Drake, 1986-

Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986), known mononymously as Drake, is a Canadian rapper, singer, and actor. Named one of the greatest rappers of all time by Billboard, he is credited with popularizing R&B sensibilities in hip-hop music. Drake first gained recognition by starring as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–2008), before embarking on a recording career, with the mixtapes Room for Improvement (2006), Comeback Season (2007), and So Far Gone (2009). After signing with Young Money Entertainment, Drake released his debut studio album, Thank Me Later (2010), which debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart. All of his subsequent albums—including Take Care (2011), Nothing Was the Same (2013), Scorpion (2018), Honestly, Nevermind (2022) and For All the Dogs (2023)—reached number-one in the US. Views (2016) led the Billboard 200 for 13 weeks and Certified Lover Boy (2021) set the then-record for most US top-ten songs from one album (9). Drake's collaborative albums include Her Loss (2022), with 21 Savage, and Some Sexy Songs 4 U (2025), with PartyNextDoor. His catalog of high-charting singles includes "Find Your Love", "Take Care", "Started from the Bottom", "Hold On, We're Going Home", "Hotline Bling", "One Dance", "Passionfruit", "God's Plan", "Nice for What", "In My Feelings", "Toosie Slide", "Way 2 Sexy", "Fair Trade", "Jimmy Cooks", "Rich Flex", "Slime You Out", and "First Person Shooter". As an entrepreneur, Drake founded the OVO Sound record label with longtime collaborator 40 in 2012. In 2013, he became the "global ambassador" of the Toronto Raptors, joining their executive committee and later obtaining naming rights to their practice facility OVO Athletic Centre. In 2016, he began collaborating with Brent Hocking on the bourbon whiskey Virginia Black. Drake heads the OVO fashion label and the Nocta collaboration with Nike, Inc., and founded the production company DreamCrew and the fragrance house Better World. In 2018, he was reportedly responsible for 5 percent (CAD$440 million) of Toronto's CAD$8.8 billion annual tourism income. Drake was a subject of widespread media coverage due to his lifestyle, relationships, and feuds with other rappers, including Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar, the latter of which led to several diss tracks in 2024. Among the world's best-selling music artists, with over 200 million units sold, Drake is ranked as the highest-certified digital singles artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His accolades consist of five Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, 39 Billboard Music Awards, two Brit Awards, and three Juno Awards. He has achieved 14 Billboard 200 number-one albums, a joint-record among soloists, and 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, a joint-record for a male solo artist. Drake holds further Hot 100 records, including the most top 10 singles (80), the most top 40 singles (217), the most charted songs (358) and the most consecutive weeks on the chart (431). He additionally has the most number-one singles on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Songs, and Rhythmic Airplay charts.