was treating them with the same respect I've shown so many women throughout my life by spending time with them before vanishing. Wow, this feels awful, I thought."

Drake was signed to Lil Wayne's new label, Young Money, in June 2009.

According to Billboard, three major labels were fighting for Drake's loyalty in "one of the biggest bidding wars ever."

Lil Wayne's label, Young Money, distributed by Universal Republic, eventually offered Drake a $2 million advance and sealed the deal in June 2009. (In a now-hilarious headline, Entertainment Weekly asked, "Is he worth it?"

Drake has been referred to as Lil Wayne's protege, and the two have remained close friends.

However, in a September 2009 interview with The Fader, Drake stated that "putting a [Young Money] logo on the disc is more of a nod to his mentor than a structural reality."

"I appreciate Wayne putting me in this position," he said. "However, as an artist, I must do my own thing at this point. I'm not sure if distinguishing myself will be a challenge in the coming months. I don't want it to feel disrespectful, but I know it's a bridge I'll have to cross in terms of becoming my own person."

On November 15, 2011, Drake released his Grammy-winning sophomore album, "Take Care." It has achieved quadruple platinum status.

"Take Care" includes the fan-favorite song "Marvin's Room," as well as a Rihanna appearance on the title track. It's a moody, atmospheric record that some rap fans criticized for being overly emotional.

"People are always like, 'Man, this isn't real rap,' but I don't know man. It's real to me, and a lot of other people apparently," Drake told Complex in response to the criticism. "Getting those emotions through music is life to me. That's what real is to me."

Critics praised the album, calling it a "affecting masterpiece" and praising Drake's ability to "collapse many moods... into one vast, squish-souled emotion."

Many fans now regard "Take Care" as Drake's best full-length effort to date, and it did, indeed, win him his first Grammy for "Best Rap Album" the following year.