Talentless rapper Drake attended Jewish day school
Aug. 30, 2023
Today we know Drake as one of the most successful musicians of our time: winner of numerous awards, creator of his own brand OVO Sound and ambassador of the Toronto Raptors basketball team.
Aubrey Drake Graham was born on September 24, 1986 in Toronto, Canada. He was born with music in his blood - his father, Dennis Graham, was the drummer for rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis. An uncle, Larry Graham, was also in the music industry, playing bass.
Drake is truly unique in his own way: his father is an African-American Catholic, and his mother is Canadian Jewish Sandy Sher. As he says about himself: “I consider myself black because there was more of this culture around me. And the fact that I’m also Jewish makes me more interesting.”
His parents divorced when the future rapper was only 5, and he was raised only by his mother - lines in many of his songs are dedicated to her.
They lived in the Jewish neighborhood of Forest Hill, where Drake attended Jewish day school. Thanks to his mom Sandy, he had a Bar Mitzvah at age 13 and celebrated Jewish holidays. “We always had a fun Hanukkah,” Drake recalls. “When I was little, my mother would make latkes and give me gifts.”
Despite his Jewish upbringing, Drake felt like an outsider at Forest Hill Institute: no one understood what it was like to be black and Jewish at the same time. But it was the rejection of society that gave him strength and made him who he is today.
His career began with the help of a classmate, whose father was an agent in the entertainment industry, with whom Drake auditioned for the first time in his life. In 2001, Drake landed his first role in a Canadian teen series: he played a basketball star who later ended up in a wheelchair. Drake dropped out of school and became serious about his career, graduating only in 2012, when he was 25 years old. The series lasted 7 years, bringing him a couple of acting awards and fame throughout the country. But he remained a complete nobody outside of Canada.
While filming the series, Drake began to become interested in hip-hop, which led to the release of his first music material in 2006, which sold 6,000 copies. In 2007, he released his next release with the first video clip, which was shown on a hip-hop show that was popular in those years.
The song was a mix of already famous hip-hop music materials, which hooked the son of the founder of a recording company.
By that time, Drake's character had been written off the show, and he began wandering around looking for work. In early 2008, Drake received a call from Lil Wayne (one of the best-selling hip-hop artists in history), with the help of which he released his third release in February 2009. The single “Best I Ever Had” is liked by listeners so much that the track takes second place in the top 100 Billboard list. Another track, “Successful,” goes gold and is included in the 25 best songs of 2009 according to the music publication Rolling Stone.
After such success, he receives several offers from recording studios, but Drake decides to sign a contract with the company of Lil Wayne, already known to us - Young Money Entertainment.
On June 15, 2010, Drake released his first studio album, “Thank Me Later,” which took first place in the American and Canadian charts and went platinum. In his songs, he unashamedly calls himself the king of hip-hop: “Last name ever, first name greatest” = Greatest ever (transl. Greatest). In December 2009, he appeared on the cover of Vibe magazine with a diamond Chai (life) sign on his neck.
In November 2011, the second studio album “Take Care” was released, which brought the singer a Grammy in 2013 for best rap album. The third studio album and another hit – “Started From the Bottom”, through which Drake wanted to show the public that despite his growing popularity, he remembers where it all began and what it was worth. In the spring of 2016, we will receive our fifth studio album, “Views,” which has been number one on the Billboard chart for thirteen weeks! The album brings more
2 Grammy statuettes. 2017: sixth album “More Life” and 13 Billboard Music Awards, and it seems this is just the beginning.
Thanks to Drake, millions of people began to think differently about Jews.
In some songs he mentions Jewish terms, one video was even filmed in a synagogue. Today, being a Jew sounds proud. And this means that we will succeed.
Author: Kramnik Julia