Years active: 2001-present

Genres: Pop-rap

Labels: OVO Sound ・Republic ・Young Money ・Cash Money

Aubrey Drake Graham is a rap legend. Drake is not even 40 years old yet, and is truly one of the most influential and successful rappers of all time. With over 170 million records sold and counting, Drake is the highest certified digital singles artist in the United States according to the RIAA. Drake holds so many records, including being an artist that has the most charted

Drake comes from a family with musical roots, with his uncle Larry Graham, who was a member of the legendary rock & psychedelic soul band Sly & The Family Stone & his own band Graham Central Station. He also had a successful solo career in his own right.

Drake has become a legendary rapper in his own right, truly being one of the rappers who is in touch with his generation. Drake’s music resonates with music lovers because he’s truly relatable and captures the essence of our feelings & emotions towards the people we love. Drake is arguably one of the biggest & prominent superstars on the planet.

Drake is one of my favorite rappers because musically he sticks to his formula and it works. Now I’m not saying he doesn’t musically grow with each album, cause he gets it. I love everything about how he samples songs. His flow is practically flawless. The lyrical content works for me.

But it does confuse me when rap heads say that Drake needs to discuss what’s going on in the world in his world in his music, and I’m like WHAT? LMAO I’m not looking for that from Drake. Cause when Kendrick Lamar switched up his formula to a more political and “woke” stance with his 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly, people wanted him to not be on that woke shit.

Fast forward to 2021, and people are saying more rappers like Drake should be like our Kendricks and her J. Coles..and I’m going to just say that we don’t need a Drake Luther King album. At all. Drake’s fine giving us bops and sentimental records if need be. Well let’s get to the MUSIC shall we!?

The 2000s:

Albums released: N/A

EPs released: So Far Gone

Mixtapes released: Room for Improvement ・Comeback Season ・So Far Gone

Drake’s introduction to the entertainment industry began with his career as an actor. He was a main character on the classic Canadian series Degrassi: The Next Generation. Playing the role of Jimmy Brooks, we watched Drake grow up on the small screen and was one of the show’s most loved characters.

Drake eventually released his debut mixtape Room for Improvement in 2006. Citing Jay-Z & Clipse as his musical influences, the mixtape began his lifelong musical relationship with Boi-1da, who is one of his in house producers. The mixtape had features from Lupe Fiasco & a young Trey Songz.

His second mixtape Comeback Season is when Drake started his own independent label October’s Very Own (OVO) and the first single from that mixtape was Replacement Girl, featuring Trey Songz. The single made Drake become the first unsigned Canadian.rapper to have his music video featured on BET.

Drake was invited to join Lil Wayne’s The Carter III tour, and the pair recorded a few songs, which would be released on his third mixtape So Far Gone. So Far Gone was the mixtape that launched Drake’s career from an international perspective. The mixtape was eventually released as an EP, giving Drake his first top 5 single, Best I Ever Had, which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and his first number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs & rap songs charts respectively.

Drake eventually signed with Lil Wayne’s Young Money/Cash Money imprint and the rest is history.

The 2010s:

Albums released: Thank Me Later ・Take Care ・Nothing Was the Same ・Views ・Scorpion

EPs released: Scary Hours ・The Best in the World Pack ・Scary Hours 2

Mixtapes released : If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late ・What a Time to Be Alive ・More Life

If you asked me, the 2010s belong to many artists, but Drake was totally one of them. The release of his debut album Thank Me Later was very important to hip hop and is still one of my favorite albums of all time.

The album is very captivating due to its lyrical themes of fame, love, money, women, doubt, insecurity and heartbreak. Thank Me Later was a huge success on the charts, and peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 & Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts respectively. The album was also certified platinum by the RIAA.

The chokehold Drake had on the music industry is still undeniable to this day, but in the early 2010s? Drake was EVERYWHEREEEEEE. He gained his first number one hit collaborating with Rihanna (What’s My Name) and countless others. You know them when you hear them!

Drake’s follow up album Take Care is truly a masterpiece. With themes that explored fame, romance, wealth, narcissism, sex & platonic and romantic relationships, Take Care is considered to be one of Drake’s greatest albums. & honestly I couldn’t agree more.

The album has been certified platinum 6x by the RIAA & won Drake his first Grammy award for Best Rap Album.

My favorite Drake album is Nothing Was the Same. It truly was one of the best albums from 2013. Like I truly believe that every song on the album was worthy of being a hit. & that’s when Drake became one of my favorite artists.

Drake’s reign continued with projects like If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, What a Time to Be Alive, Views More Life Scary Hours & Scorpion. Not to mention his collaborations with other artists are pure HITS! Drake being featured on your record is a guaranteed bop.

The 2020s:

Albums released: Certified Lover Boy

EPs released: Scary Hours 2

Mixtapes released: Dark Lane Demo Tapes

Drake’s reign is still unstoppable in the 2020s! He recently released his sixth studio album Certified Lover Boy and broke Apple Music & Spotify records for the largest streaming debut within a single day, beating his previous album Scorpion. CLB also set another record for the most top-ten singles from one album, with Way 2 Sexy becoming his ninth number one.

Aubrey Drake Graham is one of hip hop’s most commercially successful artists of all time, and I see the longevity in his career. Drake is credited for popularizing the Toronto sound to the music industry in the United States. Drake is definitely one of the greatest to do it, and I’ll argue with anyone about that. -MJ