“A goal is just a dream with a deadline.”– Drake

The Toronto homeboy and an amazing modern superstar; Drake is a music personality that is polarizing the majority of the musicians out there right now. Within 7 years of his music career, Drake has hit incredible milestones. His journey is impeccable and is a dream for many music artists at the moment. Adored and loved by millions, Drake is one of the most favorite superstars in Hollywood. However, do you really think that Drake just started off with a career that bought the success storm to him? Even when we count the 4 albums that we have been blessed with since 2009, there is so much to know about the Drake before all of this. He just didn’t drop the “Room of Improvement” in 2006 for the first time. He actually has a lot of history before that too. Let’s dig into it.

Childhood

Drake was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1986. His full name back then was Aubrey Drake Graham and he was bought up by his Jewish mother. As a matter of fact, Drake’s neighborhood was completely Jewish. His father had a very distant relationship with him as he moved away to Memphis when Drake was pretty young. However, after years of gap, they have gotten close. After living a life that depended highly on the paychecks, Drake decided to make a move at the age of 15. And believe it or not, Drake did not wanted to be a musician at all. He was head strong motivated to be an actor.

“I learned working with the negatives could make for better pictures” – Drake

Acting

Before Drake became the famous “superstar” he was well-known for his role in Degrassi as a wheelchair bound Jimmy Brooks. He bagged this role at the age of 15 and he made an appearance in 138 episodes from 2001-2009. Luckily, Degrassi hit the big screen in 2008 for the “Spring Break” movie. Drake made his reappearance in 2008 too as Jimmy. In season 4 of Degrassi, Aubrey and his co-star Stacey were interviewed. Drake was asked about his style in the interview, in which he said: “I have got my little glasses at night time because that is what the stars do.” At the age of 16, little Drake also made an appearance as Fredrick in a middle school series known as Soul Food. It was a minor cameo role.

After the award-winning Degrassi came to an end, Drake was offered the lead role in a short film, “Us and Them”, in 2009. The movie was shot within his hometown and has featured a lot of places which are now a part of his music films as well. You can easily find his childhood home through the videos too. In 2008, Drake made an appearance in The Border as prisoner Gordon Harvey.

“The good ones go, if you wait too long” – Drake

Music

But the major part in this all is that while he was working for Degrassi, in 2008, he got a call from Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne asked Drake to join him on his tour. It was afterwards that Drake joined Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment Label. This became his major break. After working in the acting industry since age 15, he got his big break in 2009, when he releases his first mixtape, “So Far Gone.” This amazingly hit mixtape of Drake earned him huge respect and love, and it featured some of his best hits like “Best I Ever Had” and “Successful.”

“All so convinced that you’re following your heart, because your minds don’t control what it does sometimes.” – Drake (Take Care)

First Official Album (2010)

“Wish you would learn to love people and use things, and not the other way around” – Drake

Drake’s very first official music album dropped in 2010, which was named as “Thank Me Later.” It hit the music charts and became worldwide famous within a matter of months. Drake became a prominent name in the music industry right away and was a rising superstar. In 2010, the same year when his first official album was released, Drake assisted Rihanna in her best song, “What’s My Name.” It was definitely loved endlessly by Rihanna and Drake’s fans. However, “Work” set the music charts on fire when Rihanna and Drake reunited once again.

“When you look ahead and darkness is all you see, faith and determination will pull you through" – Drake

Second Album - Take Care (2011)

Drake’s next album “Take Care” released in November 2011. As expected, Take Care was another major hit. It sold 2 million copies and he was the center of music industry news once again. The album was such a major hit that Drake bagged his very first Grammy for Rap Album of the Year, in 2012. According to Drake, he couldn’t believe it that he had actually won a Grammy and he couldn’t help but show it to all his friends. With his rising fame, Drake’s celebrity circle grew vast. He met and befriended stars like Russel Wilson, Neymar, Tobey Maguire, Kevin Hart, and the like.

However, after this second album, Take Care, Drake took a time span of 2 years to release his third album. In the meantime, he did a lot of singles to keep his fan following intact and he always succeeded in providing the best to his audience. A great known fact about Drake is that he never feared spending money and did so lavishly. According to reports, Drake invested in a seven bedroom, 7500 square foot home in LA, in 2012. The grotto hot tub of this home has been insanely famous. He also owns two private jets and his love for cars is way too evident. We have seen a lot of his images with Bugatti Veyron and his Rolls Royce Phantom. But the car that is linked to him the most is the Bentley Continental. His car was also featured in the music video of Worst Behaviour.

“Just as I predicted, here we go again. They always say the hottest love has the coldest end” – Drake

Third Album - Nothing Was The Same (2013)

After a time span of 2 years, Drake released his 3^rd album, “Nothing was the same” in 2013. The album set an exceptional and unbeatable record for Drake. It sold 658,000 copies within the first week. It also charted endless hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Just after a week of his third album, The Toronto Raptors, made Drake their ambassador and he has been one for them since then. No album came out in 2014 but the world went crazy for him at the ESPY’s. He hosted the ceremony and was without a doubt, extremely hilarious.

“Before you give up, think of the reason you held on so long.” – Drake

If You're Reading This it's Too Late (2015)

After another break of a year, Drake released another mixtape, “If You’re Reading this It’s too late”. It went crazily famous and sold a million copies in 6 months. This mixtape made him rake in $39.5 million in 2015. Drake landed on the list of the highest earning hip hop actor, at number 3. He was just behind Jay Z and Diddy. The biggest hit for Drake in 2015 was the Hotline Bling whose video became a meme no sooner after its release. It might not have come up to number 1 but it was unbeatable for several months. And who can forget his major hit with Rihanna, in 2016. Work was an impeccable hit and the video made their fans go bonkers. Everyone was thrilled to see Rihanna and Drake together yet again.

“Careful what you wish for, you just might get it all.” – Drake

Scorpion and The Kiki Challenge (In My Feelings)

To date, Drake’s album Scorpion is the 4^th album ever in the music history that has 7 top 10 Hot 100 Hits. Nice for what has been on the music charts, as the no. 1 song for more than 7 weeks and is constantly being the major hit that everyone wants to sing to. God’s Plan got huge adoration too and it was a huge hit before the music video was even released. The music video made it go further up the charts. God’s Plan remained on no. 1 for constant 11 weeks, earning Drake millions. Nonstop, I’m Upset, Emotionless and Don’t Matter to Me, have been on the top charts till July too. A new update might alert us that some of the songs of this album are still on the top hit charts and we won’t be surprised that over the next 8 months, Scorpion still remains loved by millions around the world.

In My Feelings has been a major hit track for Drake which also inspired the KiKi Challenge. We all have seen our Instagram feeds being over flooded with the Kiki Challenge which has electrified fans all around the world. Many people have been injured in the process too as the Kiki Challenge went wrong for them. But that did not stop the people from showering their adoration and affection for Drake through this challenge. The endless hashtags and tweets generated by in my Feelings and Kiki Challenge are mind-boggling and clearly reflect the fame that Drake has achieved over the past few years. Jumping off from your car and dancing the middle of the road is definitely not a good idea but with the rising fame of In My Feelings; people couldn’t hold themselves back.

“Kiki do you love me? Are you riding? Say you will never ever leave from beside me.”

However, we do see that Drake did not support any such challenge but it all started with Shaggy. He is an American comedian and he did some moves on the song and posted the video. The challenge got out of hand and people replaced Shaggy’s moves for a lot more dangerous ones. The number of injuries around the world is large and to gain control over this Drake craze, some cities have also made it clear that anyone attempting to do the Kiki Challenge in the middle of the road might be sent to prison. Nevertheless, fans have been showing endless love towards Drake through the Kiki Challenge, and it has made ‘In My Feelings’ stay on top of the chart for consecutive weeks.

“Never let success get to your head and never let failure get to your heart.” – Drake

Drake is a Dad!

“Life can always change, you have to adjust” – Drake

In his extremely long and successful career, we have seen Drake as the superstar that he is but we haven’t seen him as a dad. But Drake has confirmed that he is father to a son. He also said that the woman is not his lover and he only met her twice. Furthermore, Drake admitted to the fact that he hates being a single father but he has not been hiding the fact that he is a father at all. He is quoted as saying, “I wasn’t hiding my kid from the world/ I was hiding the world from my kid.” This revelation has been the biggest news that the world has ever had from Drake’s side till yet.

Well, Drake’s journey from Aubrey Graham to the superstar Drake has been huge. He started off at the age of 15 and has struggled in cameo roles and acting industry before he became the heart of the music industry. He has gathered millions and millions of fans around the world and he never fails to impress them with his new music album. His success might have taken time to reach him but he has managed to gather all the love and attention that he deserved!