Who is Drake? The rapper's condition, biography and how he achieved such success.
What is the state of rapper Drake, his biography, creativity, what is his magnificence and can he be the best?
Preface to the topic.
This man calls himself "Champagne papi", in addition to this, he also has several pseudonyms and is one of the five richest rappers in the world along with Dr. Dre and Jay Z, and in 2020 he was ranked 8th
25 richest rappers in the world 2020.
Many have not even heard of this rapper, including me until recently, namely until 2020. What a strange coincidence! At the time of writing this topic, I was listening to music from a collection of 15k tracks and I came across Drake's track "Energy". I like this track, not a bad track by the way.
Drake first came to fame when he played in the teen sitcom about the school "Degrassi: The Next Generation", and the rapper played his first big concert with the band Hanson.
Drake is on a par with those who make pop music at the highest level, such as artists such as Beyoncé, Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Eminem and others. Against the background of the queens and kings of the best of the best, Drake remains a simple guy.
Dive into Drake's biography
Aubrey Drake Graham is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and actor who was born on October 24, 1986. After gaining recognition by starring in the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation, Drake released his debut mixtape Room for Improvement in 2006. He subsequently pursued a career in music and released the mixtapes "Comeback Season" (2007) and "So Far Gone" (2009) before signing with Young Money Entertainment.
In 2010, Drake released his debut studio album, Thank Me Later, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200.
He achieved great success with "Take Care" (2011) and commercial success came with his third studio album "Nothing Was the Same" (2013) and his fourth official mixtape "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" (2015) , which have been certified multi-platinum in the US.
Drake's fourth album Views (2016) topped the Billboard 200 for 13 non-stop weeks, becoming the first album by a male solo artist and featuring the record-breaking single "One Dance".
His second solo commercial mixtape "More Life" (2017) set several records then, and in 2018 he released the double album "Scorpion", which contained the Billboard Hot 100 number one singles "God's Plan", "Nice for What" and " In My Feelings".
Drake's third commercial mixtape "Dark Lane Demo" was released in 2020 and features the chart-topping "Toosie Slide".
In 2021, the fourth mini-album "Scary Hours 2", which is the sequel to "Scary Hours", included the song "What's Next" and set records in the charts, and also preceded his delayed sixth album "Certified Lover Boy" (2021). The album set the record for most US top ten entries from a single album, with the single "Way 2 Sexy" reaching number one.
As an entrepreneur, Drake founded the record label OVO Sound with Oliver El-Khatib and producer Noah "40" Shebib in 2012. In 2013, Drake became the Toronto Raptors' new "global ambassador" by joining the NBA franchise's executive committee while owning the naming rights to their training facility.
In 2016, he partnered with American entrepreneur Brent Hawking on Virginia Black Bourbon whiskey, eventually breaking sales records in Canada. Drake has also done fashion design, the most notable of which includes collaborations with sub-label Nike, along with other business ventures.
In 2018, it was responsible for 5 percent (C$440 million) of Toronto's total annual tourism revenue of C$8.8 billion.
Among the world's top-selling music artists, with over 170 million records sold, Drake is recognized by the RIAA as the highest certified digital singles artist in the United States.
He has won four Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, a record 29 Billboard Music Awards, two Brit Awards and three Juno Awards, and holds several Billboard Hot 100 chart records.
Drake has the most top 10 singles (54), most charting songs (258), most single-week charting songs (27), hottest 100 single-week debuts (22), and most long time on the Hot 100 (431 weeks).
In addition, he has the most number one singles on the hip hop charts, hot hip hop songs, hot rap songs and rhythm charts.
Dive into Drake's childhood
Aubrey Drake Graham was born on October 24, 1986 in Toronto, Ontario. His father, Dennis Graham, is an African American and practicing Catholic from Memphis, Tennessee, who worked as a drummer with country musician Jerry Lee Lewis.
His mother, Sandra "Sandy" Graham (born Cher), is of Canadian Jewish descent (Ashkenazi) and worked as an English teacher and florist.
Drake is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, holding an American citizenship through his American father. In his youth, he attended a Jewish day school and became a bar mitzvah.
Drake's parents divorced when he was five years old. After the divorce, she and her mother stayed in Toronto. His father returned to Memphis, where he spent several years in prison on drug charges.
Limited finances and legal problems forced Drake's father to remain in the United States until he came of age. Before his arrest, Graham traveled to Toronto every summer and brought Drake to Memphis.
Later, his father collaborated with the Canadian music group Arkells and starred in the video for a song called "Drake's Dad".
Drake grew up in two neighborhoods in Toronto. He lived on Weston Road in the working-class West End until sixth grade, playing futsal with the Weston Red Wings. Then, in 2000, he moved to one of the richest areas of the city, Forest Hill.
He attended Forest Hill College where he showed an aptitude for the arts. He later attended Vaughan Road Academy in the multicultural Oakwood Vaughan area.
Drake was often bullied at school for his racial and religious background. Realizing that his busy schedule was detrimental to his growing acting career, Drake dropped out of high school. In October 2012, he graduated from the university.
Drake's career
Early career (2001-2009)
At the age of 15, eager to start his acting career, a school friend introduced Drake to his father, an acting agent.
A friend's father found Drake a role in the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation. Drake played Jimmy Brooks, a basketball star who became disabled after being injured by a classmate.
The character antagonized Drake with the potential connotations of being one of the show's only black characters, as well as negatively impacting his reputation as a rapper. That being said, longtime series writer James Hurst noted that Drake threatened legal action to redo the storyline before ultimately agreeing.
Madeleine Robinson, executive director of California-based nonprofit Wheelchair 4 Kids, praised Drake's storyline and performance, noting that he instilled confidence and representation of youth with disabilities.
He appeared in a total of 100 episodes between 2001 and 2008. In 2010, Drake expressed interest in playing Barack Obama in a biopic, to which Obama responded with approval in an interview in 2020.
Early mixtapes.
Taking musical inspiration from Jay-Z and Clipse, Drake self-released his debut mixtape Room for Improvement in 2006. The mixtape included Trey Songz and Lupe Fiasco as well as extensive production from Canadian producers Boi-1da and Frank Dukes.
In 2007, he released his second comeback season of the mixtape. Released on his newly founded own label, October, it spawned the single "Replacement Girl" featuring Trey Songz.
The song made Drake the first unsigned Canadian rapper to have a music video appear on BET, with "Replacement Girl" featured on their "New Joint of the Day" segment in April 2007.
The song also featured a sample of Drake's "Man of the Year" by Briscoe, Flo Rida and Lil Wayne, retaining Lil Wayne's verse and adding his own to the earlier half of the song.
This led Jas Prince to gift the song to Lil Wayne, prompting the rapper to invite Drake to Houston to join his Tha Carter III tour.
Throughout the tour, Drake and Lil Wayne recorded several songs together, including "Ransom", "Forever", and a remix of "Brand New".
In 2009, Drake released his third mixtape "So Far Gone". It was made available for free download through his OVO blog website and featured Lil Wayne, Trey Songz, Omarion, Lloyd and Ban B.
It received over 2,000 downloads in its first 2 hours of release, achieving commercial success with the singles "Best I Ever Had" and "Successful", which were both certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with the former also peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
This prompted the mixtape to be re-released as an EP, including only four songs from the original, plus the addition of the songs "I'm Goin' In" and "Fear". It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and won Rap Record of the Year at the 2010 Juno Awards.
Due to the success of the mixtape, Drake was the subject of a bidding war from various labels. Despite this, Drake secured a recording contract with Young Money Entertainment on June 29, 2009.
Drake then joined the rest of the label's roster for the America's Most Wanted tour in July 2009. During a performance of "Best I Ever Had" in Camden, New Jersey, Drake fell on stage and tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Later that year, he underwent surgery.
2010-2012: Musical breakthrough
Drake planned to release his debut album Thank Me Later in late 2008, but the album's release date was pushed back to March 2010 and then to May 25, 2010. Young Money and Universal Motown released a statement that the album had again been pushed back by three weeks for a June 15, 2010 release.
On March 9, 2010, Drake released his debut single "Over", which peaked at number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and also topped the rap songs chart. It also received a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
His second single "Find Your Love" was an even bigger success. It reached number five on the Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The music video for the single was filmed in Kingston, Jamaica and was criticized by Jamaican tourism minister Edmund Bartlett.
The third and fourth singles "Miss Me" and "Fancy" achieved moderate commercial success, but the latter received Drake's second nomination at the 53rd Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. On April 29, it was announced that Drake had completed "Thank Me Later" during a show in Kansas City, Missouri.
"Thank Me Later" was released on June 15, 2010, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with over 447,000 copies sold in its first week. Following the album's release, 25,000 fans gathered at New York's South Street Seaport for a free concert hosted by Drake and Hanson.
The album became the highest-selling debut album for any artist in 2010, featuring Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Jay Z.
It was soon announced that Drake would play a prominent role in the military sci-fi video game Gears of War 3. He was supposed to play the role of Jace Stratton, but due to his upcoming tour, he was unable to accept the role. He began the tour on September 20, 2010 in Miami, Florida, playing 78 shows on four different stages, ending in Las Vegas in November 2010.
Due to the success of the Far From Home tour, Drake hosted the first OVO festival in 2010. This will soon become a regular event throughout the summer, when the Molson Amphitheater in Toronto will host the festival as part of its annual cycle.
Drake also did an eco-friendly college tour in support of the album, starting at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, ending in Plymouth, New Hampshire on May 8, and performing at Bumbusle on May 1.
Beginning his second attempt in the fall of 2010, Drake announced his intentions to let Noah "40" Shebib take over most of the production and record a more solid sound than on "Thank Me Later".
In January 2011, Drake was in talks to join Eva Green and Susan Sarandon as cast members in Nicholas Jaretzky's Arbitration before ultimately deciding not to star in the film to focus on the album. "Dreams Money Can Buy" and "Marvins Room" were posted on Drake's own blog in October 20 May and 9 June.
Serving as promotional singles for Take Care, the former was ultimately not included in the album's final track listing, while "Marvins Room" was certified gold by the RIAA and also peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and entered the top 10 hot rnb/hip hop songs chart combined with extensive city radio play. Drake will soon release the music video for the song on June 28th.
"Headlines" was released on August 9 as the lead single for Take Care. It was met with positive critical and commercial response, peaking at number thirteen on the Hot 100 as well as becoming his tenth single to reach the top of the Billboard Hot Rap Songs, making Drake the artist with the most number-one singles on the chart. It was eventually certified platinum as in the USA and in Canada.
The music video for the single was released on October 2 and featured Drake performing the song during the second halftime of the 59th National Hockey League All-Star game in January 2012. "Make Me Proud" was released as the album's second single on 16 October. It was the last single released prior to the album's release and debuted at number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song peaked at number nine the following week, setting the record for the biggest jump on the Billboard Hot 100. "Make Me Proud" soon became Drake's fourth single. in a row, certified platinum by the RIAA.
Prior to the album's release, Drake planned to record a collaborative album with Lil Wayne, but this was ultimately canceled due to the success of "Watch the Throne". He also began collaborating with Rick Ross for a mixtape called YOLO, but the duo dropped the project in favor of an increased preoccupation with their studio albums. Take Care was released on November 15, 2011 to generally positive reviews from music critics. John McDonnell of NME called it "An Impressive Masterpiece" and praised its "delicate, mellifluous sound and shamelessly frank, emotive lyrics".
Drake also won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards and achieved major commercial success, eventually being certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA in 2016, with album sales of 2.6 million in the US.
The album's third and fourth singles, "The Motto" and "Take Care", were released on November 29, 2011 and February 21, 2012. Each song was a commercial success as well as a major social impact, with "Motto" being credited with popularizing the phrase "YOLO" in the United States.
The music video for "Take Care" was widely acclaimed on MTV. The song was also included in the channel's 2011 "Pop Songs You Must Hear" list. "HYFR" was the final single released from the album and was certified gold. He also won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Hip Hop Video in 2012 and was ranked second on their list of "Hottest MCs in the Game"
on August 5, 2012. Drake released "Enough Said" performed by American singer Aaliyah with additional vocals provided by himself. Originally recorded prior to the death of singer Aaliyah in a plane crash in 2001, Drake later completed the track with producer Noah "40" Shebib.
"Enough Said" was released by Blackground Records via their SoundCloud account on August 5, 2012. The song was sent to US radio stations on August 21st. The song peaked at number 55 on the Billboard Hot RNB/Hip Hop Songs chart.
As part of the promotion of his second album, Drake embarked on the Club Paradise World Tour. It became the most successful hip hop tour of 2012, grossing over $42 million. He then returned to acting, starring in Ice Age: Continental Drift as Ethan.
2013-2015: Nothing Was the Same and If You're Reading This It's Too Late.
During the Club Paradise European tour, Drake stated in an interview that he had begun work on his third studio album. Revealing his intentions to stay with Noah "40" Shebib as the album's executive producer, Drake spoke fondly of Jamie XX, hoping to incorporate and expand the British producer's influence on his next album. Drake also revealed that the album would be stylistically different from Take Care, moving away from ambient sounds and dull lyrics.
In January 2013, Drake announced that he would be releasing the first single from his third album at the end of the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. Despite an initial delay, it was released following his win for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the event.
The album's second single, "Hang On, We're Coming Home", was released in August 2013, becoming the most successful single from the album, peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B and Hip Hop charts.
Drake took inspiration from the 1980s television series Miami Vice during the making of the song's music video, incorporating dramatic elements seen on the show en route to winning his second MTV Video Music Award in 2014 for the video.
Nothing Was the Same was released on September 24, 2013, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 658,000 copies in its first week of release. The album debuted at the top of the charts in Canada, Denmark, Australia and England. The album also received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics, praising the musical shift in terms of tone and subject matter, comparing it to the distinct change shown in Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak.
The album sold over 1,720,000 copies in the United States and received further promotion with "Would You Like to Tour?" at the end of 2013 - beginning of 2014. It became the 22nd most successful tour of the year and grossed an estimated $46 million.
Drake then returned to acting in January 2014, hosting Saturday Night Live as well as a musical guest appearance. His versatility, acting skills and comedic choices have been praised by critics. Drake has also performed in Dubai, being one of the few artists ever to perform in the city. In late 2014, Drake announced that he had begun recording for his fourth studio album.
In 2014, Drake performed in Spanish as a guest performer on Romeo Santos' song "Odio". He also appeared on iLoveMakonnen's remix of "Tuesday", which peaked at number one on the Billboard rhythm chart and number twelve on the "Hot 100", and released "0 to 100 / The Catch Up" as a non-album single. The latter went double platinum in the US.
On February 12, 2015, Drake released "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" on iTunes with no prior announcement. Despite controversy over whether it was an album or a mixtape, its commercial position marks it as his fourth retail project with Cash Money Records. "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" sold over 1 million units in 2015, making Drake the first artist with a platinum project in 2015, as well as his fourth overall.
2015–2017: What a Time to Be Alive, Views, and More Life.
On July 31, 2015, Drake released four singles: "Back to Back", "Charged", "Hot Line" and "Right Hand". On September 20, 2015, Drake released a collaborative mixtape with Future, which was recorded in Atlanta in less than a week.
"What a Time to Be Alive" debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making Drake the first hip-hop artist to have two projects reach number one in the same year since 2004. It was later certified platinum by the RIAA for combined sales, streaming and track sales equivalent to over 1 million units. Drake also appeared on the cover of Fader for their 100th issue.
Drake announced in January 2016 that his fourth studio album would be released in the spring, releasing the promotional single "Summer Sixteen" later that month. The album was originally titled Views from the 6 but was later shortened to Views. "Summer Sixteen" debuted at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and proved controversial when Drake equalized his position in hip hop with more established artists.
Drake soon released the dancehall-filled singles "Pop Style" and "One Dance" from the album on April 5. Both debuted in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, the latter being more commercially successful. "One Dance" became Drake's first number one single in both Canada and the US as a lead artist.
The single also became Drake's first number one single as a lead artist in the United Kingdom and reached number one in Germany, France, Australia, Brazil, Sweden, Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands. During an episode for OVO Sound Radio, Drake confirmed the album's April 29 release date and accompanied it with various promotional videos. On October 15, "One Dance" became Spotify's most streamed song ever, with over 882 million streams as of October 2016.
The Views album was released as an Apple Music and iTunes exclusive on April 29 and has since been made available on various other platforms. Views would become Drake's most commercially successful album, peaking at the top of the Billboard 200 for ten consecutive weeks and simultaneously topping the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 for eight weeks. Drake later released a short film called Please Forgive Me, which starred Swedish twin models Elisabeth and Victoria Leijonhjärta. As of 2019, Views remains Drake's highest selling album.
Drake returned as host of Saturday Night Live on May 14, serving as the show's musical guest. Drake later entered the Forbes top five, which is on the list of the richest hip-hop artists, ranking fifth behind Birdman, Jay Z, Dr. Dre and Diddy.
Following the release of More Life, Drake received mostly positive reviews and debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 earning 505,000 units in its first week.
The album also garnered 61.3 million views on Spotify, dethroning Ed Sheeran. He later won 13 awards at the Billboard Music Awards in May 2017, breaking the record for the most wins in a single show. Billboard also reported that Drake has been on the Hot 100 chart for eight consecutive years and has the most entries by a solo artist.
He then released the single "Signs" on June 24 and also reunited with Metro Boomin on a single from Offset. The singles marked his first releases since More Life, with "Signs" originally released as a collaboration between Drake and French fashion house Louis Vuitton as part of the "Louis Vuitton for Men Air-Summer 2018" fashion show.
Drake also appeared in The Carter Effect, a documentary about the basketball career of Vince Carter, who was the first superstar to play for the Toronto Raptors since the franchise's inception in 1995. The documentary also featured NBA players Chris Bosh, Tracey McGrady, Steve Nash and LeBron James.
2018–2019: Scorpion and Care Package; return to television.
On January 20, 2018, "Scary Hours" was released, marking Drake's first solo release since "More Life", as well as his first appearance since appearing on the remix of Jay-Z's "Family Feud" with Lil Wayne, as the lead single of "Dedications". 6: Reboot".
The Scary Hours featured the songs "Diplomatic Immunity" and "God's Plan" which debuted in the top ten, with the latter eventually breaking various streaming records, debuting at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song became Drake's first song as solo artist, which took first place, as well as his second chart leader as a lead artist.
Drake earned his 70th top 40 entry after featuring on the Migos song "Walk It Talk It", which debuted at number eighteen and peaked at number ten. It was later featured on BlocBoy JB's debut single "Look Alive", which was released on February 9, 2018. Recording the song at number six on the Hot 100 established Drake as the top 10 hit rapper on the Hot 100.
He then featured on the remix of "Lemon", a song originally released as a collaboration between NERD and Rihanna. On April 5, Drake announced that he was finishing his fifth studio album and releasing a single the same evening. On April 6, "Nice for What" was released, along with a music video directed by Karena Evans and featuring several celebrities.
Drake announced the title of his fifth studio album as Scorpion, with a scheduled release date of June 29, 2018. He then released "I'm Upset" as the album's third single.
Later, Scorpion was released as a double album and became Drake's longest running project, running at just under 90 minutes. The album broke single-day world records on Spotify and Apple Music with 132.45 million and 170 million views on each streaming service.
It ended up selling 749,000 units in its first week of sales and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. In 2018, articles from The Guardian and Rolling Stone called him "the definitive pop star of his generation" and arguably "the biggest pop star of the new Millennium after Justin Timberlake.
Drake collaborated with British hip hop promotion Link Up TV on July 7, a freestyle release as part of the "Behind Barz" ad campaign. Drake then earned his sixth number one hit with "In My Feelings" on July 21, which also spawned the "#InMyFeelingsChallenge" or "#Kikichallenge" viral challenge.
The success of "In My Feelings" also made Drake the record holder for number one hits by a rapper. Shortly thereafter, he released a video for the song "Nonstop", which was filmed in London during his surprise performance at the Wireless Festival.
He then appeared on Travis Scott's Astroworld album with uncredited vocals for his song "Sicko Mode", which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In July 2018, Drake announced that he plans to return to television and film for 6 months to a year. , producing the television series Euphoria and Best Boy.
He then launched the Aubrey & the Three Migos tour with co-headlining Migos on 12 August. This preceded a collaboration with Bad Bunny called "Mia", which featured Drake performing in Spanish. He subsequently received the Hot Ticket Artist award at the 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards on October 16. During a performance in Edmonton on November 7, Drake announced his intention to start his next project in early 2019.
In February 2019, he received his fourth Grammy Award for Best Rap Song, for "God's Plan", at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. On February 14, Drake re-released his third mixtape So Far Gone for the first time on streaming services to mark its 10th anniversary, and later collaborated with Summer Walker on a remix of Walker's "Girls Need Love", marking his first release of 2019.
On April 10, while performing on the Assassination Vacation tour, he announced that he was working on a new album. On June 8, Drake appeared on Chris Brown's single "No Guidance". On June 15, Drake released two songs, "Omerta" and "Money in the Grave", on his EP The Best in the World Pack to celebrate the Toronto Raptors' NBA championship win.
On August 2, he released the compilation Care Package, consisting of songs released between 2010 and 2016 that were not originally available for purchase or commercial broadcast. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
2019-2021: Dark Lane Demo Tapes, Scary Hours 2 and Certified Lover Boy.
Drake released the song "War" on December 24, 2019, with an accompanying music video that was widely recognized for its British exercise-inspired instrumental. The following day, it was revealed in an interview with Rap Radar that he was in the process of completing his sixth studio album.
On January 10, 2020, Drake collaborated with Future on the song "Life is Good", which appeared on the High Off Life album. On January 31, the couple collaborated again on the song "Desires", although it was released for free after the leak. On February 29, Drake released the songs "When to Say When" and "Chicago Freestyle" with a combined music video.
On April 3, he released "Toosie Slide" with a music video featuring a dance created in collaboration with social media influencer Toosie. It debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making Drake the first male artist to have three songs debut at number one.
On May 1, 2020, Drake released the commercial mixtape Dark Lane Demo Tapes with guest appearances from Chris Brown, Future, Young Thug, Fivio Foreign, Playboi Carti and Sosa Geek. He also announced that his sixth studio album will be released in the summer of 2020.
This mixtape is a collection of new songs and tracks that have been leaked online. It received mixed reviews and debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 223,000 units and number one on the UK Albums Chart, earning 20,000 units in its first week.
On July 17, Drake was featured on DJ Khaled's singles "Greece" and "Pop Star", debuting at numbers eight and three on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Drake's record-breaking 24th and 25th Hot 100 top 10 debuts. He also became his 39th and 40th Hot 100 top ten hit, breaking Madonna's record for most Hot 100 top ten hits.
On July 20, Drake and Headie One released "Only You Freestyle", the third inspirational song he released in 2020 after "War" and "Demons" that appeared on the Dark Lane demo tapes. On August 14, "Laugh Now Cry Later" featuring Lil Derk was released and was intended to be the lead single from Drake's Certified Lover Boy album, but was not included in the final track listing. It debuted at number two on the Hot 100 and was nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
On September 3, the video for "Popstar" was released, featuring Drake in a cameo appearance. On October 2, Drake was the only guest on Bryson Tiller's Anniversary Album (2020), on the song "Outta Time". He subsequently appeared on the remix of "You're Still Mine" along with Young Blue on 16 October. Just over a week later, on his 34th birthday, Drake announced that "Certified Lover Boy" would be released in January 2021. This was later rescheduled to an unspecified date after he sustained a knee injury that required surgery.
On December 1, he reunited with Lil Wayne on "BB King Freestyle", the lead single from the latest two-disc mixtape No Ceilings 3 (2020). In January 2021, Drake became the first artist to surpass 50 billion combined streams on Spotify. He later collaborated with Drakeo the Ruler on the single "Talk to Me", which was released on 23 February.
On March 5, Drake released an EP titled Scary Hours 2 which included three songs: "What's Next", "Want and Need" with Lil Baby and "Lemon Pepper Freestyle" with Rick Ross. These three songs entered the charts at numbers one, two, and three, making Drake the first artist to have three songs debut in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100.
He then appeared on the single "Solid" from the YSL Records compilation Slime Language 2 along with Gunna and Young Thug. "Solid" was originally supposed to appear on Certified Lover Boy and was supposed to feature only Gunna. On May 14, Drake was featured alongside mentor Lil Wayne on ex-label Nicki Minaj's "Seeing Green", a new song on the streaming re-release of her 2009 mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty.
Two weeks later, he was named Artist of the Decade at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards. On June 12, he performed at Migos "Having Our Way" from the band's third studio album Culture III (2021), and on July 1 he collaborated with Brent Fayaz and The Neptunes on the song "Wasting Time". On July 23, Drake appeared on "Over the Top" with Smiley,
Certified Lover Boy was released on September 3, 2021, becoming his tenth number-one album on the Billboard 200, each song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 while the album was the first to chart nine songs in the top 10 and "Way 2 Sexy" became Drake's ninth number one single.
It subsequently set a record for most weeks (52 weeks) at number four on the Hot 100, behind Mariah Carey (84 weeks), Rihanna (60 weeks) and The Beatles. (59 weeks). He received a Best Global Act nomination at the 2021 All Africa Music Awards and appeared on Young Thug's Punk (2021) with the song "Bubbly".
On October 22, Drake appeared on "Stars Align" by Majid Jordan, the lead single from the band's third album, Wildest Dreams. Two weeks later, on November 5, Drake released a horror-themed black and white music video for "Knife Talk", the third single from Certified Lover Boy, featuring 21 Savage and Project Pat.
On November 6, he debuted "Give It Up" on OVO Sound radio. Certified Lover was nominated for Best Rap Album and "Way 2 Sexy" was nominated for Best Rap Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
Drake's artistry
Who influenced Drake?
Drake has cited several hip hop influencers as Kanye West, Jay Z, MF Doom and Lil Wayne as well as some RNB artists such as Aaliyah and Usher.
Drake has also credited several dance artists as influences on his Caribbean-accented style, including Vybz Kartel, whom he has described as one of his "biggest inspirations".
Drake's musical style.
Drake is considered a pop rap artist. While Drake's early music mostly embraced hip hop and RNB, his music has more recently delved into pop and trap.
In addition, his music has influenced regional scenes including the Jamaican dance floor and the UK drill. Drake is known for his selfish lyrics, technical ability, and integration of personal backstory when it comes to relationships with women.
His vocal abilities have been praised for the audible contrast between typical hip-hop rhythms and melody, with sometimes harsh rapping combined with softer accents placed on technical lyricism.
His songs often include audible changes in lyrical pronunciation parallel to his upbringing in Toronto and connections to the Caribbean and the Middle East, which include phrases such as "ting", "touching road", "talkin' boasy" and "gwanin' wassy". ".
Most of his songs contain elements of RNB and Canadian hip hop, and he mixes rap with singing. He credits his father for incorporating singing into his rap mixtapes, which have become a staple in his musical repertoire.
Drake is often credited for incorporating the themes of money, drug use, and women into new, idealized contexts, often achieving this by increasing the typical meaning of phrases in which he combines an objective and subjective perspective in the same vocal performance.
Drake's image and publicity
Drake, as a prominent figure in pop culture, is widely credited for popularizing the Toronto sound in the music industry and for spearheading the "Canadian invasion" of the American charts. Washington Post editor Maura Jadkis credits Drake for popularizing the phrase "YOLO" in the United States with his single "Motto", which includes "You only live once: that's the motto, nigga, YOLO".
Drake later popularized the term "Six" in 2015 in reference to his hometown of Toronto, subsequently becoming a reference point for the city. In addition, the theme of his work, often revolving around relationships, has had a wide impact on social media with photo captions commonly used to indicate emotions or personal situations.
The music video for "Hotline Bling" went viral due to Drake's eccentric dance moves. The video was remixed, memeded and heavily commented due to the unconventional nature of the song, resulting in it gaining popularity on YouTube and spawning several parodies.
In 2021, he joined a group of Canadian musicians to partner with the Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC) to influence Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to restructure the country's copyright law to allow artists and their families to reclaim ownership of copyrights during their lifetime.
He has also campaigned for the expansion of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) franchise in Toronto and is set to headline a benefit concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with Kanye West on December 9, 2021 to seek a pardon for Larry Hoover.
Drake's personal life
Drake lives in Toronto, Ontario on a $100 million, 35,000-square-foot estate called The Embassy, which was built from scratch in 2017 and featured in the video for his song "Too Slide." He also owns a home called "YOLO Estate" in Hidden Hills, California, which he has owned since 2012 and in 2021 rented a $65 million property in Beverly Hills. He owns a condominium adjacent to the CN Tower and Boeing 767.
On August 18, 2021, Drake revealed that he had contracted Covid, which resulted in temporary hair loss. He was also one of the first celebrities to publicly test the virus in March 2020.
Drake dated singer Rihanna on and off from 2009 to 2016. He has mentioned the relationship on every one of his studio albums and when presenting Rihanna with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in 2016, he said, "She's the woman I've been in love with since I was 22."
Drake has a son named Adonis who was born October 11, 2017 to French artist and former model Sophie Brousseau. Brousseau's pregnancy became the subject of several rumors after being featured in a TMZ article in early 2017. After the nature of the couple's relationship was discussed in "The Story of Adidon" by Pusha T, Drake confirmed his paternity on the 2018 album Scorpion, citing a desire to keep their child private.
Let's summarize this topic and the question "What is the state of rapper Drake, what is his magnificence and can he be the best?"
1. Drake as a rapper, in my opinion, will be better than those who rank above him;
2. A lot of won awards;
3. Most of his songs are melodic;
4. Drake can safely be called one of the richest rap artists;
5. Seen in various charities;
6. Contributed great benefit to the development of pop and hip-hop music;
7. Lots of fans, but mostly USA, Canada and England;
8. Drake really can be called "the best."
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