Drake

Canadian rapper and vocalist Drake maintained an outsized commercial footprint after emerging in 2006, both through his own blockbuster projects and through repeated guest turns on tracks by artists such as Lil Wayne, Rihanna, and A$AP Rocky. His introspective approach to rap, his emotive R&B singing, and his proven knack for crafting songs propelled every studio album—from 2011’s Take Care through the trap-leaning Scorpion in 2018—to the summit of charts around the globe, while singles including the Grammy-winning “Hotline Bling” and numerous mixtapes followed suit. As his profile expanded, he extended opportunities to others by championing the Weeknd’s initial recordings, founding the OVO Sound imprint, and showcasing rising talents on his own releases. Entering the second decade of his career, Drake’s unbroken run atop the charts, his accumulating Grammy victories and nods, and his frequent appearance in internet culture combined to rank him among the planet’s most widely followed musicians, turning the arrivals of 2022’s Honestly, Nevermind and 2023’s For All the Dogs into major cultural moments. A widely covered 2024 clash with Kendrick Lamar produced multiple diss records, among them “Push-Ups” and “Family Matters,” each of which reached the Top Ten of the Hot 100.

Before he was recognized as a musician, Toronto native Aubrey Drake Graham portrayed Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation; he first tested the waters as a rapper and pop-leaning singer in 2006 by launching a run of mixtapes. Even without a label deal, the brash yet relaxed “Replacement Girl” featuring Trey Songz earned prominent airplay in 2007 when BET’s 106 & Park named it “Joint of the Day.” Over the ensuing months he increased his visibility through countless mixtape appearances and remixes, and as label bidding rumors intensified he quickly became one of the most discussed names in music, aided by early endorsements from Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne.

“Best I Ever Had,” issued as a promotional single, advanced to number two on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart by the close of June 2009. Following an intense auction for his signature, Drake joined Universal Motown that late summer and delivered the EP So Far Gone, drawn from the well-received mixtape of the same name; the project landed at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 and captured the 2010 Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year. Thank Me Later, a full-length boasting appearances from the Kings of Leon, the-Dream, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne, arrived via Young Money in June 2010, opened at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, and earned platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. Feeling the debut had been assembled too hastily, Drake delivered its successor, Take Care, in November 2011; the title alluded to the extra care invested in its making. The album earned widespread praise, multiple Grammy Awards, and another number-one placement on the U.S. Billboard 200, confirming Drake as one of Canada’s foremost musical exports.

During a 2012 tour he disclosed that work had begun on a third studio set; Nothing Was the Same surfaced the next September, generated several singles, dominated international charts, appeared on the Polaris Music Prize shortlist, and received a Best Rap Album Grammy nomination. In the months after its launch, Drake embarked on a lengthy road trip, joined other artists on collaborations, and issued additional singles such as the Grammy-nominated “0 to 100/The Catch Up.” Cash Money ultimately chose to sell what had originally been conceived as a free mixtape; the somber If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late emerged in February 2015, debuted at number one, and sent all seventeen tracks onto the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Late in the summer of 2015, Drake posted three new recordings to his SoundCloud account; one of them, the Timmy Thomas-sampling “Hotline Bling,” became a Top Five pop hit in both Canada and the United States and evolved into a widespread cultural touchstone. Later that year he spent six days in the studio with Future, resulting in the mixtape What a Time to Be Alive, which upon its September release became Drake’s second number-one project of the year. After dropping three singles early in 2016, he unveiled his fourth album, Views, in April; it again opened at number one, centered thematically on his Toronto roots, and carried production from longtime associates Noah “40” Shebib and Boi-1da. Before year’s end he released another trio of singles, including the chart-topping “Fake Love,” which paved the way for the March 2017 playlist More Life that included guest spots from Kanye West, Quavo, Travis Scott, and Young Thug and marked his seventh consecutive number-one album.

Drake opened 2018 with the two-song EP Scary Hours; both “Diplomatic Immunity” and “God’s Plan” reached the Top Ten, the latter becoming his second solo Billboard Hot 100 leader. The set served as an introduction to the two-disc fifth album Scorpion, divided into rap and R&B halves and anchored by the hit “Nice for What.” Issued in June, the project immediately attained platinum status and set records for single-day streams. At the 61st Grammy Awards, Drake received the Best Rap Song trophy for “God’s Plan.”

In 2019 he mined earlier material for two archival projects: an official streaming edition of the So Far Gone mixtape and the Billboard 200-topping Care Package, a collection of previously leaked, shelved, or teaser tracks dating back to the Take Care period. For the 2020 Grammy ceremony he earned two nominations—one for Best Rap Song with the Rick Ross collaboration “Gold Roses” and another for Best R&B Song with the Chris Brown-assisted “No Guidance.” That same year he released the mixtape Dark Lane Demo Tapes, whose track “Toosie Slide” became his third song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and made him the first male artist to achieve the feat three times.

A series of guest appearances on tracks by DJ Khaled, Bryson Tiller, Lil Wayne, and Drakeo the Ruler preceded the late-2020 single “Laugh Now Cry Later” featuring Lil Durk, positioned as the first release from the forthcoming sixth album Certified Lover Boy. Knee surgery and recovery delayed the full project, so Drake instead issued the EP Scary Hours 2 in early 2021 while adding features to songs by Migos, Smiley, Nicki Minaj, and Trippie Redd. Sporting a contentious Damien Hirst cover, the trap-oriented Certified Lover Boy finally arrived in September and included contributions from Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Young Thug, Future, Lil Baby, and numerous others; like its five predecessors, it topped the Canadian and U.S. album charts.

Throughout 2022 Drake maintained a high profile with guest spots on Gunna and Future albums, further work with DJ Khaled, and the signing of one of the largest recording contracts in music-industry history with Universal. He did not issue music under his own name until June, when the house-influenced Honestly, Nevermind appeared; although numerous producers contributed, most notably Noah “40” Shebib, Black Coffee, and Carnage, the sole additional rapper was 21 Savage. Their partnership expanded into the full-length Her Loss, released late in 2022, which relied on trap rhythms, wistful synth textures, and a striking quantity of pointed disses and again led both the Canadian Albums and Billboard 200 charts. In April 2023 “Search & Rescue,” a track that incorporated a sample of Kim Kardashian, peaked at number two on the Hot 100. After venturing into poetry with the July publication of his first book, Titles Ruin Everything, Drake returned with his eighth album, For All the Dogs; featuring guests from J. Cole to Teezo Touchdown, it delivered a collection of aggressive yet introspective trap songs and was released on October 6, the same day he declared a year-long sabbatical from music to address health concerns.

The year 2024 brought Drake into a high-profile feud involving Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. After Cole had referred to the three as the “big three” of contemporary rap, Lamar countered on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Cole replied with “7 Minute Drill,” a track that met with negative reactions and was later removed from streaming platforms following Cole’s apology. In April, Drake countered with the diss records “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle,” the former reaching number ten on the Hot 100. Lamar answered with the scathing “Euphoria” and the Instagram track “6:16 in L.A.” Drake’s “Family Matters” surfaced in May and peaked at number six on the Hot 100, only to be met immediately by Lamar’s Alchemist-produced “Meet the Grahams” and the celebratory “Not Like Us.” Later that month Drake issued “The Heart, Pt. 6,” an explicit nod to Lamar’s continuing “The Heart” series.