Drake Biography

Aubrey Drake Graham was born on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Canada. His father, Dennis Graham, worked as a drummer for legendary musician, Jerry Lee Lewis, and his mother, Sandi Graham, was an English teacher and a florist.

His parents divorced when he was 5 years old, following which he was raised by his mother in Toronto. His father moved back to America and settled in Memphis, where Drake visited him occasionally.

Following his acting fame, he decided to self-release his debut mixtape, 'Room for Improvement'. He followed it with another mixtape the next year, 'Comeback Season', which contained the single 'Replacement Girl' that earned him widespread recognition as a singer for the first time. He founded October's Very Own label to release the mixtape.

In 2009, he released his third mixtape 'So Far Gone' as a free download from the website of his record label. It consisted of tracks like 'Best I Ever Had' and 'Successful', featuring Lil Wayne, Trey Songz, and Lloyd among others, and became a commercial success. He released his debut EP by the same name following the success of the mixtape, which made it to No.6 on the 'Billboard 200'.

His debut studio album, 'Thank Me Later', was released on June 15, 2010. The album, which was under production for the past two years, featured artists like Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. The single 'Find Your Love' reached top-10 on the 'Billboard Hot 100'.

On November 15, 2011, he released his second studio album 'Take Care'. The album contained hit singles like 'Make Me Proud' featuring Nicki Minaj and 'Take Care' featuring Rihanna. He received his first Grammy Award for the album.

His third album, 'Nothing Was the Same' (2013), continued his journey to fame, opening to positive reviews like its predecessors. It was his first full-length album that was released from his own record label, OVO Sound. All of the seven singles of the album became commercially successful.

He released his fourth studio album 'Views' on April 29, 2016. It contained five singles, including the Grammy winning track 'Hotline Bling', 'Pop Style' featuring Kanye West and Jay Z, and 'Too Good' featuring Rihanna. Recently, he released a playlist titled 'More Life' on March 18, 2017.

On 2018, he released an EP titled 'Scary Hours' and his fifth studio album, 'Scorpion'.

In 2019, to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of his third mixtape, 'So Far Gone', he re-released it onto streaming service.

In 2020, Drake released the commercial mixtape 'Dark Lane Demo Tapes'.

His album 'Certified Lover Boy' was scheduled to be released in January 2021, but was postponed. It was released in September the same year.

Till date, Drake has won four Grammy Awards from thirty-six nominations. His album 'Take Care' was named 'Best Rap Album' in 2013, while his song 'Hotline Bling' won two awards in 2017. He has won a total of eighty awards from three hundred and thirty nominations over the years.

Drake has been romantically linked with a number of women from the entertainment industry. However, he is most known for his on-and-off relationship with the Barbadian singer Rihanna. They first met in 2005, following which he had a crush on her. They later became close and worked together a number of times. However, they apparently broke up after Rihanna rekindled her relationship with Chris Brown. 

In June 2012, he got involved in a fight with Chris Brown, reportedly over Rihanna. Brown blamed him on social media and released a song criticizing him. Incidentally, the two later performed together in a comedic skit at the 2014 ESPY Awards, hinting at reconciliation.

In 2012, a girl named Ericka Lee revealed herself to be his ex-girlfriend and claimed that he used her voice in the song 'Marvins Room'. She filed a lawsuit seeking credits and royalties; while Drake's lawyer refuted the claims initially, they reached an out-of-court settlement in 2013.

He started dating singer, Jennifer Lopez, in late 2016. They often post pictures together on their respective social media accounts, however, it has been reported that his attempts at getting Rihanna back has affected his relationship with Lopez.

In 2017, he had a son named Adonis from a French painter and model, Sophie Brussaux. Drake was also romatically linked to Serena Williams. He began dating reality star Johanna Leia in 2021, but they broke up later that year.