93 Fun Facts About Drake

Drake records under his middle name; what is his first name?

Aubrey Drake Graham was credited by his first and last names as a Degrassi actor, then put his middle name on his music.

Which rapper signed Drake to his own label in 2009?

Lil Wayne heard Drake's music through Jas Prince, flew him to Houston in 2008 to join his tour, and signed him the next year after a label bidding war.

Before rapping, Drake played which basketball star on the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation?

Jimmy Brooks, a basketball star left in a wheelchair after a classmate shoots him, was Drake's first big role; he landed it at 15 through a schoolmate's father, an acting agent.

Which of these was Drake's debut mixtape, released in 2006?

Room for Improvement came out while Drake was still acting on Degrassi; put on sale rather than given away, it moved only about 6,000 copies.

Which was Drake's first studio album, a US number-one debut?

Thank Me Later sold 447,000 copies in its first week, yet Drake later said he had rushed it and named the follow-up 'Take Care' because that time he took his time.

Along with Drake and producer 40, who is recognized as a co-founder of the OVO Sound record label?

Oliver El-Khatib is Drake's longtime manager, and the two co-hosted OVO Sound Radio, the show the label used to premiere its new songs.

Which Drake album, home to 'One Dance' and 'Hotline Bling', spent 13 weeks atop the US album chart?

Views led the US album chart for 13 nonconsecutive weeks in 2016; 'Hotline Bling', a hit since the previous summer, was tacked on as a bonus track.

Which title did the NBA's Toronto Raptors give Drake in 2013?

Global Ambassador came with a seat on the Raptors' executive committee, and the team later put his label's name on its practice facility, the OVO Athletic Centre.

Drake's 2012 'HYFR' video restages which ceremony from his own childhood?

A bar mitzvah: raised Jewish by his mother, Sandi, Drake had his at 13, and the video throws him a far more lavish 're-bar mitzvah' in a real synagogue, with rap stars as guests.

Drake's father, Dennis Graham, played drums for which rock and roll pioneer?

Jerry Lee Lewis lost his drummer one night when the man fled after a robbery; by Dennis Graham's account he filled in, aged about 18, and kept playing with Lewis whenever their paths crossed.

Take Care won Drake his first Grammy Award, in which category?

Best Rap Album went to Take Care at the 2013 Grammys; two years earlier Drake had been up for Best New Artist and lost to jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding.

Drake's double album Scorpion pairs a rap side with a side of which genre?

R&B fills the second disc of the 25-track album, which closes with 'March 14', the song where Drake confirms he has become a father.

Which Drake album was first to put nine songs in the Hot 100's top ten at once?

Certified Lover Boy filled nine of the ten places in September 2021; it had been due that January, but Drake held it back while he recovered from leg surgery.

Drake's surprise 2022 album Honestly, Nevermind swerved from rap into which dance genre?

House rhythms run through the album, yet its number-one single was the closing track, a rap duet with the record's only guest.

Which singer joins Drake on 'Slime You Out', his 2023 number-one single?

SZA and Drake took the duet straight to number one; three years earlier he had rapped that the two dated in 2008, and she confirmed it while correcting the year to 2009.

Which 2009 Drake mixtape was repackaged as an EP after he signed with Young Money?

So Far Gone was a free download from Drake's blog, yet its single 'Best I Ever Had' climbed to number two on the Hot 100 and set off a label bidding war.

Which Toronto singer is featured on the 'Take Care' track 'Crew Love'?

The Weeknd first meant 'Crew Love' for his own debut mixtape, House of Balloons; it moved to 'Take Care' after Drake's blog had helped spread his early songs.

Teenie Hodges, a guitarist from Drake's father's family, co-wrote 'Take Me to the River' with which soul singer?

Al Green wrote and first recorded the song with Hodges in 1974; Talking Heads' cover then carried it into the pop top 30 later that decade.

Alongside Nigerian star Wizkid, which British singer is featured on 'One Dance'?

Kyla's credit comes from the sample of her 2008 UK funky track 'Do You Mind', and the song went on to become the first to pass one billion Spotify streams.

What is the name of Drake's son?

Adonis, Drake's son with artist Sophie Brussaux, was born in October 2017; Drake kept him out of public view at first, then confirmed him on a 2018 album.

Which song from Drake's mixtape 'Comeback Season' became his first video aired on BET?

Replacement Girl, with Trey Songz, ran as BET's 'New Joint of the Day' in 2007 and caught the ear of Jas Prince, the Houston music scion who began passing Drake's songs around.

Which 2015 joint mixtape by Drake and Future spawned the single 'Jumpman'?

What a Time to Be Alive took about six days of sessions in Atlanta, by Drake's account, and 'Jumpman' was the last song the pair made for it.

Which 2020 mixtape of leaked tracks was Drake's warm-up to Certified Lover Boy?

Dark Lane Demo Tapes mixed SoundCloud songs and leaks with a few new tracks; it entered the US album chart at number two, the first Drake project in a decade to miss the top spot.

In October 2012, a 25-year-old Drake announced he had finally earned what?

His high school diploma came about a decade late: Drake had quit school as a teenager because his classes clashed with his acting work on Degrassi.

In which city does Drake hand out about a million dollars in the 'God's Plan' video?

Karena Evans shot the 'God's Plan' video in Miami in February 2018, handing its roughly $1 million budget to locals on camera, including a $50,000 scholarship at the University of Miami.

Drake's clothing and music brand OVO is short for what?

October's Very Own was the name on Drake's blog and his 2007 mixtape before it became a clothing line and a record label; October is his birth month.

Which 2011 Drake song made 'YOLO' (You Only Live Once) a catchphrase across America?

'The Motto', a bonus track on 'Take Care', spread 'YOLO' so widely that Drake named his Hidden Hills compound the YOLO Estate.

Which song from If You're Reading This It's Too Late has a video that turns Drake into Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama?

Energy became a single five months after the mixtape appeared without warning; its video also puts Drake's face on Floyd Mayweather, Justin Bieber and former Toronto mayor Rob Ford.

Whose chart-topping 2016 single 'Work' featured Drake?

Rihanna and Drake's 'Work' led the Hot 100 for nine weeks, and that August he was the one who handed her MTV's Video Vanguard Award on stage.

Directed by Karena Evans in 2018, which Drake video reunites him with the cast of Degrassi: The Next Generation?

I'm Upset stages a school reunion with more than a dozen of Drake's old castmates, plus Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes as Jay and Silent Bob, who had once guest-starred on the show.

Drake's song 'Started From The Bottom' is from which album?

Nothing Was the Same led with this single; Drake said he wrote it for people who assumed he had bought his way to the top, when getting there was 'the furthest thing from easy'.

Drake's Bridle Path mansion, shown off in the 'Toosie Slide' video, goes by what nickname?

The Embassy was built from the ground up, with an NBA-size basketball court under a pyramid skylight; Drake said he wanted a house that would stand firm for 100 years.

Which Drake album includes 'In My Feelings', the song behind the viral Kiki dance challenge?

Scorpion had been out for days when fans began filming themselves dancing to 'In My Feelings' beside moving cars; only then was it sent to radio as a single, and it spent ten weeks at number one.

Drake's track 'Hold On, We're Going Home' features which Canadian R&B duo?

Majid Jordan co-wrote and co-produced the song as well as singing on it; Drake called it 'not a rap record' but his and 40's humble attempt at the kind of pop Quincy Jones produced.

Which 2019 compilation gathered Drake's 2010-2016 songs that had never been for sale?

Care Package rounded up loose songs Drake had put out online between albums, such as 'Dreams Money Can Buy' and 'Girls Love Beyoncé'; years-old giveaways, they still debuted at number one.

Which Kanye West-produced single was the biggest Hot 100 hit from 'Thank Me Later'?

Find Your Love reached number five, the album's best showing; Drake called it 'an extremely vulnerable song' and 'a huge risk', one that almost felt like it should be performed by a woman.

Drake's uncle Larry Graham, of Sly and the Family Stone, pioneered which playing technique?

Slap bass, which Larry Graham calls 'thumpin' and pluckin'', began as his way of supplying the beat after his mother's band stopped using a drummer.

Which 2011 single from 'Take Care' has a video of Drake rapping on the field at Toronto's Rogers Centre?

Headlines premiered on Drake's blog in July 2011 and opened at number 13; in the video the stadium scoreboard lights up with the title of his coming album.

Drake was named Artist of the Decade for the 2010s by which music publication?

Billboard handed Drake the title at its 2021 awards show; his three-year-old son joined him on stage, burst into tears as the speech ended, and had the award dedicated to him.

Before fame, Drake formed a short-lived R&B duo, The Renaissance, with which future Grammy-winning singer?

Melanie Fiona and Drake never released an album as a duo; she went on to win two Grammys for 'Fool for You', her duet with CeeLo Green.

Which Drake producer was a child actor who appeared in the 1999 film 'The Virgin Suicides'?

Noah '40' Shebib grew up in film: his father is director Donald Shebib, and his mother, actress Tedde Moore, made 'A Christmas Story' while pregnant with him.

Who painted the cover of Drake's 2013 album 'Nothing Was the Same'?

Kadir Nelson painted two covers in oil against a cloudy blue sky: one shows Drake as a boy with an afro comb in his hair, the other as a man in a gold chain.

Which 2017 Drake single was the follow-up to 'Fake Love' on More Life?

Passionfruit followed 'Fake Love' as the second single in March 2017; Zoë Kravitz sings in the background, and acts as different as Paramore and Yaeji went on to cover it.

Which song was the lead single from Drake's album 'Thank Me Later'?

Over arrived in March 2010 and earned a Grammy nomination; Drake had first planned to lead with another track, 'Shut It Down', before switching.

What is the title of the track where Drake raps 'Last name ever, first name greatest'?

Forever teamed Drake with three of rap's biggest names for the soundtrack of 'More Than a Game', the documentary about LeBron James's high school team.

Drake's 'Nice for What' is built on a sample of 'Ex-Factor' by which singer?

Lauryn Hill's 'Ex-Factor' is the sample, and the first the public heard of the song was a snippet her son Joshua posted on Snapchat three weeks before release.

Which British pop star sold Drake a Beverly Crest mansion in 2022?

Robbie Williams sold Drake the 20-acre Beverly Crest estate in 2022 for more than $70 million; months later Drake sold his longtime Hidden Hills base, the YOLO Estate.

Drake helped bring which cancelled British crime drama back to life on Netflix in 2019?

Top Boy had been dropped by Channel 4 in 2014; Drake's interest led Netflix to revive it with the original stars, and he came aboard as an executive producer.

Drake's father Dennis Graham is a drummer originally from which US city?

Memphis is where Dennis Graham returned after the divorce, when Drake was five, and Drake spent his childhood summers there with him.

In 2000, Drake and his mother moved to which affluent Toronto neighbourhood?

Forest Hill was affluent, but Drake has said they had only the bottom half of a house there: he slept in the basement, his mother on the first floor, and it was 'what we could afford'.

Drake's debut mixtape sold about 6,000 copies and earned him roughly how much in royalties?

$304, plus four cents, was Drake's whole royalty payment for the tape; he later called it 'pretty straightforward, radio friendly' with 'not much content to it'.

Which knee ligament did Drake tear after falling on stage in Camden, New Jersey, in 2009?

Drake tore his ACL falling on stage during 'Best I Ever Had' at a Young Money America's Most Wanted Tour stop in Camden in July 2009, weeks after signing his record deal.

A free 2010 Drake concert at which New York spot was called off amid dangerous overcrowding?

South Street Seaport's pier was so overcrowded on the day his first album came out that the free show, a double bill with Hanson, was called off before Drake could perform.

Drake voiced the character Ethan in which animated sequel?

Ice Age: Continental Drift was Drake's return to acting after years of music: he voiced Ethan, the teenage mammoth Peaches falls for, with labelmate Nicki Minaj also in the cast.

Which 2012 Drake tour was hip-hop's top-grossing tour that year, at over $42 million?

Club Paradise had Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky as opening acts; a year later Lamar's verse on 'Control' named Drake among the rappers he meant to outdo, the first spark of their rivalry.

Drake popularized which nickname for Toronto in 2015?

The Six, also written 'the 6', is a name Drake credits to Toronto rapper Jimmy Prime; he has tied it to the 416 and 647 area codes and the six boroughs merged into the city.

'Hotline Bling' is built on a sample of a 1972 song by which soul singer?

Timmy Thomas wrote 'Why Can't We Live Together' as a plea against the Vietnam War; its spare organ and rhythm-machine beat became the bed for a song about late-night phone calls.

Drake's 'One Dance' led the UK chart for 15 straight weeks, one short of which Canadian's record?

Bryan Adams spent 16 straight weeks at the top in 1991. 'One Dance' had no music video, so British fans had to stream it, which helped keep it at number one.

Drake sits atop which landmark on the cover of Views?

Drake is perched on the CN Tower on the Views cover; his figure was so oversized that the tower's own Twitter account confirmed the image was photoshopped.

Which late superstar makes a posthumous appearance on Drake's 2018 track 'Don't Matter to Me'?

Michael Jackson's vocals come from an unreleased session with Paul Anka decades earlier; a second late singer, Static Major, also appears on the same album.

Which English artist designed the Certified Lover Boy cover of 12 pregnant-woman emojis?

Damien Hirst's emoji cover fronted the biggest opening week of 2021 to that point: 613,000 units, about twice what Kanye West's 'Donda' had managed a week earlier.

Drake's 2021 number one with Future and Young Thug samples which Right Said Fred hit?

'Way 2 Sexy' turns Right Said Fred's 1991 hit 'I'm Too Sexy' into a hook sung by Future; the same tune had already taken Taylor Swift to number one in 2017.

Drake's album Honestly, Nevermind is dedicated to which fashion designer, who died in 2021?

Honestly, Nevermind is dedicated to Virgil Abloh, the Off-White founder and Louis Vuitton menswear designer who died in November 2021; it was announced on Instagram hours before its midnight release.

Drake's 2022 collaborative album Her Loss was made with which rapper?

21 Savage and Drake revealed Her Loss with a title card dropped into the music video for their previous duet, two weeks before the album came out.

Condé Nast sued Drake over a fake cover of which magazine, used to promote Her Loss?

Vogue's publisher sued over the fake cover and the rappers settled; the same spoof rollout faked a Tiny Desk Concert and a Howard Stern interview.

Who drew the cover art for Drake's album For All the Dogs?

His son, then five, drew the red-eyed dog, and Drake credited him by first name when he posted the cover online.

Which rapper joins Drake on the chart-topping 'First Person Shooter'?

J. Cole used his verse to rank himself, Drake and Kendrick Lamar as rap's 'big three', a boast Lamar answered the next spring, reopening his feud with Drake.

What is Drake's 2023 poetry book called?

Titles Ruin Everything, written with Kenza Samir, was promoted with front-page newspaper ads whose QR code led to a note revealing his next album, For All the Dogs.

Drake's 'Search & Rescue' drew attention for sampling a TV quote from which celebrity?

The clip is Kim Kardashian telling her mother she 'didn't come this far just to come this far', from a 2021 Keeping Up with the Kardashians episode about her divorce from Kanye West.

Kendrick Lamar's 2024 verse on which Future and Metro Boomin song reignited his feud with Drake?

Like That had Lamar scoffing at talk of a 'big three' in rap; the first rapper to answer him apologized two days later and pulled his diss track from streaming.

Drake pulled 'Taylor Made Freestyle' after whose estate objected to AI-generated vocals?

Tupac Shakur's estate sent a cease-and-desist over the AI-generated Tupac verse in April 2024; the track also used AI Snoop Dogg vocals and name-checked Taylor Swift twice.

Kendrick Lamar answered Drake's 'Family Matters' within the hour with which track?

Meet the Grahams is written as a letter, each verse addressed to a different member of Drake's family; 'Not Like Us' followed a day later.

Drake's 'The Heart Part 6' samples 'Prove It' by which soul legend?

Aretha Franklin's 'Prove It' is the sample; the title borrows Kendrick Lamar's long-running 'The Heart' series, and weeks later Drake deleted the Instagram post promoting the track.

Kendrick Lamar performed 'Not Like Us', his Drake diss, at which 2025 event?

The Super Bowl halftime show came a week after the song won five Grammys; Lamar teased it first with 'you know they love to sue', a nod to Drake's lawsuit over the track.

Pusha T revealed Drake's secret fatherhood on which 2018 diss track?

'The Story of Adidon' answered Drake's 'Duppy Freestyle' within four days in May 2018 and revealed that he had a child; Drake never replied and later conceded he had lost the feud.

Which writer did a rival rapper name in 2015 as Drake's alleged ghostwriter?

Quentin Miller was named by Meek Mill, and a radio DJ then aired his reference tracks; Drake hit back with two diss tracks in a week, one of which, 'Back to Back', earned a Grammy nomination.

Sean Combs reportedly punched Drake in 2014 over the instrumental to which song?

The '0 to 100 / The Catch Up' beat had reportedly been made for Combs first; the December 2014 confrontation outside the LIV nightclub reportedly sent Drake to the emergency room.

Virginia Black, the spirit Drake launched in 2016, is what kind of drink?

Virginia Black is a bourbon whiskey Drake launched in 2016 with Brent Hocking; his father Dennis Graham starred in its ads as 'The Realest Dude Ever', spoofing the Dos Equis tagline.

Nocta, the apparel sub-label Drake announced in 2020, is a partnership with which brand?

Nocta is Drake's sub-label with Nike, announced in December 2020; the name refers to his 'nocturnal creative process' and the first collection sold out.

What is the name of the Toronto concert venue Drake opened with Live Nation in 2021?

History, a 2,500-capacity room in Toronto's Beaches neighbourhood, took more than three years to develop, and Drake had a hand in its interior design.

Drake became a minority shareholder in which Italian football club in 2022?

AC Milan's 2022 takeover by RedBird Capital brought Drake in through the fund Main Street Advisors alongside LeBron James; the group's stake is reported at well under one percent.

OVO Sound Radio originally aired on which Apple Music station?

OVO Sound Radio launched on Apple Music's Beats 1 in July 2015 and later returned on Drake's SiriusXM channel Sound 42 in 2021.

Which HBO teen drama is produced by Drake's company DreamCrew?

Drake is an executive producer on HBO's Euphoria through DreamCrew, a credit that earned him a 2022 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.

'Sicko Mode', on which Drake guests, is a number-one hit by which rapper?

'Sicko Mode' is credited solely to Travis Scott, so although Drake's verses anchor it and it topped the Hot 100 in December 2018, it sits outside Drake's official tally of number ones.

Drake's 2025 collaborative album Some Sexy Songs 4 U was made with which OVO artist?

PartyNextDoor, the first signee to OVO Sound, made '$ome $exy $ongs 4 U' with Drake in February 2025; it became Drake's fourteenth US number-one album, tying Jay-Z and Taylor Swift at the time.

Drake's Iceman arrived in 2026 alongside Habibti and which other surprise album?

Maid of Honour entered the album chart at number three behind Iceman and Habibti, making Drake the first artist to hold its top three places at once.

Drake's 2026 number one 'Janice STFU' interpolates which Lykke Li song?

I Follow Rivers was not Li's first brush with Drake, who sampled another of her songs in 2009; even so, she thought the new request was a prank when her co-writer texted her.

Who produced 'Best I Ever Had', Drake's first top-ten US hit?

Boi-1da made the beat at his parents' home in the winter of 2008-09, after Drake asked him for two more tracks to finish a mixtape; the song climbed to number two.

Which jazz musician's estate sued Drake over a sample on 'Pound Cake / Paris Morton Music 2'?

Jimmy Smith's line that jazz is 'the only real music that's gonna last' was trimmed to 'only real music's gonna last'; the estate sued over the sample, and the judge ruled for Drake.

Drake hosted and performed on which show in 2014 and again in 2016?

Saturday Night Live had Drake as both host and musical guest in January 2014 and May 2016; his first show introduced Sasheer Zamata, hired mid-season after the show was criticised for having no Black woman in its cast.

The dance craze around Drake's 'In My Feelings' was also named after which comedian's Instagram video?

Shiggy posted a clip of himself dancing to the song, and his #DoTheShiggy tag grew into a global craze of people hopping out of slow-moving cars to copy him.

Which arena tour did Drake mount with Future the year after their joint mixtape?

The Summer Sixteen Tour's stop in Des Moines is when Drake finally visited Drake University, something its students had been campaigning for since 2009.

Stake, the online casino that sponsored Drake's livestreams, title-sponsored which F1 team in 2024 and 2025?

Stake was title sponsor of the Sauber team, entered as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, for the 2024 and 2025 seasons before the outfit became Audi's works team in 2026.