Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Drake

Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Drake

Drake is a Canadian rapper, singer, and actor credited for popularizing singing and R&B sensibilities in hip hop.

He was born Aubrey Drake Graham on 24^th October 1986 in Toronto, Ontario in Canada. His 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.

Drake is among the world’s best-selling music artists, with over 170 million records sold, he has won four Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, a record 34 Billboard Music Awards, two Brit Awards, and three Juno Awards.

Below are the top 10 astonishing facts about Drake;

1. Raised by a single parent

Young Drake with his mother – Pinterest

Aubrey Drake Graham was born to Dennis Graham, is African-American and Sandra “Sandi” Graham, a Canadian of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. His parents divorced when he was five years old.

After the divorce, he and his mother remained in Toronto while his father returned to Memphis. Prior to Dennis Graham financial challenges, he would travel to Toronto and bring Drake to Memphis every summer.

The father son relationship seems to be slightly strained as Dennis Graham claimed in an interview that Drake’s assertions of him being an absent father were embellishments used to sell records, which Drake vehemently denies.

2. Drake was bullied as a child

Drake as a teen – Twitter

Drake described the school as “not by any means the easiest school to go to.” He was often bullied at school for his racial and religious background.

Drake’s father, Dennis Graham, is an African-American and a practicing Catholic, while his mother, Sandra “Sandi” Graham, is a Canadian of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. After his parents’ divorce, his mother raised him Jewish.

He dropped out of Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, a Jewish school with predominantly white children, at the age of 15 with just one credit left. However, 10 years later on October 2012 he graduated and received his high school diploma.

3. Drake started off as an actor

Drake in Degrassi – Pinterest

At the age of 15 Drake got a role on the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation. He portrayed Jimmy Brooks; a basketball star who became physically disabled after he was shot by a classmate.

He appeared in a total of 100 episodes between 2001 and 2008. For his role, he earned a 2002 Young Artist Award for best ensemble in a TV series.

Reportedly Drake disliked this character because of its apparent tokenism, his was one of the few black characters in the series. When asked about his early acting career, Drake replied, “My mother was very sick. We were very poor, like broke. The only money I had coming in was [from] Canadian TV.”

4. Drakes came from a musical background

Dennis Graham – Wikibio.us

Drake’s father, Dennis Graham, worked as a drummer, performing alongside country musician Jerry Lee Lewis, described as “rock n’ roll’s first great wild man and one of the most influential pianists of the 20th century.

His paternal uncles are guitarists and songwriters Larry Graham and Teenie Hodges. Larry Graham was a bassist for Prince. He was also a member of Sly and the Family Stone, while Hodges contributed to songs for Al Green, including “Love and Happiness”, “Here I Am (Come and Take Me)”, and “Take Me to the River”.

5. A life changing call from Lil Wayne

Drake, Lil Wayne and Birdman – Flickr

After Drake was dropped from Degrassi, he almost had to take a day job as a waiter, but fortunately he received a call from Lil Wayne thanks to his mixtapes that he sent to Young Money Entertainment.

Lil Wayne was so impressed with Drake’s single “Replacement Girl” that he immediately flew Drake out to Houston to perform on his Carter III tour.

Throughout the duration of the tour, Drake and Lil Wayne recorded multiple songs together, including “Ransom”, “Forever”, and a remix to “Brand New”.

6. Drake’s nicknames

Drake performing – Flicker

Aubrey Drake Graham over the years has gone by different nicknames with some of the most popular ones being ‘Champagne Papi’, ‘6 God’ and Drizzy

‘Champagne Papi’ is the Instagram handle of Drake. The name can be traced back to 2011-2013, when drake’s style and music became influenced by the West Indies. ‘Papi’ is in reference to the West Indies men’s flamboyant dress, often referred to as “Papis”. ‘Champagne’ in reference to Drake’s drink of choice at this period.

The rapper got the nickname ‘Drizzy’ while collaborating with his mentor Lil Wayne, who is also known as Weezy.

‘6 God’ is the title of as song by Drake also a fan’s favorite among Drake’s monikers. The ‘6’ may be short for Toronto’s area code, 416 while ‘God’ maybe a form of braggadocio that is common among rappers. Thus, referring to his as the God of Toronto.

7. Does Drake write his own lyrics?

Jamie Fox and Drake – Flickr

Although Drake has been accused of not writing his own lyrics by rappers like Pusha T and Meek Miller, he maintains that his songwriting is a collaborative process, and says he stands by the help he receives from fellow artists.

The rapper has admitted he has difficulty writing his raps down on paper and that his smartphone is a lot quicker and easier to get his thoughts down on.

Drake is also known to have crafted big hits for other artists such as “R.I.P by Rita Ora, “Fall For Your Type” by Jamie fox, “30 Hours,” “Father Stretch My Hands” and “Facts” by Kanye West.

8. Controversy surrounding Drake

Billie Eilish and Drake – Pinterest

The rapper’s name has been at the center of some controversies thought out the years, with the most recent with the most recent being allegations involving the grooming of young girls or underaged women.

On May 17, 2010, Drake performed at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colorado, where a 17-year-old fan joined him on stage. He kissed her neck and hugged her from behind, before saying that he was getting “carried away”.

In 2018, Vice published an article reporting that Drake was dating an 18-year-old model named Bella Harris.

During the 2018 Emmy Awards, 14-year-old Millie Bobby Brown said, “I love him. I met him in Australia, and he’s honestly so fantastic and a great friend and a great role model,” she said of the rapper. “We just texted the other day, and he was like ‘I miss you so much,’ and I was like ‘I miss you more!’”

On December 17th, 2019, Billie Eilish posted on her Instagram 18 tomorrow.” Drake’s Instagram account, @champagnepapi, responded with “I’ve been waiting,” with an emoji of streamers and another with a hot, sweaty face.

9. Interest in portraying Barack Obama in a biopic

President Barack Obama – Flickr

 In 2010, Drake expressed interest in playing Barack Obama in a biopic, to which Obama responded with approval in an interview in 2020.

 Though Barack Obama has been portrayed several times in television and film already — by Kingsley Ben-Adir on “The Comey Rule,” Devon Terrell in “Barry” and Parker Sawyers in “Southside With You” — a full biopic of his career in politics has yet to be made. But, with the recent release of Obama’s memoir, “A Promised Land,” there is now a solid base for a potential screenplay.

10. Tattoo of the artist on a forehead

Girl gets ‘DRAKE’ tattooed on her forehead – Pinterest

When Drake rhymed the line, “at my name on you girl so I know it’s real,” he never thought someone would take it literary – in 2011 a fan got his name tattooed across her forehead in capital letters.

Drake was not a fan of it expressed his dislike for the tattoo artist who did it saying, “The guy who tatted is a f—ing a—hole, though, I will  tell you that. And you should lose your job and never do tattoos again, and I don’t f—k with you. And if I ever see you, I’ma f—k you up.”