The incredibly successful life of Drake, who’s the king of hip-hop in 2016
Reuters
Drake has the official song of the summer for 2016, and his rise seems to have only just started.
The “Hotline Bling” and “Work” rapper hasn’t wasted any time lapping his industry counterparts, reaching the top of the mainstream music world.
Just seven years into his illustrious career, Drake has hit the kind of milestones most artists can only dream of.
And he keeps winning.
From nabbing more than 100 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and winning the biggest rap beef in recent memory to topping the summer charts with “One Dance,” “The Boy” has made his reign in hip-hop clear. He’s making Kanye West’s output look downright weak.
Accolades aside, Drake’s success has come from hard work. He may not have started all the way at the bottom, but he sure worked his way up.
Keep scrolling to see how a biracial Jewish kid from Toronto became the biggest name in music:
Travis Lyles contributed to an earlier version of this story.
Born in 1986 and given the name Aubrey Drake Graham, Drake was brought up in Toronto, Canada.
Drake’s dad moved to Memphis when Drake was very young. They had a distant relationship for a while, but have since gotten close.
Source: Complex
After growing up in a household living paycheck to paycheck, Drake began his celebrity career at 15 on the Canadian TV show “Degrassi.”
While starring in “Degrassi,” Drake took it upon himself to get his music career going. In early 2008, he got a call from rapper Lil Wayne, asking him to join his tour. He later signed to Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment label.
Source: Biography
Drake’s first big-time mixtape, “So Far Gone,” was released in 2009 and featured some of his biggest early hits, like “Best I Ever Had” and “Successful.”
Coming off of his immense success from “So Far Gone,” Drake dropped his first official album, “Thank Me Later,” in 2010.
“Thank Me Later” went platinum in the US in a matter of months. Drake immediately became a household name in the music industry and was being recognized as a rising star.
Source: Hot New Hip-Hop
That same year, Drake assisted Rihanna for her No. 1 hit “What’s My Name?” It was Drake’s only No. 1 until his future song with her, “Work.”
“Thank Me Later” set the stakes high, but Drake continued to raise the bar. After touring for most of 2010, Drake started working on his next album, “Take Care,” in 2011, and dropped it in November of that year.
“Take Care” was another hit. It sold 631,000 copies in its first week and over 2 million copies since its release. With smash hits like “Headlines” and “The Motto,” Drake took control of the airwaves once again.
Source: Billboard
The album was such a big hit that Drake won his first Grammy for Rap Album of the Year in 2012.
When he got the award in the mail, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He immediately started showing all of his friends and taking shots of it.
Naturally, Drake’s rising stock has put him in some of the same celebrity circles as people like Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson …
… Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry …
… FC Barcelona superstar Neymar …
… “Spider-Man” star Tobey Maguire …
… and LeBron James and Kevin Hart, superstars of the basketball and comedy worlds, respectively. Drake is getting into some rarefied air.
After “Take Care,” Drake took almost two years to release another album. He did, however, release many singles and features in the meantime. Also, Drake has never been afraid to spend money.
In 2012, the rapper bought a seven-bedroom, nine-bath, 7,500-square-foot home in Los Angeles. It also has an absolutely insane grotto hot tub.
He’s been known to have a private jet, or two.
He likes cars as well. Here he is with his Bugatti Veyron.
And his Rolls-Royce Phantom.
The car most associated with him, however, is his Bentley Continental, the car featured in his “Worst Behavior” music video.
When he returned, he did so in true Drake fashion — releasing “Nothing Was the Same” in September 2013. The album set a record for Drake, selling 658,000 copies in the first week and charting multiple hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
Source: Billboard
Just six days after dropping the album, the Toronto Raptors named Drake a “global ambassador.” He has been affiliated with the team ever since.
Source: ESPN
Drake didn’t release an album in 2014, but he took the world stage once again when he hosted the ESPYs. He was absolutely hilarious.
Source: ESPN
After the short break, Drake came back strong in 2015 when he released his mixtape “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.” The entire mixtape charted on the Billboard Hot 100, leaving little doubt that Drake was still at the top of the rap game. It would go on to sell 1 million copies in six months.
Source: Billboard
The success of “If You’re Reading This,” touring, and Drake’s other business ventures helped him rake in $39.5 million in 2015, making him the third-highest-earning hip-hop act, behind only Diddy and Jay Z.
Source: Forbes
Drake recently inked a deal with Apple Music to host a biweekly radio show and release songs solely on the streaming service.
Source: Billboard
Drake’s 2015 also had some conflict. After rapper Meek Mill challenged him on Twitter, saying that Drake didn’t write his own raps, Drake struck back, releasing the diss track “Charged Up” and eventually finishing the battle with the song “Back to Back.” He was the obvious winner.
Read more about the beef here.
The highlight of 2015 for Drake was “Hotline Bling,” whose video became an instant meme thanks to what some people took for awkward-dad dance moves. It may have narrowly missed No. 1, but it remains inescapable.
Luckily, his next No. 1 hit with Rihanna wasn’t far behind. “Work” has conquered the radio like no other in 2016.
And in 2016, Drake released the album fans have long been waiting for, “Views” — originally known as “Views from the 6,” a reference to Toronto. Inspired by his hometown and featuring Future, Rihanna, and more, it’s been one of the biggest records of the year so far. The question now is just how big Drake will get.
Source: Business Insider
And he took another step toward becoming hip-hop’s undisputed king at the moment by getting the “Song of the Summer” crown with “One Dance” off of “Views.” The track, featuring Wizkid and Kyla, was the No. 1 song in Billboard’s chart of the most popular hits from Memorial Day to Labor Day 2016. He got to do a little celebrating in August with Rihanna at the MTV VMAs.
Read more stories on Business Insider, Malaysian edition of the world’s fastest-growing business and technology news website.
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