Drake

Aubrey Drake Graham is a Canadian rapper and singer. An influential figure in contemporary popular music, Drake has been credited for popularizing singing and R&B sensibilities in hip hop. Gaining recognition by starring as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–08), he pursued a recording career in 2006, releasing his debut mixtape Room for Improvement in February of that year. He followed up with the mixtapes Comeback Season (2007) and So Far Gone (2009) before signing with Young Money Entertainment.

Drake's first three albums, Thank Me Later (2010), Take Care (2011) and Nothing Was the Same (2013), were all critical successes and propelled him to the forefront of hip hop. His fourth album, Views (2016), saw exploration of dancehall and stood atop the Billboard 200 for 13 non-consecutive weeks—making it the first album by a male artist to do so in over a decade.