The 35-year-old star became interested in acting and singing in college. He was 15 when an acting agent helped him land a role in the Canadian teen TV drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. He played the role of Jimmy Brooks from seasons 1 to 7 and was a guest star in 2008. His salary from the show, $50 000 a year, or $2 000 a month after tax, helped him and his family to survive after his mother fell ill, leaving him unable to work.
From there he started releasing mixtapes. His first mixtape “Room for Improvement” was released in 2005 and sold over 6000 copies. This was followed in 2006 by his second mixtape “Comeback Season”, released on his own label October’s Very Own or OVO Records. It featured the underground hit “Replacement Girl”, the music video for which became the first BET video from an unsigned Canadian rapper.
Jas Prince, founder of Rap-A-Lot Records, heard the single and let Lil Wayne listen to it. The latter impressed Drake with his talent, called him and invited him to fly to Houston to be part of his Tha Carter III tour.
Their tour then turned into a collaboration, writing and recording several songs such as “Brand New”, “Forever” and “Ransom”.
How Did ’Drake’ Become So Successful?
In 2010, Drake finally released his debut studio album, Thank Me Later, becoming No. 1 in the U.S. and Canada and certified Platinum by the RIAA. His second studio album, Take Care, was released in 2011 and became No. 1 in several countries and six times Platinum. Since then, his subsequent albums have gone at least four times Platinum.
This makes Drake one of the most successful and influential hip-hop artists in the music scene. He has worked with several stars in the music industry, such as Kanye West, Eminem, Jay-Z, and Travis Scott.
He has also received numerous nominations and won more than 180 Grammy and similar awards. Meanwhile, Drake holds the record for selling more digital singles than any other artist in history. He has sold over 163 million digital singles – 40 million more than runner-up Rihanna.
She is the 80th best-selling musician of all time, with around 26 million albums sold. She is the third best-selling Canadian musician after Shania Twain with 48 million and Celine Dion with 50 million. In addition, she earns about $1 million per concert.
No wonder Drake is now $250 million richer,
