Aubrey “Drake” Graham Hip-Hops Fresh Prince

Canadian born rapper Aubrey “Drake” Graham just may be Hip-Hops new breath of fresh air. Or even better, he may be Hip-Hops new messiah. Drake’s career path proves to be very interesting because it is a road less traveled. Drake was originally born in Memphis, Tennessee. His father is Dennis Graham, a drummer who worked with Jerry Lee Lewis. Some of you are thinking, who is Jerry Lee Lewis? He is an American rock and roll singer and country music singer and pianist. He was an early pioneer of Rock and Roll music and was later inducted in the rock and roll hall of fame. But this is not about Jerry Lewis this is about Drake and his premature rise to the top of hip hop royalty. At a tender age Drake’s mother and father divorced, and he was forced to move to Toronto, Canada. Having custody his mother chose to raise him in a wealthy suburb called Forest Hill. He attended Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, where he began acting. His acting career quickly took off as he landed the role of Jimmy Brooks, who was a physically disabled character on Nickelodeons hit show called Degrassi. During the seven seasons the show lasted, drake quietly honed his skills and perfected his craft. In 2006 Drake self-published his first mixtape called “Room for improvement”. Then following up the next year with a more polished mixtape called “comeback season”. So polished in fact Grammy winning superstar Lil Wayne privately flew Drake out to Orleans where Drake displayed his talents to him and thus became affiliated with his young money label. This is where Drake blossomed as not only Wayne’s protégé but into a star. In 2008 Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III” became a multi-platinum selling disc. And he stepped on stage at the MTV VMAs to perform his song “misunderstood”. Unknown to a lot of Drake fans Lil’ Wayne began to rap a verse penned by Drake. It goes as followed “”I’m losing my mind like: ‘Damn where my roof just go?’/ Top slipped off like Janet at the Super Bowl” and then as the performance came to a close he yelled “Drake, I Love you boy”. This monumental performance def put the honey in drake’s buzz. His buzz and following only grew with the more and more features he did in 2009, but what happened next was what caught the internet and world by storm. Drake capitalized on his buzz with the most critically acclaimed mixtape of the year called “So Far Gone”. A mixtape so good, it could pass as an album. The mixtape was like 808’s and heartbreaks meets Carter III, it was so well put together; it elegantly displayed Drakes skills as both a rapper and a singer. His material didn’t follow the norm of Drugs, killing, and belittling women. Instead it featured songs like “successful” and “best I ever had” which allowed people to listen to positive music. “Best I Ever Had” was a perfect showcase, with Drake singing the ballad’s hook and rapping its intermittently sweet lyrics (“Sweat pants, hair tied, chillin’ with no makeup on/ that’s when you’re the prettiest, I hope that you don’t take it wrong”). Heartbreak drake captures the hearts of millions of women, and earns the respect of even more guys. The song sky rockets to number 2 on the U.S. charts, and Drake, still without a record label or official album, became the target of a major-label bidding war (Lil Wayne’s Cash Money Records, under the Universal umbrella, ultimately won). This December Drake was nominated for two Grammy Awards (Best rap song and best rap solo). For someone his age, and without an album released is quite a milestone, almost unheard of. I am an avid follower of Drake’s career and I am anxious to see what he does next. His album “Thank Me Later” which drops in the first quarter of 2010 is the most anticipated album since Lil Wayne’s carter III. With such anticipation comes high expectation as well, but I think Drake’s music is timeless. He makes the type of music where a year or two from now, you appreciate the songs he makes that much more because they hit home and you can relate to them. Drake was also featured in GQ magazine, because he is also known for having his own unique style. He said he wants to try and kill the negative “gangster” image that hip hop portrays. Like I said before Drake is definitely a breath of fresh air, and I hope everyone hops on the Drake bandwagon sooner or later or face getting left!

By: Scott Ebo

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