Drake

Biography

Drake fused rapping and singing into the default sound of 2010s pop, first as an actor on Degrassi, then through mixtapes that blurred into albums. His streaming-era dominance — measured in Hot 100 records — is rivalled only by the Beatles-era benchmarks he keeps passing.

Canadian rapper and singer who moved from acting on Degrassi to becoming one of the most commercially successful recording artists of the streaming era.

Known for

Take Care, God's Plan and Hotline Bling.

Notable works & defining projects

• Take Care
• Scorpion
• God's Plan

Notable achievements

• Holds the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles by a solo artist
• Won five Grammy Awards
• First artist to reach 100 billion streams on Spotify

Timeline

1. 2009The mixtape So Far Gone and single Best I Ever Had broke him in the US
2. 2011Take Care won critical acclaim and later his first Grammy for rap album
3. 2018Scorpion and God's Plan dominated the streaming year

Did you know?

• Before music fame he played Jimmy Brooks, a basketball player who becomes wheelchair-bound, on Degrassi: The Next Generation
• His October's Very Own (OVO) brand runs a festival and label in Toronto