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One of the greatest artists of this generation turned 37 today. Click inside to check out some of our favorite pictures of The 6 God over the years.
Aubrey ‘Drake’ Graham was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At the age of five, Drake’s mother Sandra (who worked as an English teacher and florist) and his father Dennis (who was a drummer) divorced. Drake and his mother remained in Toronto while his father returned to Memphis. As a youth, Drake was a very promising hockey player. He was forced to stop playing due to a neck injury. At just 10 years old, Drake showed an affinity for the arts when he appeared in a comedic sketch which aired during the 1997 NHL Awards. This eventually led to Drake dropping out of school at 15 to pursue his acting career. He portrayed Jimmy Brooks on the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation. Drake supported his mother and himself with the money he made from the show. Even after making a name for himself as an actor, Drake was still really drawn to music. He would oftentimes show up to set late after spending nights recording music.
Drake released his debut mixtape Room for Improvement in 2006 and his second mixtape Comeback Season in 2007. The success of some of the tracks on Comeback Season caught the attention of Young Money’s founder, Lil Wayne. Tunechi invited Drake to join his Carter III tour. While on the road, the two recorded multiple songs together. In 2009, some of the tracks they recorded ended up on Drake’s third and most critically acclaimed mixtape So Far Gone. It debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and spawned a bidding war from various labels. Drake ended up choosing to sign with Young Money Entertainment and the rest was basically history. Thank Me Later, Drake’s debut album, was released on June 15, 2010. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with sales of over 447,000 copies in its first week.
Over the course of his illustrious career, Champagne Papi has been nothing short of a legendary hit maker. The five-time Grammy-Award winner has released eight studio albums, one collaborative album, three compilation albums, four extended plays and seven mixtapes. With over 170 million records sold worldwide, he is among the best-selling music artists in history. Last week, ‘First Person Shooter’ (feat J. Cole) reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It became the 13th Drake hit to reach number one status, tying himself with Michael Jackson. The only artists he’s trailing are The Beatles (who have 20), Mariah Carey (who has 19), Rihanna (who has 14)The Boy extended his mark for the most number one debuts with nine, the most top five hits with 41 and the most top tens with 77.
Alongside his longtime collaborator 40, Drake founded the OVO Sound record label in 2012. The following year, he became the “global ambassador” of the Toronto Raptors, joining their executive committee. Drake began collaborating with Brent Hocking on the bourbon whiskey Virginia Black in 2016. In addition to these things, he also heads the OVO fashion label and the Nocta collaboration with Nike. Graham also founded the production company DreamCrew and the fragrance house Better World. Last year, he obtained partial ownership of Italian soccer club A.C. Milan. It’s very safe to say that whether it’s within music or outside of it, Drake is a huge part of the culture and continues to show that year after year. We can’t wait to see what else he has up his sleeve for the next year. HAPPY 37TH BIRTHDAY DRIZZY!
