The incredibly successful life of Drake - music's most polarizing icon who made $40 million in a year
Born in 1986 and given the name Aubrey Drake Graham, Drake was brought up in Toronto, Canada.
Drake's dad moved to Memphis when Drake was very young. They had a distant relationship for a while but have since gotten close.
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After growing up in a household living paycheck to paycheck, Drake began his celebrity career at age 15 on the Canadian TV show "Degrassi."
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While starring in "Degrassi," Drake took it upon himself to get his music career going. In early 2008, he got a call from rapper Lil Wayne asking him to join his tour. He later signed to Wayne's Young Money Entertainment label.
Drake's first big-time mixtape, titled "So Far Gone," was released in 2009 and featured some of his biggest early hits like "Best I've Ever Had" and "Successful."
Coming off of his immense success from "So Far Gone," Drake dropped his first official album in 2010, titled "Thank Me Later."
"Thank Me Later" went platinum in the US in a matter of months. Drake immediately became a household name in the music industry and was being recognized as a rising star.
The same year, Drake assisted Rihanna for her No. 1 hit "What's My Name?" It was Drake's only No. 1 until his future song with her "Work."
"Thank Me later" set the stakes high, but Drake continued to raise the bar. After touring for most of 2010, Drake started working on his next album, "Take Care," in 2011 — and dropped it in November that year.
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"Take Care" was another hit. It sold 631,000 copies in its first week and over 2 million copies since its release. With smash hits like "Headlines" and "The Motto," Drake took control of the airwaves once again.
The album was such a big hit that Drake won his very first Grammy for rap album of the year in 2012.
When he got the award in the mail, he couldn't believe his eyes. He immediately started showing all of his friends and taking shots out of it.
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Naturally, Drake's rising stock has put him in some of the same celebrity circles as people like Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
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Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry.
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FC Barcelona superstar Neymar.
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"Spiderman" star Toby Maguire.
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And LeBron James and Kevin Hart, superstars of the basketball and comedy worlds, respectively. Drake is getting into some rarefied air.
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After "Take Care," Drake took almost two years to release another album. He did however release many singles and features in the meantime. Also, Drake has never been afraid to spend money.
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In 2012, the rapper bought a seven-bedroom, nine-bath, 7,500-square-foot home in Los Angeles. It also has an absolutely insane grotto hot tub.
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He's been known to have a private jet, or two.
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He likes cars as well. Here he is with his Bugatti Veyron.
And his Rolls Royce Phantom.
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The car most associated with him, however, is his Bentley Continental — the car featured in his "Worst Behavior" music video.
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When he returned, he returned in true Drake fashion — releasing "Nothing Was the Same" in September 2013. The album set a record for Drake, selling 658,000 in the first week and charting multiple hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Just six days after dropping the album, the Toronto Raptors named Drake "Global Ambassador." He has been affiliated with the team ever since.
Drake didn't release an album in 2014, but he took the world stage once again when he hosted the ESPYs. He was absolutely hilarious.
After the short break, Drake came back strong in 2015 when he released his mixtape "If You're Reading This It's Too Late." Just when the world thought Drake had reached his peak, he proved them wrong. The entire mixtape charted on the Billboard Hot 100, leaving little doubt that Drake was still at the top of the rap game. It would go on to sell 1 million copies in six months.
The success of "If You're Reading This," touring, and Drake's other business ventures helped him rake in $39.5 million in 2015, making him the third-highest-earning hip-hop act, behind only Diddy and Jay Z.
Source: Forbes
Drake recently inked a deal with Apple Music to host a biweekly radio show and release songs solely on the streaming service.
Drake's 2015 also had some conflict. After rapper Meek Mill challenged him on Twitter, saying Drake didn't write his own raps, Drake struck back, releasing the diss track "Charged Up" and eventually finishing the battle with the song "Back to Back." He was the obvious winner.
Read more about the beef here.
The highlight of 2015 for Drake was "Hotline Bling," whose video became an instant meme thanks to what some people took for awkward-dad dance moves. It may have narrowly missed No. 1, but it remains inescapable.
Luckily, his next No. 1 hit with Rihanna wasn't far behind. "Work" has conquered the radio like no other in 2016.
Finally in 2016, Drake has released the album fans have long been waiting for, "Views" (originally known as "Views from the 6," a reference to Toronto), via iTunes and Apple Music. Inspired by his hometown and featuring Future, Rihanna, and more, it's already sure to be one of the biggest records of the year. The question now is just how big Drake will get.
Source: Business Insider
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