Drake biography

He released his first mixtape, Room for Improvement, in 2006, achieving modest sales around approximately 6,000 copies. He followed that with the 2007 release of another mixtape, Comeback Season. Comeback Season 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.

In 2008, the producers of Degrassi overhauled the cast,

eliminating Drake's character. Without his steady source of income, and not yet making significant money as a rapper, Drake was on the verge of looking for a day job. "I was coming to terms with the fact that ... I might have to work at a restaurant or something just to keep things going," he remembers. But early in 2008, Drake received an unexpected call from rap star Lil Wayne, who asked Drake to board a flight to Houston that night to join his tour.

Since that phone call, Drake has enjoyed a rapid ascent to the top of the music world. After touring and recording with Lil Wayne, Drake released his third mixtape, So Far Gone, in February 2009. It featured the infectiously catchy single "Best I Ever Had," which peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. Since then, Drake's barrage of catchy, R&B-infused hip-hop songs have dominated radio airwaves. His most popular singles at this time included "Every Girl," "Forever" and "Money to Blow."

By mid-2009, Drake had inked a record deal with Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment.

Chart-Topping Success

On June 15, 2010, Drake released his first full studio album, Thank Me Later, which debuted at No. 1 on both American and Canadian album charts and has since been certified platinum. Drake's new persona as the cocksure prince of hip-hop ("Last name ever, first name greatest," he brags on one track) seems to clash with his middle-class Jewish upbringing and former career as a teenage soap-opera star. Nevertheless, Drake attempts to fuse these seemingly incongruous stages of his life into one persona. On the December 2009 cover of Vibe magazine, Drake sports a diamond-crusted Chai, a hip-hop style shout out to his Jewish roots. And in his song "The Presentation," he raps, "Who's Drake? Where's Wheelchair Jimmy at?"

In November 2011, Drake released his second studio album, Take Care, which included songs like "Headlines," "Make Me Proud," "The Motto" and "Take Care." The album met with wide acclaim, winning the 2013 Grammy Award for best rap album, among several other honors.

Infamous Feud

Despite his big successes on the music charts, Drake has hit a few rough patches in his personal life. In recent years, he and fellow entertainer Chris Brown have become rivals over singer Rihanna. The pair's bitter feud erupted in violence during the summer of 2012 at a New York nightclub. Several people were injured as a result of Drake and Brown's fight.

While no one has been criminally charged for the incident, both Drake and Brown have found themselves facing legal consequences for their actions.