Anthony

Reggie Anthony
2016 February 24
ENG 112 39
Instructor Intawiwat
Music Essay
Aubrey Graham
What happens when you combine an award-winning actor, singer, rapper, and entertainer into
a single human? The answer to that question is Aubrey Drake Graham. He was born on
October 24, 1986 into a Jewish-Canadian family where his mother was a white Jew and his
father was a black Catholic. It is very doubtful that anyone could have predicted this much
success from a 29 year old Canadian. Many people know of Drake because of his musical
physique; however, few know of his presence inside the acting, clothing, and sporting industry.
Arguably the most diverse musician of all time, Drake was born unique and continues to use
this to inspire his creativity. A child of one of many divorced families this artist was not a
commoner in the Canadian culture. Aubrey Graham was not born into greatness. When asked of
what he considers himself, Drake responded by saying "At the end of the day, I consider myself a
black man because I'm more immersed in black culture than any other. Being Jewish is kind of a
cool twist. It makes me unique." Nonetheless, he refused to let his talents go to waste as he began
his prosperous career as a key star in a teenage entertainment show.
Drake made his first impact in a widely known Canadian show known as Degrassi. Degrassi
is a teenage drama that follows the lives of several students at Degrassi High School. Drakes

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young career could not have been possible without the help of a classmate who introduced young
Aubrey to his father who had been an agent (Drake Biography). While on the show Drake was
able to inspire many kinds of kids from basketball players to wheel-chair impaired teens as he
starred as a basketball player whose career was cut short when he was shot and paralyzed from
the waist down. Although Aubrey Graham was still acting in the show Degrassi, he had managed
to put his foot into the music community.
Drake had already been a star on this hit show and was still able to release his first mix tape
Room for Improvement in 2006 selling over 6,000 copies (Drake Biography). With the cast of
Degrassi being remodeled in 2008, Drake had been forced to rely on a day job and a rap career to
pay for his expenses (Drake Biography). Drake's climb to the top of his game was swift, starting
with a label signing in mid-2009. He has sold a massive number of copies of albums such as
"Take Care," "Nothing Was the Same," "Thank Me Later," "So Far Gone," "Trophies" and "If
You're Reading This, It's Too Late." ("Drake, the Unlikely Rap Superstar."). This year alone
Drake has released and featured on two iconic albums in rap culture. Thanks to this success he
has inspired many multi-talented people to pursuit a secondary career. Drake was not the first to
turn a career in acting into a music career, but this was only the beginning to his versatile set of
occupations. Drake might have begun as a rap artist he had made his biggest chart success by
singing in a genre known as R&B.
If someone were to Google Drakes music they would find dozens of well known music that
have catchy melodies and eloquent lyrics. Much of his songs are R&B influenced. Songs like
Doing it Wrong and Marvins Room are examples of his music illustrating situations of
relationships. Scorpios are known to be emotion based and Drake uses this to his advantage as he
sings these lyrics in a way that makes one feel emotional. As a result of Drake having

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contributions to both rap and R&B, he has obtained fans of one or both genres. To add to his list
of inspirations, Drake added future singers to that list. After exploding on the musical scene
Drake began expanding from an artist into a brand. A brand of which that has shown up on more
than just sheets of paper but now forms of clothing as well.
Drake has multiple iconic album covers and lyrics that many people do not mind to use as a
fashion statement. The most iconic of these logos are the O.V.O Owl that appears on black shirts
as a gold owl. O.V.O. stands for Octobers Very Own which stems from the month he was born
in. The brand of Drake now has its own color (Black and Gold). The creativity of many fans has
generated multiple logos of this owl, Drake featured with the rapper Future, and more. The brand
of Drake continued to explode in America and thanks to this success his brand grew in Canada in
a whole new industry.
A successful actor and rapper now have teamed up with the only NBA team in Canada to
become a Toronto Raptor executive. Following this combination of franchise and celebrity, the
Toronto Raptors remodeled their image even to the point of naming an alternate jersey after
Drake. After this dream became true for the Canadian Icon, he had developed into a complete
inspiration for all kinds of people in sports, acting, and even design.
Many people know of Drake because of his musical physique, however few know of his
presence inside the acting, clothing, and sporting industry. Aubrey Graham is a testament of the
North American dream as he got shot off a hit show, worked a day job, and even was a member
of a small Mixed-Jewish Canadian community to later become a top 10 candidate for most
successful person in 2015 according to Watchmojo.com a highly subscribed YouTube account.
One may question Drakes overall impact within the North American culture. Nevertheless, not
many people are acting, singing, rapping, and designing artists.

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Works Cited
"Drake Biography." Biography.com. A&E Television Networks, 2016. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.biography.com/people/drake-596834>.
"Drake, the Unlikely Rap Superstar." Michigan Chronicle (2015): n. pag. Proquest Central. Web.
28 Jan. 2016.
<http://search.proquest.com/pqcentral/docview/1728674694/53619B6AB1D8406APQ/6?
accountid=10008>.
"Top 10 Successful Celebs of 2015." WatchMojo.com. Mojo Supreme 2014, 2016. Web. 27 Jan.
2016. <http://watchmojo.com/video/id/14883/>.