The accomplished musical performer has been on the scene since 2001, but where did it all begin for Drake?
Drake grew up in Toronto, Ontario. He would remain in the city for the entirety of his upbringing, only leaving periodically to spend summers with his father in Memphis, Tennessee.
Read on to learn more about Drake’s upbringing.
Not Starting From The Bottom
There are some who have doubted Drake’s “from the bottom” origins. He grew up in a fairly wealthy neighborhood in Toronto, having more advantages than some of his later peers. Although his parents divorced when he was younger, his father was an accomplished musician.
When Drake’s father was younger, he grew up in Tennessee. He performed alongside artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, as a drummer. Drake also has a famous and accomplished musician uncle, Larry Graham. You can see Drake posing with his father, Dennis, on Instagram.
Graham played bass in funk bands from the sixties way up to the 2010s. He also published several solo albums. His long-lived career had been running almost sixty years as of 2020. It was these musical influences that helped Drake himself gravitate towards a musical life.
As of 2000, Drake and his mother lived in Forest Hill, Toronto. The considerably affluent neighborhood was a step up from his birthplace, in the lower-class end of the city. However, Drake explained that they weren’t well off, renting just half the house, while another family had the other half.
A video posted on YouTube long before Drake found success shows this home. Drake himself posted a ‘Cribs’ parody, showing viewers around his home. You can watch this video below.
An article from 2013 jokes about Drake’s alleged struggle. The author explains that his problems were ‘middle-class issues”. The article explains that while some rappers started their lives truly at the bottom, Drake was nowhere near.
While the likes of Jay-Z, DMX and Biggie had to drag themselves up in life, Drake had it made from a young age. He landed a role on a television show at just fifteen, grew up in the middle-class regions of Toronto, and had a ready-made introduction to music.
Before he even touched music, Drake acted in 138 episodes of popular television show Degrassi. This then spawned a few small-time movie roles.
Finding Success After Success
Before his success and triumph on the big screen, Drake did dabble with music. He released a debut mixtape in 2006 and sold around six thousand copies. It was a relative success for somebody who was more or less completely unknown at the time.
The second mixtape followed in 2007, with a third arriving by 2009. It was this third mixtape that would lead to Drake’s true discovery. There was an alleged bidding wardrak among record labels, all trying to land the young, Canadian star.
He was signed to Young Money Entertainment in 2009, and embarked in a tour shortly after. In 2010, he released his first studio album. He found instant success in the charts. He’d released a handful of singles before the album, setting the foundation for a very lucrative career.
By 2020, Drake would have released five full studio albums, and embarked on six headlined tours. He collaborated with several artists on their own independent tours, and co-starred on several tracks and albums.
The success was visible and clear-cut. The once-humble Canadian rapper had achieved a net worth of over one hundred and fifty million dollars by 2020. He lived in a 50,000 square foot home in Toronto, worth around one hundred million dollars.
Although he hadn’t truly started from the bottom, Drake’s climb to the top was admirable.