The incredibly successful life of Drake - the most polarizing figure in music who made a whopping $40 million last year alone
Born in 1986 by 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.
"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 it’s release. With smash hits like "Headlines" and "The Motto," Drake took control of the airwaves once again.
The album was such a big hit, 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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And "Spiderman" star Toby Maguire.
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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 7 bedroom, 9 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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His most associable car, 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 earlier this year 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 6 months.
The success of "If You're Reading This" and Drake's other business ventures propelled him to $39.5 million in 2014, placing him third in hip-hop, behind Diddy and Jay Z.
This past summer, as the hottest artist in music, Drake inked a deal with Apple Music to host a biweekly radio show, and release songs solely on the streaming service.
Drake's big year was just getting started. After rapper Meek Mill challenged him on Twitter saying Drake didn't write his own raps, Drake struck first, 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.
Since he announced the title in 2014, Drake fans have been waiting for his upcoming album "Views From The 6." Little did they know he would be releasing a collaborative mixtape with Future in September with little to no warning. The mixtape, titled "What a Time To Be Alive" immediately charted at No. 1 on Billboard.
No one really knows what's next for Drake — only that he'll continue to go at his own pace and be himself. He's been working on "Views From The 6" all year, and recently announced that he's devoting the rest of the year to the project. Until then, the now 28-year-old superstar has given his fans more than enough to chew on.
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