Aubrey Drake Graham (/ɔːˈbriː/ aw-BREE; born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper and singer. An influential figure in contemporary popular music, Drake has been credited for popularizing singing and R&B sensibilities in hip hop. Gaining recognition by starring as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–08), he pursued a recording career in 2006, releasing his debut mixtape Room for Improvement in February of that year. He followed up with the mixtapes Comeback Season (2007) and So Far Gone (2009) before signing with Young Money Entertainment.
Drake's 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. His fourth album, Views (2016), saw exploration of dancehall and stood atop the Billboard 200 for 13 non-consecutive weeks—making it the first album by a male artist to do so in over a decade—and featured the international hit singles "Hotline Bling" and "One Dance", which has been credited with popularizing Afrobeats worldwide. In 2018, Drake released the double album Scorpion, which contained the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "God's Plan", "Nice for What", and "In My Feelings". Drake's widely anticipated sixth album, Certified Lover Boy (2021), achieved nine top 10 hits on the Hot 100, setting the then-record for most US top-ten hits from one album, with its lead single "Way 2 Sexy" reaching number one. In 2022, Drake released the house-inspired album Honestly, Nevermind and the collaborative album, Her Loss, with 21 Savage. Known for frequent accompanying releases to his albums, Drake achieved critical and commercial success with the mixtapes If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015) and More Life (2017).
As an entrepreneur, Drake founded the OVO Sound record label with longtime collaborator 40 in 2012. In 2013, Drake became the "global ambassador" of the Toronto Raptors, joining their executive committee and later obtaining naming rights to their practice facility. In 2016, he began collaborating with Brent Hocking on the bourbon whiskey Virginia Black.[10] Drake heads the OVO fashion label and the Nocta collaboration with Nike, and founded the production company DreamCrew and the fragrance house Better World. In 2018, Drake was reportedly responsible for 5 percent (CAD$440 million) of Toronto's CAD$8.8 billion annual tourism income. In 2022, he became a part owner of Italian soccer club A.C. Milan.
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 RIAA. He has won five Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, a record 34 Billboard Music Awards, two Brit Awards, and three Juno Awards. Drake has achieved 12 number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 (13 counting "Sicko Mode") and holds further Hot 100 records, including the most top 10 singles (68), most charted songs (294), the most simultaneously charted songs in one week (27), the most Hot 100 debuts in one week (22), and the most continuous time on the Hot 100 (431 weeks). 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.
