Aubrey Drake Graham, professionally known as Drake is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. 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. He released two further independent projects, Comeback Season and So Far Gone, before signing to Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment in June 2009.
Drake’s net worth
Drake’s net worth is estimated to be roughly $120 million as of 2018, and he’s currently signed to Lil Wayne’s company, Young Money Entertainment.
Early Life
Aubrey Drake Graham was born on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Ontario. His father, Dennis Graham, is an African American and a practising Catholic from Memphis, Tennessee, and worked as a drummer, performing alongside country musician Jerry Lee Lewis.
Drake’s mother, Sandra “Sandi” Graham is an Ashkenazi Jewish Canadian who worked as an English teacher and florist. His parents met after Dennis performed at Clue Bluenote in Toronto, where he first interacted with Sandra, who was in attendance.
Career Life
At 15, eager to begin as an actor, a high school friend introduced Drake to his father, who was an acting agent. The agent found Drake a role on Canadian teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation.
Drake portrayed Jimmy Brooks, a basketball star who became physically disabled after he was shot by a classmate. When asked about his early acting career, Drake replied, “My mother was very sick. We were very poor, like broke. The only money I had coming in was off of Canadian TV”.
He would continue to appear on the show until 2007, returning for sporadic appearances until his character graduated from school. Overall, Drake appeared in a total of 145 episodes.
Here are some of the best highlights from Drake’s career so far:
- BET Hip-Hop Awards – Rookie of the Year (2009)
- BET Hip-Hop Awards – MVP of the Year (2010)
- Juno Awards – New Artist of the Year (2010)
- Songwriter’s Hall of Fame – Hal David Starlight Award (2011)
- BET Awards – Best Male Hip-Hop Artist (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
- Grammy Awards – Best Rap Album (Take Care, 2013)
- American Music Awards – Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist (2016)
- American Music Awards – Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album (Views, 2016)
- MOBO Awards – Best International Act (2016)
- BRIT Awards – International Male Solo Artist (2017)
