Hailing from Canada, Drake, real name Aubrey Drake Graham, initially became recognised for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi:The Next Generation. Before signing to Young Money Entertainment in 2009, he left acting behind and began pursuing a career within the music industry; releasing several hip-hop mixtapes that showcased his talent for rapping.
2010 was the year Drake was to complete his debut studio album, Thank Me Later, which took the US Billboard 200 by storm by charting at number one. The following year, the rapper released his most successful album to date, Take Care. Not only did the album top the US and Canadian charts but it spawned smash-hit singles Make Me Proud, The Motto and Take Care - a collaboration with Rihanna.
Drake has enjoyed a multitude of other collaborations over the years, with him more recently featuring on A$AP Rocky’s F**in Problems in late 2012. In the same year, the rapper also lent his vocals to Kendrick Lamar’s Poetic Justice and Love Me by Lil’ Wayne. All three tracks were well received by critics and went on to enjoy success in the US music charts.
Drake’s third studio album, released in 2013, is titled Nothing Was The Same and boasts single Started From The Bottom, which is produced by Mike Zombie. The single reached number six on the US Billboard Top 100 and 25 on the UK Singles Chart - only the third track by Drake to enter the UK Top 40. To this very day, the rapper has more number one singles – 10 - on US Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart than any other artist and is one of only two artists to simultaneously hold three positions on the Chart, the other being 50 Cent.
In February 2015 Drake released If You're Reading This It's Too Late through the iTunes store with no prior announcement but to much critical acclaim.