Drake

Drake went from child actor to hip-hop superstar in the blink of an eye, thanks to his introspective and witty lyrics, impressive delivery, and raw talent. The Canadian-born artist began his career acting on the long-running teen drama series, "Degrassi: The Next Generation" (The N, 2001-16), as a young paraplegic who gives up his dreams of playing basketball and instead sets his sights on a music career. The music storyline slightly mirrored Drake's real-life pursuits. After releasing several mix tapes as an unsigned rapper, Drake gained strong credibility in the hip-hop community as well as a grassroots following. In 2008, he began collaborating with rapper and mogul Lil Wayne, who eventually signed him to his record label. Two years later, Drake released his highly anticipated debut album, Thank Me Later, which topped the charts, earned praise from rap royalty such as Jay-Z and Kanye West, and established his career as a promising and multi-talented artist who was ahead of his time. Further hits like "Started from the Bottom" and "Hotline Bling" kept Drake at the top of the pop charts, while his frequent beefs with other musicians kept him a popular figure in the gossip pages.

Aubrey Drake Graham was born on Oct. 24, 1986 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His father, Dennis Graham, was a musician from Memphis, TN, while his mother Sandi was a Canadian teacher. The future star began acting while attending Forest Hill Collegiate Institute in Toronto. Some of his earliest work included appearing in commercials for Sears and GMC. In 2001, Drake landed his breakout acting role on the teen drama series "Degrassi: The Next Generation." He played Jimmy Brooks, a high school basketball star who ends up in a wheelchair after a classmate shoots him in the back. Drake's character also pursues a music career during season seven of the long-running show.

Drake further enhanced his acting résumé by appearing on the drama series "Soul Food" (Showtime, 2000-04) and in the feature film "Charlie Bartlett" (2007) with Robert Downey, Jr. and Hope Davis. An avid fan of hip-hop and rock, Drake launched his music career in 2006 with the release of a mix tape - commonly used in the hip-hop community as a way to promote unsigned artists - titled Room for Improvement, which was available through his website and MySpace page. He followed up with another mix tape, Comeback Season (2007) that included the single "Replacement Girl." The accompanying video for "Replacement Girl" was heavily played on music channel BET, making Drake the first unsigned Canadian artist to earn that honor.

Drake met his mentor Lil Wayne in 2008 after the rapper received copies of the mix tapes and invited him over to Houston, TX to join him on tour. The duo began collaborating on several songs, some of which made it onto Drake's third mix tape, So Far Gone (2009). Critics and hip-hop fans considered So Far Gone - which he eventually released as an EP - as the aspiring rap star's breakthrough project. The EP spawned the hit single "Best I Ever Had," which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He signed a recording contract with Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment in 2009, and a year later, released his first full-length album, Thank Me Later. Drake's debut landed at No. 1 during its release and was since certified platinum in the U.S. and Canada. Thank Me Later featured Drake's signature rap-sung style and an onslaught of A-list guest performers, including Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, and his mentor Lil Wayne. Critics gave Drake's album positive reviews and compared it to Kanye West's 2008 album, 808s & Heartbreak. Drake's debut album earned him several Grammy Award nominations in 2011, including Best New Artist and Best Rap Album. That same year, he returned to his acting roots by taking on a role in the drama thriller "Arbitrage" (2012), starring opposite Richard Gere, Tim Roth, and Susan Sarandon. Second album Take Care confirmed Drake's position as a major figure in hip hop. The album's hit single "The Motto" popularized the slang term "YOLO," or "you only live once." The album also featured guest appearances by Rihanna, whom Drake was reportedly dating at the time, and rapper Nicki Minaj. Drake's third album, Nothing Was the Same (2013), was a critically-acclaimed chart topper featuring the hit single "Started from the Bottom." Fourth album Views (2016) was powered by the smash singles "Hotline Bling," whose innovative video became a popular starting point for social media memes and parodies, and "One Dance," a collaboration with Wizkid and Kyla. Following a series of non-LP singles and mixtapes, Drake returned to the charts in 2018 with his fifth LP Scorpion. Along with the hit singles "God's Plan" and "Nice For What," the album raised eyebrows with the track "Emotionless," in which Drake confirmed a longstanding rumor that he had fathered an illegitimate child in 2017 with former adult film actress Sophie Brussaux, a rumor rapper Pusha T had discussed in a diss track earlier in 2018.