Drake
Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper, singer, and actor. Often referred to as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he is credited with popularizing R&B sensibilities in hip-hop music through rap-singing. Drake first gained recognition as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–2008) and began his music career by independently releasing the mixtapes Room for Improvement (2006), Comeback Season (2007), and So Far Gone (2009), before signing with Young Money Entertainment.
Drake's debut album, Thank Me Later (2010), debuted atop the Billboard 200 and included his breakthrough hit "Best I Ever Had". He followed it with the albums Take Care (2011) and Nothing Was the Same (2013); the former was included on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list. His fourth studio album, Views (2016), led the Billboard 200 for 13 weeks. Its second single, "One Dance", became the first song to surpass 1 billion streams on Spotify. In 2018, Drake released his fifth studio album, Scorpion, spending 29 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 with its singles: "God's Plan", "Nice for What" and "In My Feelings". Throughout the 2020s, Drake amassed six US number-one albums, including Certified Lover Boy (2021) and Iceman (2026), which respectively spawned nine and ten US top ten singles. In 2026, he became the first artist to occupy the top three spots on the Billboard 200.
As an entrepreneur, Drake founded the record label OVO Sound, production company DreamCrew, and the fragrance house Better World. In 2013, he became the "global ambassador" of the Toronto Raptors, joining their executive committee and later obtaining naming rights to their practice facility OVO Athletic Centre. In 2016, he began collaborating with Brent Hocking on the bourbon whiskey Virginia Black. Drake is a co-owner of the gaming organization 100 Thieves, and heads the OVO fashion label and the Nocta collaboration with Nike, Inc.. Due to his partnership with Apple Music, he is also credited with the success of the platform. Drake has received widespread media coverage due to his extravagant lifestyle and rap feuds, including with Kanye West and with Kendrick Lamar.
Among the world's best-selling music artists, with over 170 million units sold, Drake is also ranked as the highest-certified digital singles artist in the United States. His accolades include five Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, 41 Billboard Music Awards, two Brit Awards, and three Juno Awards. Billboard named him the Artist of the Decade (2010s), the highest-grossing hip-hop touring artist, and the fourth greatest pop star of the 21st century. He has achieved 15 Billboard 200 number-one albums and 14 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles; both rank as a record among male solo artists. He additionally 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.
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