

Since then, Drake's barrage of catchy, R&B-infused hip-hop songs have dominated radio airwaves. It featured the infectiously catchy single "Best I Ever Had," which peaked at No. After touring and recording with Lil Wayne, Drake released his third mixtape, So Far Gone, in February 2009. Since that phone call, Drake has enjoyed a rapid ascent to the top of the music world. But early in 2008, Drake received an unexpected call from rap star Lil Wayne, who asked Drake to board a flight to Houston that night to join his tour. I might have to work at a restaurant or something just to keep things going," he remembers. "I was coming to terms with the fact that. Without his steady source of income, and not yet making significant money as a rapper, Drake was on the verge of looking for a day job. In 2008, the producers of Degrassi overhauled the cast, eliminating Drake's character.
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Comeback Season included Drake's first hit single and music video, "Replacement Girl," which was featured as the New Joint of the Day on BET's popular hip-hop TV show 106 & Park. He followed that with the 2007 release of another mixtape, Comeback Season. He released his first mixtape, Room for Improvement, in 2006, achieving modest sales around approximately 6,000 copies. While still staring on Degrassi, Drake began attempting his transition into the world of hip-hop.

The show quickly developed a devoted cult following-"There are very few subtle Degrassi fans," Drake has said-propelling Drake to celebrity status in Canada, even while he remained relatively anonymous in the United States. The show follows the dramatic lives of a group of teenagers at Degrassi High School, and Drake played the part of Jimmy Brooks, sometimes dubbed "Wheelchair Jimmy," a basketball star who becomes permanently wheelchair bound when he is shot by a classmate.ĭrake starred on Degrassi for seven years (2001-2009), earning a 2002 Young Artist Award for best ensemble in a TV series, among other honors.

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"There was a kid in my class whose father was an agent," Drake would later explain, adding, "His dad would say, 'If there's anyone in the class that makes you laugh, have them audition for me.' After the audition he became my agent." Shortly afterward, in 2001, Drake landed a role on the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation. It was one of Drake's classmates at Forest Hill who gave him his start in the entertainment industry. 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." 'Degrassi' Star "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. "My mom has always made Hanukkah fun," Drake recalls. He had a Bar Mitzvah at age 13 and observed the Jewish High Holy Days with his mother. It makes me unique."ĭrake'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. 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. His father is an African-American Catholic and his mother is a white Canadian Jew. Drake comes from an eclectic and unique racial and religious background. 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.

His hit songs include "Every Girl," "Best I Ever Had," "Money to Blow" and "Take Care." Early Lifeĭrake, the world's only black Jewish-Canadian rap star, was born Aubrey Drake Graham on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Canada. In 2006, Drake began circulating mixtapes of his raps, and signed a record deal in 2009. He came to fame playing wheelchair-bound Jimmy Brooks in seven seasons of the popular teen soap Degrassi: The Next Generation. It makes me unique."– Drakeįamed hip-hop artist Drake was born to a mixed-race couple in Canada in 1986, and raised Jewish. " At the end of the day, I consider myself a black man because I'm more immersed in black culture than any other.
