“Live without pretending, Love without depending, Listen without defending, Speak without offending.” Aubrey Graham, or better known as “Drake” started at just ten years old writing his own songs, and singing them in the shower. Little did he know it would become a lifelong career that made him millions. Then from 2001-2008 Drake played the role of a paraplegic teen on the television show Degrassi: The Next Generation. Drake had a hard life but ended up going from being nothing to one of the greatest rappers alive, so he can teach everyone that your background and upbringing doesn’t matter as long as you work forward to make your future better and never give up.

Drake lived in the ghetto most of his life with only his mother, never meeting his father. They never had much and lived paycheck to paycheck in fear that they will have to deal with the horrors and violence of the everyday ghetto. Atleast he ended up in a TV show instead of a gang. Drake’s claim to fame was playing Jimmy Brooks, the paraplegic basketball player on the hit series, Degrassi: The Next Generation. He started this role at the age of only 15 years old after acting school at the Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, although he never graduated. After Degrassi, Drake also got more roles in such TV series as “Soul Food”, “Conviction”, “Best Friends Date”, “The Borders”, “Sophie”, and “Being Erica” (Drake Biography 1). So as you can see just the small role on Degrassi led him to so many other things that is the main reason he has accomplished so much throughout the years. Thanks to his MySpace page and official website, Drake already had thousands of fans before even signing with Lil Wayne’s recording label Young Money Entertainment in 2009 (Drake Rapper 1). Drake also dated songstress Keshia, which greatly influenced his popularity and made him a notable person. Folling his breakup with her, he crafted a song called “Deceiving”, making reference to her mother Tessa. He also remixed one of her songs and added new lyrics which ended up becoming very popular. Degrassi, MySpace, and Keshia are the main reasons why Drake rose from the bottom so quickly and without this who knows where he would be today, or if he would of ever even been discovered at all.

What made Drake different than all other rappers at the time was that he gained all of his popularity as an indie singer, before ever even being signed with Weezy at Young Money. Drake was a huge influence even from the beginning. “Best I Ever Had”, the single in “So Far Gone”, having no featured guest on the hook, this track climbed to number 18 on the U.S singles chart. It also peaked at number 1 on Billboard Hot Rap Tracks and at number 2 on Billboard R&B/Hit-Hop Songs chart. In 2009, Drake won the Rookie of the Year Award and also in 2009, Drake won Track of the Year Award with his single “Every Girl”. From day one, Drake has been shooting up from the ground to the sky with his great ability to be able to switch from fast rapping, to slow singing in the blink of an eye. When Lil Wayne offered Drake to be signed with him on the famous Young Money Entertainment, Drake couldn’t refuse. This was the start of his career because at the time, Lil Wayne was “The Best Rapper Alive”, so by Lil Wayne actually approving another rapper, such as Drake, it was like his approval that Drake will be a good investment.

Drake’s current music career is going even stronger today than ever before. He is now considered “The Best Rapper Alive” by many and having even higher ratings than Lil Wayne, the previous best rapper alive. Lil Wayne has helped him out a lot and taken him under his wing so hopefully one day he will become just as big as Lil Wayne got. Drake is the only rapper in history to come up so fast and secure his spot at the top, and still continue to come out with hit tracks every other week. His gift is being able to switch over from smooth singing to fast rapping without thought. He has also worked alongside many other famous singers such as Alicia Keys, on her album “The Element of Freedom” including his vocals, which has helped out his career a lot and helped getting his face and voice out there by using already famous vocalists (Forever Drake 3).

Drake has blown the minds of many with his unbelievable success at shooting straight up to the top and staying there. Its safe to say he is considered an idol to most teens. He is a good influence on kids today and is a hero to many because he came up from having nothing and now hes one of the most popular people in the eyes of young people today. The lesson that can be learned from Drake is to do what you love, work hard at it, and never give up.