Biographie

Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986), known mononymously as Drake, is a Canadian rapper, singer and actor. An influential figure in contemporary popular music, he has been credited with popularizing R&B sensibilities in hip hop artists. Gaining recognition by starring as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–2008), Drake began his recording career in 2006 with the release of his debut mixtape, Room for Improvement (2006). He followed up with the mixtapes Comeback Season (2007) and So Far Gone (2009) before signing with Young Money Entertainment.[4]

Drake's first three albums, Thank Me Later (2010), Take Care (2011) and Nothing Was the Same (2013) were each met with commercial success, debuting atop the Billboard 200 and spawning the Billboard Hot 100-top ten singles "Find Your Love", "Take Care" (featuring Rihanna), "Started from the Bottom", and "Hold On, We're Going Home" (featuring Majid Jordan).[5] Drake's fourth album Views (2016) peaked the Billboard 200 for 13 non-consecutive weeks and spawned the singles "Hotline Bling" and his first US number one as a lead artist, "One Dance" (featuring WizKid and Kyla); the latter was credited for popularizing dancehall and Afrobeats in contemporary pop music.[6][7] Views was followed by the double album Scorpion (2018), which spawned three US number-one singles: "God's Plan", "Nice for What", and "In My Feelings". His sixth album, Certified Lover Boy (2021), set the then-record (9) for most Hot 100 top-ten hits from one album; its lead single, "Way 2 Sexy" (featuring Future and Young Thug) peaked atop the chart. In 2022, he released the house-inspired album Honestly, Nevermind and his collaborative album with 21 Savage, Her Loss. The former album, as well as his eighth, For All the Dogs (2023), yielded the number-one singles "Jimmy Cooks" (featuring 21 Savage), "Slime You Out" (featuring SZA), and "First Person Shooter" (featuring J. Cole).

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.[8] 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.[9]

Among the world's best-selling music artists, with over 170 million records sold, Drake is ranked as the highest-certified digital singles artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[10] He has won five Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, 39 Billboard Music Awards, two Brit Awards, and three Juno Awards. He has achieved 13 number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, a joint-record for the most number-one singles by a male solo artist (tied with Michael Jackson).[11] Drake holds further Hot 100 records, including the most top 10 singles (77), and the most charted songs (330).[12] From 2018 to 2023, Drake held the record for the most simultaneously charted songs in one week (27), the most Hot 100 debuts in one week (22);[13] and held the most continuous time on the Hot 100 (431 weeks).[a] 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.