Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986) was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is Canadian rapper and singer. He is professionally known as Drake. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in contemporary popular music, having been credited with popularizing singing and R&B sensibilities in hip hop. Drake first gained recognition for his acting role as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation, which aired from 2001 to 2008. However, it was Drake's foray into music that truly established him as a force to be reckoned with. He released his debut mixtape Room for Improvement in 2006, followed by Comeback Season in 2007 and So Far Gone in 2009, before signing with Young Money Entertainment.
His first three albums, Thank Me Later (2010), Take Care (2011), and Nothing Was the Same (2013), were all critical successes and catapulted him to the forefront of hip hop. In 2016, Drake released his fourth album, Views, which saw him exploring the dancehall genre and included the chart-topping single "One Dance." The album remained atop the Billboard 200 for 13 non-consecutive weeks, making it the first album by a male artist to achieve this feat in over a decade.
Drake is not just a musician but also a savvy entrepreneur. He founded the OVO Sound record label with longtime collaborator 40 in 2012 and has since expanded his business ventures. In 2013, he became the "global ambassador" of the Toronto Raptors, joining their executive committee and later obtaining naming rights to their practice facility. In 2016, he collaborated with Brent Hocking on the bourbon whiskey Virginia Black, and he also heads the OVO fashion label and the Nocta collaboration with Nike. Drake has founded the production company DreamCrew and the fragrance house Better World.
Drake's success as a musician and entrepreneur has not gone unnoticed, as he is among the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million records. The RIAA has ranked him as the highest-certified digital singles artist in the United States, and he has won numerous awards, including four Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, a record 34 Billboard Music Awards, two Brit Awards, and three Juno Awards. His music has achieved 11 number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and he holds several Hot 100 records, such as having the most top 10 singles, the most charted songs, and the most simultaneous charted songs in one week. He also has the most Hot 100 debuts in one week and the most continuous time on the Hot 100. Additionally, he has the most number-one singles on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Songs, and Rhythmic Airplay charts.
