DRAKE - New Artist Research

BACKGROUND

Famed hip-hop artist Drake was born to a mixed-race couple in Canada in 1986, and raised Jewish. He came to fame playing wheelchair-bound Jimmy Brooks in seven seasons of the popular teen soap 'Degrassi'. In 2006, Drake began circulating mixtapes of his raps, and signed a record deal in 2009. His hit songs include "Every girl", "Best I ever had", and "Take care". Drake, the world's only black Jewish-Canadian rap star, was born Aubrey Drake Graham on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Canada. Drake grew up with music in his blood. His father, Dennis Graham, was a drummer for legendary rock star Jerry Lee Lewis, and Drake says that his mother, Sandi Graham, also hails from a "very musical" family. Drake comes from an eclectic and unique racial and religious background. His father is an African-American Catholic and his mother is a white Canadian Jew. Speaking about his personal identity, Drake says, "At the end of the day, I consider myself a black man because I'm more immersed in black culture than any other. Being Jewish is kind of a cool twist. It makes me unique."

Drake's parents divorced when he was 5 years old, and he was raised by his mother in Forest Hill, an affluent and predominantly Jewish Toronto neighborhood. He had a Bar Mitzvah at age 13 and observed the Jewish High Holy Days with his mother. "My mom has always made Hanukkah fun," Drake recalls. "When I was younger, she gave cool gifts and she'd make latkes." Despite his Jewish upbringing, Drake says he felt isolated at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, his virtually all-white high school. Drake remembers, "Nobody understood what it was like to be black and Jewish." However, he also adds, "being different from everyone else just made me a lot stronger."

RISE TO HIP-HOP

While starring on 'Degrassi', Drake began attempting his transition into the world of hip-hop. He released his first mistape - Room for improvement - in 2006, achieving modest sales around approximately 6,000 copies. He followed that with the 2007 release of another mixtaoe - Comeback season. It included Drake's first hit single and music video, "Replacement Girl", which was features as the New Joint of the Day on BET's popular Hip-hop television show 106 & Park. Early 2008, Drake reeived an unexpected call from rap star Lil Wayne, who asked Drake to board a flight to Houston that night to join his tour. 

Since that call, Drake has enjoyed a rapid ascent to the top of the music world. After touring and recording with Lil Wayne, Drake released his third mixtape, So Far Gone, in February 2009. It featured the infectiously catchy single "Best I ever had", which eaked at No. 2 on Billboards Hot 100 singles chart. Ssince then,  Drakes barrage of catchy, R&B-infused hip-hop songs have dominated radio airwaves. His most popular singles at this time included "Every Girl", "Forever" and "Money to blow".

By mid-2009, Drake had inked a record deal with Lil Wanye's Young Money Entertainment.

CHART-TOPPING SUCCESS

On June 15 2010, Drake releaed his first full studio album, Thank me later, which debuted at No.1 on both Aamerican and Canadian  album charts and has since been ceritifed platinum. Drake's new persona as the cocksure prince of Hip-hop seems to clash with his middle-class Jewish upbringing and former career as a teenage soap-opera star. 

Nevertheless, Drake attempts to fuse these seemingly incngruous stages of his life into one perosona. On the December 2009 cover of Vibe magazine, Drake sports a diamond-crusted Chai, a hip-hop shout out to his Jewish roots. And in his song "The Presentaion", he raps "Who's Drake? Where's Wheelchair Jimmy at?"

In November 2001, Drake released his second studio album, Take Care, which included songs like "Headlines", "Make me proud", "The Motto" and "Take Care". The album met with wide acclaim, winning the 2013 Grammy Award for the best rap album, among several other honors.