Drake
Drake is the Toronto-born rapper, singer, and mogul who turned melodic introspection and beef into a decade-long cultural stranglehold on hip-hop.
Drake: The Man Who Turned Rap Into a Soap Opera
Aubrey Drake Graham, known simply as Drake, is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 170 million records sold worldwide. He rose to fame as a teenage actor on the Canadian TV drama Degrassi: The Next Generation before reinventing himself as a rapper and landing a mentorship deal with Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment around 2009.
Drake’s influence on modern hip-hop is impossible to overstate. He effectively popularized the fusion of rapping and singing, and his label OVO Sound (October’s Very Own) became a cultural brand in its own right. Albums like Take Care, Nothing Was the Same, and Certified Lover Boy all debuted at No. 1 and produced era-defining hits.
He is also the most-streamed artist on Spotify for multiple years running, a record that underscores how completely he has dominated the streaming era. His Toronto roots are central to his identity, he put the city’s “6ix” slang on the global map.
Beyond the music, Drake is a lightning rod for controversy, rivalries, and tabloid fascination. His feuds, his relationships, and his legal run-ins with other artists generate as many searches as his albums do. That combination of undeniable talent and perpetual drama is exactly why he dominates search trends year-round.