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Aubrey "Drake" Graham (born October 24, 1986), who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor from Toronto, Ontario. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation, but also began to rise to stardom with the release of multiple mixtapes that began to generate hype for his future career as a rapper.
In June 2009, Drake signed a recording contract with Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment. He rose to stardom with the release of the EP So Far Gone (2009), which spawned the smash single "Best I Ever Had" and moderate hit "Successful". After the success of So Far Gone, Drake prepared to release his first studio album, Thank Me Later. The album was released on June 15, 2010, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album has since gone platinum and has spawned the successful singles "Over" and "Find Your Love". His second studio album titled Take Care was released on November 15, 2011 and topped the charts in the U.S. and Canada and produced multiple smash singles, including "Headlines", "Take Care", "Make Me Proud", and "The Motto", the latter of which is also credited for popularizing the widely used acronym YOLO. Other than his musical career, Drake is a songwriter for other artists in the industry such as Alicia Keys and Jamie Fox, and continues to pursue his acting career with his latest appearance being in the No. 1 box office hit Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012).
Drake has sold over 5 million albums worldwide, with his latest release Take Care being the most successful. Drake's achievements range from 3 Juno Awards to 3 BET Awards. Drake also claims many significant Billboard records. He currently has more number-one singles, twelve, on Billboard's Rap Songs chart than any other artist, and is, other than 50 Cent, the only artist to simultaneously occupy the chart's top three positions. He also currently has more number-one singles, ten, on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart than any other rapper, recently passing Jay-Z in August 2012. Drake's latest global tour, Club Paradise is the most successful hip-hop tour of 2012, grossing over 42 million worldwide.
Drake was tied with Rihanna for the most nominees at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. He was ranked No. 2 on MTV's Hottest MC's In The Game VII list in 2012.