Barbara Gottfried - Drake: Rapper and Actor

This book is dedicated to Joe Roda, a Drake fan and the funniest person. Published in 2020 by Enslow Publishing, LLC. 101 W. 23rd Street, Suite 240, New York, NY 10011 Copyright 2020 by Enslow Publishing, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Gottfried, Barbara, author. Title: Drake: rapper and actor / Barbara Gottfried.

Description: New York: Enslow Publishing, 2020. | Series: Stars of hip-hop | Audience: 2 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018046437| ISBN 9781978509573 (library bound) | ISBN 9781978510098 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781978510111 (6 pack) Subjects: LCSH: Drake, 1986Juvenile literature. | Rap musiciansCanadaBiographyJuvenile literature. | ActorsCanadaBiographyJuvenile literature. Classification: LCC ML3930.D73 D74 2018 | DDC 782.421649092 [B] dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018046437 Printed in the United States of America To Our Readers: We have done our best to make sure all websites in this book were active and appropriate when we went to press.

However, the author and the publisher have no control over and assume no liability for the material available on those websites or on any websites they may link to. Any comments or suggestions can be sent by email to . Photo Credits: Cover, pp. Splash News/Lotus House/Newscom. CONTENTS THE BEGINNING OF A RAPPER D rake is now rich and famous. But his early life was not easy.

Aubrey Drake Graham was born on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Canada. Drakes dad is named Dennis. His mom is named Sandi. Drake is both black and Jewish. Drake was five years old when his parents got a Road. It was a poor area.

Then they moved to a richer part called Forest Hills. Drake and his mom rented space in someones home. Drake performs at the 2010 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in Louisiana. Special Times At thirteen years old, Drake had a Jewish ceremony called a . At thirty-one, Drake had another bar mitzvah party. His mom, dad, and friends came. GOING TO WORK When Drake was about fourteen, his dad was in jail.

There his dad met someone named Poverty. Drake and Poverty shared their raps. , and a beat. One of the greatest feelings in my entire life. As of tonight, I have graduated high school! Drake went to two high schools. Some students bullied him for being half Jewish and half black.

And his mother was sick. Drake wanted to make money to help out. When he was fifteen, he quit school to work. He wanted to act on TV. Drakes mother was a teacher. She did not want her son to quit school.

Drake promised his mom that he would finish high school someday. He kept his promise. At twenty-five years old, Drake earned his high school diploma. Drake and his mother attend the 2011 Juno Awards in Toronto, Canada. Drake and Shane Kippel ( right ) starred in the show Degrassi: The Next Generation . CHOOSING MUSIC At the age of fifteen, Drake began acting on a TV show called Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Drake played a character named Jimmy Brooks. He was a basketball player. On the show, Brooks was shot by another student. After the shooting, Brooks had to use a wheelchair to go places. Drake wanted to act and do music. He spent all day acting on Degrassi.

After work, Drake played music. Finally, Drake had to choose between acting and music. He chose music. Later, Drake did a music video for his song called Im Upset. It included people from his old TV show. ITS A RAP D rakes dad played the drums.

Drakes uncle Larry played another instrument called the bass. Music was in Drakes family. Drake made a with a lot of songs. It was called Room for Improvement. He also made another tape. It was called Comeback Season.

Ways to Listen and mixtapes both have songs. Albums cost money to buy. Mixtapes are usually free. People could get So Far Gone for free. Drakes third mixtape made it very big. It was called So Far Gone. It had two hit songs.

The songs were Best I Ever Had and Successful. After this mixtape, record companies wanted to sign a contract with Drake. Here, Drakes dad, Dennis Graham, joins Drake for the 2016 Summer Sixteen tour. Drake appears at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in California in 2013. WINNING AWARDS AND TOURING THE WORLD Drake signed a contract with a record company. Then he made his first album.

It was called Thank Me Later. It sold a lot of copies. In 2010, Drake also went on tour. He went to different places in the world to sing. Drake sang to students at colleges in the United States. He also had a big concert known as the OVO Fest in Canada. Drake later made a second album called Take Care.

Many people bought this album, too. Take Care even won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2012. One song on Take Care won an MTV award for Best Hip-Hop Video. Take Care is an emo album. Emo rap is a kind of music that talks about feelings. Some of the songs on Take Care tell about how Drake feels about fame and love.

He also sings about the struggle between wanting things and having them. Other songs talk about the battle between dreams and real life. In 2011, Drake signed autographs in Toronto before Take Care came out. ARTSY ALBUM COVERS Drakes next album was Nothing Was the Same. Take Care and Nothing Was the Same have art on their covers. The cover of Take Care shows Drake looking alone and thinking.

Hes thinking about how his life changed after becoming famous. The cover of Nothing Was the Same shows Drake at two different ages. It shows him as a baby and as an adult. This art stands for his past and his present. Sometimes, its the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination. KEEP IT COMING D rake had more top albums.

His next one was called Views. It has songs about the seasons in Toronto: winter, spring, summer, and fall. There was a girl named Megan Flores. She was dying of cancer and wanted to meet Drake. He granted her wish. Views helped Drake win many awards. Views helped Drake win many awards.

He won thirteen at the Billboard Music Awards. One Dance was a popular song. Spotify is a music streaming service. It is like radio on the internet. Drake wins a Top Billboard Album Award for Views in 2017. ANOTHER HIT ALBUM Drakes next album was More Life.

Kanye West worked on this album with Drake. It has many different music artists, such as Young Thug, Lil Wayne, and PartyNextDoor. The song called Glow had eighteen artists, songwriters, and producers working on it.