Drake

Aubrey Drake Graham ( ; born October 24, 1986), known professionally as Drake, is a Canadian rapper and singer. An influential figure in contemporary popular music, Drake has been credited for popularizing singing and R&B sensibilities in hip hop. Gaining recognition by starring as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–08), he pursued a recording career in 2006, releasing his debut mixtape Room for Improvement in February of that year. He followed up with the mixtapes Comeback Season (2007) and So Far Gone (2009) before signing with Young Money Entertainment. Drake's first three albums, Thank Me Later (2010), Take Care (2011) and Nothing Was the Same (2013), were all critical successes and propelled him to the forefront of hip hop. His fourth album, Views (2016), saw exploration of dancehall and stood atop the Billboard 200 for 13 non-consecutive weeks—making it the first album by a male artist to do so in over a decade—and featured the international hit singles "Hotline Bling" and "One Dance", which has been credited with popularizing Afrobeats worldwide. In 2018, Drake released the double album Scorpion, which contained the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "God's Plan", "Nice for What", and "In My Feelings". Drake's widely anticipated sixth album, Certified Lover Boy (2021), achieved nine top 10 hits on the Hot 100, setting the then-record for most US top-ten hits from one album, with its lead single "Way 2 Sexy" reaching number one. In 2022, Drake released the house-inspired album Honestly, Nevermind and the collaborative album, Her Loss, with 21 Savage. His eighth album For All the Dogs (2023) yielded the number-one songs "Slime You Out" and "First Person Shooter", with which he tied Michael Jackson for the most number-one singles by a male solo artist. Known for frequent accompanying releases to his albums, Drake achieved critical and commercial success with the mixtapes If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015) and More Life (2017). As an entrepreneur, Drake founded the OVO Sound record label with longtime collaborator 40 in 2012. In 2013, Drake became the "global ambassador" of the Toronto Raptors, joining their executive committee and later obtaining naming rights to their practice facility. In 2016, he began collaborating with Brent Hocking on the bourbon whiskey Virginia Black.