Canadian music weekly
Drake's Uprising
I am not a Drake fan, but there is no doubt that I have heard of him before, on the much used source the internet. There is no question that Drake is one of the most famous pop, rap and hip-hop singers of the past few years. But how did Drake, in his words "start from the bottom and now is here?" In this article I will be explaining that very question.
In Drakes early career, he was not a singer but an actor. He played the role of Jimmy Brooks in the popular teen show "Degrassi: The Next Generation". While he was still starring on Degrassi, Drake began to dip his toes into the hip-hop industry, by releasing his first mixtape, "Room for Improvement", in 2006. Room for Improvement had mediocre sales considering it was his first release, reaching approximately 6,000 copies sold. A year later he followed Room for Improvement with the mixtape "Comeback Season". Comeback Season birthed Drakes first hit single and music video, "Replacement Girl", which helped Drake grow a name to fame. In 2008 Drakes character in Degrassi was eliminated, leaving him unable to act for that show anymore. At this time, Drake was not making enough money as a rapper to sustain himself, which almost pushed him to the point of getting a day job. But at this time, Drake received a call from rap star Lil Wayne, who asked him to join his tour. Knowing that Lil Wayne had a big following, Drake thought this could give him the extra push to fame he needed. And it did.
Drake recorded many songs with Lil Wayne, giving him the fame he needed, and the confidence to make another mixtape by the name of "So Far Gone" in 2009. So Far Gone released the hit single "Best I Ever Had", which gained so much popularity it hit number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Also in 2009 Drake collaborated with famed rappers Eminem and Kanye West, with the hit song "Forever", which exposed him to more people that would follow him. At this time Drake was growing more well known in the music world than he had been ever before. In 2010 Drake released his first studio album "Thank Me Later", and "Take Care" the following year which featured popular singer Rihanna. Take Care went on to win a Grammy award for best rap album. After that Drake collaborated with various artists including DJ Khaled, Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj, who all have a massive following, securing Drake many more fans. When 2013 rolled around Drake released a big one. The album "Nothing Was the Same". This was his biggest album by far at the time. Releasing 6 hit songs, including "Started From the Bottom" and "Hold on We're Going Home". It was this album that secured Drake's position as the king of rap. Over the next two years he released the very successful mixtapes "If You're Reading This, It's Too Late" and "What a Time to Be Alive" which gave him the solid ground as a rapper, and the freedom of jumping to a whole new genre..."pop". The first song of his to expand to this genre was the hit song "Hotline Bling", which was Drake's grand entrance into the world of pop, as well as the coming April's "One Dance". These two hit songs opened the flood gates, so fans of pop could poor into Drakes fan base, making him well known not only in the rap world, but also in the ever growing pop world.
Even if somebody does not follow music, they still may know who Drake is. Because if you follow sports you may know Drake as the Global Ambassador for the NBA team, the Toronto Raptors. Many people use the internet these days, and on the internet there are many trends. A growing trend today are "memes", and Drake has been a source for many internet memes making him well known through the web as well. Due to his popularity Drake is now just known generally as a celebrity through many eyes and ears. People may not know him from sports, the internet or music, but still know who he is, due to his rapidly growing fandom which spreads through many places like wild fire. Making the name Drake, a familiar sound. Drake is on the rise, and most likely will be for many years to come. So I think everyone should start getting used to the name now, because chances are they are going to be hearing it for a while.