THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT DRAKE AND RIHANNA'S RELATIONSHIP: 'I was just a pawn to her. She did to me what I did to women - she disappeared '
The actor, singer, and father of son Adonis, Drake, is celebrating his 35th birthday, and a cherry on top was also his latest album, which does not come down from the top of the charts, as well as the fact that he is one of the most listened musicians today.
Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter Aubrey Drake Graham, better known only by his middle name Drake, went down in history earlier this year as the first musician to make an incredible 50 billion streams of songs on Spotify. The fourth richest rapper in the world (his assets are estimated at $ 200 million) released his sixth album ‘Certified Lover Boy’ in early September, which was a huge commercial success. And before his 35th birthday, which he will celebrate this month, he managed to surpass his mentors, from a teen acting star to becoming one of the most important names in the world of rap music in general, dating Rihanna, winning four Grammys, and breaking several records that had been held for decades.
Drake was born on October 24, 1986, in Toronto. His father, Dennis Graham, is an African-American and Catholic from Memphis, who worked as a drummer and performed with country musician Jerry Lee Lewis. His mother Sandra (Drake calls her Sandi) is a Canadian of Jewish descent who worked as an English teacher.
- Music has always been present in my family, especially on my father's side. On the mother's side, family members are somewhat more conservative. I am aware that I am not the first person in the family to play music, but I would like to be the first to become an icon - said Drake at the time.
His parents separated when he was five, and he grew up with his mother in a poor Weston Road neighborhood in Toronto. In the sixth grade of elementary school, they moved to an elite part of town, Forest Hill.
- My mother wanted the best for her family, so she found us a better home. The house was neither large nor luxurious, it was what she could afford. I remember well our days of poverty when I had a bar mitzvah. That religious ceremony took place in the basement of an infamous Italian restaurant. I promised myself that if I ever got rich, I would repeat my bar mitzvah. Come to think of it, it’s not a bad idea for a music video, ”Drake said, proud of his Jewish heritage. He also attended a Jewish elementary school where "no one understood what it was like to be black and Jewish at the same time."
He started the path of success very early - at the age of 14 he got a role in the famous Canadian teen series 'Degrassi'. He played the popular, charming eighth-grader Jimmy Brooks, and as he admitted, he got the role thanks to a charm inherited from his father.
- I always made jokes in school. I was a good liar and a good speaker. One kid in the class told me, “Hey, my dad is an agent. You should go talk to him because you are charming and make people laugh. ” And really, just like my father, I always had something to say, I knew how to charm - Drake told GQ, and the magazine also reported that he was earning $ 40,000 a year from his role in the series.
In parallel with acting, he started writing songs, and in one of the episodes of the seventh season of 'Degrassi', he even wrote a rap song. He fell in love with this kind of music in a rather unusual way.
- My father spent two years in prison, and he shared a cell with a man who, in fact, had no one to talk to. Sometimes I talked to him on the phone, I was 16 or 17 at the time, and that guy was about 20. He loved rap. Slowly, I started writing my own lyrics, so the two of us would call and rap - said, Drake.
He released his debut compilation of songs ‘Room for Improvement’ in 2006 and his second ‘Comeback Season’ in 2007. The following year, after the eighth season of the series, he decided to leave acting and dedicate himself to music.
- I could no longer lead a parallel life: I would spend the whole day filming the series, then I would go make music until five in the morning, I would take a short nap in the dressing room and at nine I would be on set again. The producers realized that I was juggling between two jobs and asked me to choose. And I did - music! - said, Drake.
In February 2009, he released his third album. Critics praised it, especially the song 'Best I Ever Had', which earned him two Grammy Award nominations - for best rap solo performance and best rap song, and took second place on the Billboard Hot 100 music charts. Drake will eventually become the first artist to have singles on that chart for eight years in a row. In parallel with the musical success, the public's interest in the rapper's love life began. Portal Page Six reported in 2009 that Drake was in a relationship with singer Rihanna because they were seen together on a date and looked very intimate. The singer from Barbados then denied the rumors, and Drake only a year later in an interview with The New York Times gave details of their relationship.
- I was a pawn. Do you know what she did to me? Exactly what I did to a large number of women throughout my life: I spent time with them for a while, and then I would just disappear. When I experienced that from her, I thought, "This is awful," Drake said. The musicians continued to nurture a hot&cold relationship for years, there was speculation about their relationship, breakups, reconciliations, but one thing is for sure - from their socializing came several joint music hits: 'Work', 'Take Care', 'Too Good' and ' What's My Name '. Drake also admitted his feelings to Rihanna in front of an audience of millions at the 2016 MTV Awards in Canada.
- We love her music that changes from album to album. We love her videos that set new trends, but most of all we love a woman who hasn’t changed at all. She is the person I have been in love with since I was 22, she is my best friend. She is a living legend in the music industry - he said before awarding her the prize and trying to kiss her. The singer slipped away so his lips ended up on her neck and the media wrote for days about that ‘cold shower’.
After initial successes in 2009, reportedly as many as three record labels fought for Drake, and he eventually signed a deal with Young Money, a house owned by rapper Lil Wayne who offered him a $ 2 million down payment. Drake is at the beginning of his music career in the media and has been called a protégé of Lil Wayne, and the two rappers have been friends for many years. With him, Kanye West, and Eminem, Drake collaborated on the song ‘Forever’ for the documentary ‘More Than a Game’ about basketball player LeBron James. All fans of rap music who had not heard of this Canadian before could be convinced of his talent because the song showed how well both rap and R'n'B fit him even before he released his studio album. After years of anticipation, Drake delighted fans on June 15, 2010, with his first album ‘Thank Me Later’.
- I have to continue at the same pace and not lose understanding of this game. I am blessed and I will try to keep the rhythm - said the rapper after the success of the first album. A year later, he released the album 'Take Care', for which he received his first Grammy. It is interesting to note that in the song 'The Motto' from the mentioned album, Drake utters the verse: 'You only live once: that's the motto, YOLO', with which he popularized the abbreviation YOLO ( you only live once). Soon the term YOLO began to spread on social media, appearing in other songs as well, it became part of everyday speech.
As he did not have time to attend high school due to his role in the teen series, he finished it later, at the age of 25, and when he finally succeeded, he said it was one of the best feelings of his life. Years of great professional success followed, and in 2013 he released another acclaimed album ‘Hold On, We’re Going Home’.
- I recorded a lot of songs about how love is the only thing I miss. I think this is the first album where I say, “I’m fine. I'm enjoying it right now. " Maybe it's my time to have a good time with my friends - he said just before the release of the album. But he wasn't single for long. It has been speculated that he is in a relationship with tennis player Serena Williams, but the details of that relationship are not known to the public: they have only been filmed together a few times, and Drake was reportedly a longtime fan of hers.
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In September 2017, he debuted as a film producer with the documentary ‘The Carter Effect’. It is a documentary about NBA star Vince Carter, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Drake and his longtime manager Adel Nur collaborated as producers.
- I'm sure one day I'll stop making music. I don’t plan on quitting any time soon, but I do plan to expand, take six months or a year to myself, and make great movies. Music is always there, ”Drake said after the premiere of the documentary. Almost a year later, HBO took over the series‘ Euphoria ’, a teenage drama produced by indie film studio A24, and Drake and Nur joined as executive producers.
Drake always spoke openly about his career in interviews, but he successfully hid his private life. In addition to his relationship with Rihanna and Serena Williams, he was reportedly dating Jennifer Lopez. The couple met at a concert in Las Vegas, but the relationship was reportedly hidden from the public because of the rapper's ex-girlfriend Rihanna. Two months after they fell in love, Jennifer Lopez and Drake stopped seeing each other. The American portal TMZ soon announced that the rapper had become a father. What has been written about for months, the rapper confirmed in a somewhat bizarre way. Namely, on his album 'Scorpion' (2018) there is a song 'Emotionless' in which Drake says: "I did not hide my child from the world, I hid the world from my child." He had a son, Adonis, with former French porn actress Sophie Brussaux. As he said in the song, they only saw each other twice and were never in a relationship.
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Allegedly, the rapper initially did not want to admit that the child was his, so Sophie hired as many as two New York lawyers to prove paternity. In the song 'March 14', Drake said that he celebrated when the DNA test proved that the boy was his, but also that he saw him only once - on Christmas. It was speculated that the boy had a birthday the same day as his father, but it was later learned that the toddler was born on October 11, 2017.
Because of this, the escapade lover has been embroiled in public scandals several times. In several songs, he alluded to the fact that he had sexual relations with Kim Kardashian, and her then-husband Kanye West did not like the fact that he never denied it. One of the arguments was Drake's mention of Kim's nickname Kiki in the verse "Kiki, do you love me?" (“Kiki, do you love me?”).
- I try to make my spirit sane after I found out that people spread rumors because they think you fu**ed my wife and you don't say anything and move on. That doesn't suit my spirit ... If you had married Rihanna, I wouldn't have made any song called RiRi. Don't tell me you don't know where I got all this from because you're too smart, brother - Kanye told Drake via social media while his love for Kim was still flourishing. Allegedly, the rapper, as soon as he heard that Kanye and Kim's marriage had failed, started sending love messages to the starlet.
Two years ago, a recording from 2010 from a concert where he kisses a minor on the mouth was leaked. The recording caused an avalanche of comments on the internet where everyone condemned his behavior, but they noticed that this is not the first time for the rapper. Namely, Drake publicly admitted that he went out to dinner with 16-year-old models, and the biggest shock was when he admitted that he liked to spend time with then 14-year-old Millie Bobby Brown, the star of the series 'Stranger Things'. The young actress said that Drake gave her advice about love relationships and she does not see anything controversial in their relationship that continues today.
In May 2020, the rapper released a compilation of the songs ‘Dark Lane Demo Tapes’ and said it brings new vibes. The compilation also included the single ‘Toosie Slide’, which previously debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the video for that song, Drake opened the doors of his home in Toronto, which has nothing less than a basketball court the same size as the one where NBA games are played. The home was decorated by renowned interior designer Ferris Rafauli.
- Since it is a home located in my hometown, I wanted it to be decorated in such a way that it looks powerful in 100 years. That is one of the things I will leave behind, so I wanted the house to be timeless and durable - he said at the time. He caused the most attention in our media by publishing a compilation of the song 'Scary Hours 2', more precisely the song 'Lemon Pepper Freestyle'.
He made history in March 2021 when he had as many as three songs on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. In early September, he released the album ‘Certified Lover Boy’ and conquered the world again. Although Drake didn't release a single before the album's release, the song 'Way 2 Sexy' debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, which happened to him for the fifth time in his career (only Ariana Grande holds that number with him). Soon, only his songs were in the top five - he was only the second artist to achieve that success, after The Beatles in 1964.
In addition to his music career, the rapper decided to invest the money he earned in other businesses - he bought a stake in the company Daring Foods, which produces plant-based food that replaces chicken. Together with Drake’s money, the company has managed to raise $ 40 million in investment and is projected to grow to $ 8 billion by 2030. According to Market Insider, Canadian brokerage firm Wealthsimple increased its value to $ 4 billion after the rapper financially backed it. He is also interested in sports media companies such as Overtime, in which he invested with Jeff Bezos, a billionaire, and owner of Amazon.
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At the moment, everything is blossoming in his love life. He is in a relationship with 40-year-old Johanna Leia, a model and reality star who participated in the show ‘Bringing Up Ballers’. Namely, Johanna is the mother of 17-year-old Amari Bailey who is trying to succeed in the world of basketball, and because of him, she participated in the show. She is also the mother of the girl Savvy, and the father of her children is former professional American football player Aaron Bailey. The connection to the Canadian rapper was revealed this summer as Drake rented the entire LA Dodgers stadium to host a dinner on the lawn with his chosen one.
By: Amber V. - Gossip Whispers
