For All the Dogs: Inside Drake’s rags to riches story, from starring on Degrassi to his record-breaking albums, and tying with Michael Jackson for the fourth most No 1 hits in history

Oct 18 , 2023

Drake is a Canadian record-breaking rapper. Photo: @drakeofficlal/Instagram

Five-time Grammy winner Drake just released his eighth studio album For All the Dogs and it’s already racked up more than half a billion streams, so how did the former child actor from Canada get here?

He once broke Taylor Swift’s streaming record, was romantically linked to Rihanna, impressed Adele with his tour, teamed up with Ye and Eminem, stood up for The Weeknd – and has a young son, Adonis

These days, Drake is almost more myth than man.

The 36-year-old is rap music’s unlikely sovereign: he lays claim to 10 No 1 projects and has outsold all the classic “greats”, including Tupac, Jay-Z and Eminem. Most recently, he released his eighth studio album For All the Dogs to massive commercial success.

So how did a former child actor from Canada manage to surpass his own mentors, date Rihanna, win five Grammys – and break several records previously held by The Beatles?

Here’s a complete timeline of Drake’s major life events and his rise to global stardom.

1. Aubrey Drake Graham was born on October 24, 1986

Drake aka Aubrey Drake Graham when he was a kid. Photo: @champagnepapi/Instagram

Drake was raised by biracial parents who divorced when he was five. His father, Dennis Graham, is Black and Catholic; his mother, Sandra, is white and Ashkenazi Jewish Canadian.

“We have a very deep musical background. My grandmother, who passed away in Memphis, used to babysit Louis Armstrong. And my dad was a drummer for Jerry Lee Lewis,” Drake told Hip Hop Canada in 2006.

Drake took his stage name from his middle name, which his father gave him.

Drake (right) and his mum Sandra Graham lived in Toronto, Canada. Photo: @champagnepapi/Instagram

Raised by his mother in Toronto, Ontario, Drake has described growing up “very poor, like broke”, despite spending some of his adolescence in the affluent neighbourhood Forest Hill.