![]() ![]() This included Drake's first hit single and music video, "Replacement Girl," which was featured as the New Joint of the Day on BET's popular hip-hop TV show 106 & Park. He followed that with the 2007 release of another mixtape, Comeback Season, on his own October’s Very Own imprint (later to be shortened to OVO). He released his first mixtape, Room for Improvement, in 2006, achieving modest sales of approximately 6,000 copies. While he was still appearing on Degrassi, Drake began attempting to cross over into the world of hip hop. The show quickly developed a devoted cult following - "There are very few subtle Degrassi fans," Drake has said - propelling him to celebrity status in Canada, even while he remained relatively anonymous in the United States. He starred on Degrassi for seven years (2001-2009), earning a Young Artist Award in 2002 for best ensemble in a TV series, among other honors. The show followed the dramatic lives of a group of teenagers at Degrassi High School, and Drake played the part of Jimmy Brooks, sometimes dubbed "Wheelchair Jimmy," a basketball star who becomes permanently wheelchair-bound when he is shot by a classmate.ĭrake dropped out of school to pursue his acting career, only graduating from high school in 2012. Shortly afterward, in 2001, Drake landed a role on the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation. ![]() "There was a kid in my class whose father was an agent," Drake would later explain, adding: "His dad would say, 'If there's anyone in the class that makes you laugh, have them audition for me.' After the audition, he became my agent." ![]() It was one of Drake's classmates at Forest Hill who gave him his start in the entertainment industry. He has said that "nobody understood what it was like to be Black and Jewish," but added that "being different from everyone else just made me a lot stronger." 'Degrassi: The Next Generation' "When I was younger, she gave cool gifts and she'd make latkes." Despite his Jewish upbringing, Drake says he felt isolated at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, his virtually all-white people high school. "My mom has always made Hanukkah fun," Drake recalls. He attended Jewish day school, had a Bar Mitzvah at age 13 and observed the Jewish High Holy Days with his mother. It makes me unique."ĭrake's parents divorced when he was five years old, and he was raised by his mother in Forest Hill, an affluent and predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Toronto. Speaking about his personal identity, Drake says: "At the end of the day, I consider myself a Black man because I'm more immersed in Black culture than any other. His father is an African American Catholic and his mother is a white Canadian Jew. Drake comes from an eclectic and unique ethnic and religious background. Drake says that his mother, Sandi Graham, also hails from a "very musical" family - his grandmother babysat Aretha Franklin. An uncle, Larry Graham, played bass for Sly and the Family Stone. ![]() His father, Dennis Graham, was a drummer for the legendary rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis. Early Lifeīorn Aubrey Drake Graham on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Canada, Drake grew up with music in his blood. It's no surprise that Jay Z labeled him as the Kobe Bryant of hip hop. He is rarely out of the headlines, whether it’s for dating Rihanna or Jennifer Lopez, founding his own label, OVO Sound, or fronting the NBA’s Toronto Raptors as the team's global ambassador. After leaving the show he became one of the biggest rappers on the planet after signing a deal with Lil Wayne's label Young Money Entertainment. Drake first came to prominence in the teen soap Degrassi: The Next Generation in the role of Jimmy Brooks, a wheelchair-bound character he played for seven years. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |