10 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Drake's Childhood & How He Grew Up In Toronto
Drake grew up in Toronto, and there's no question that he loves his home city.
Not only does he reference it in many of his songs, but he's also shot several of his music videos there and owns a home in Toronto as well.
The Canadian rapper even popularized the nickname "the 6" for the city after he announced in 2014 that his fourth album would be titled Views From The 6 (although it was later shortened to Views), and it stuck for a lot of people.
Drake fans will know the Toronto musician first rose to stardom thanks to his role in Degrassi: The Next Generation.
However, do you know why he started rapping, or that he went to school with another famous Canadian star?
Here are 10 things you may not know about Drake and his childhood growing up in Toronto.
Drake's parents divorced when he was 5
Drake was born Aubrey Drake Graham on October 24, 1986, in Toronto.
He grew up in a Jewish, African American household and his parents, Sandi and Dennis Graham, divorced when Drake was five, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Drake grew up in a musical family
Drake isn't the only musician in his family.
His dad played drums in a band called Dennis Graham and the North Memphis Band as well as for Jerry Lee Lewis, according to People.
The outlet reports that since 2016, Graham has recorded and released several tracks as an R&B singer-songwriter, including one called "Father and Son," which was inspired by his relationship with Drake.
Two of Drake's uncles were also musicians — bassist Larry Graham, who played with Prince as well as Sly and the Family Stone, and guitarist Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, who also co-wrote several songs with Al Green, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
In a 2005 episode of Degrassi Unscripted, a behind-the-scenes Degrassi spinoff that profiled eight stars of the original show, Drake's mom Sandi shared that she realized early on there was something "very different" about Drake.
"When we had a piano at home and I would come home with my nursery rhymes, Aubrey at three years old would take the lyrics and he would change them."
Drake did print work and commercials as a kid
In the same Degrassi Unscripted episode, Drake's mom said she would enroll her son in a lot of activities when he was growing up since he was an only child.
He also started working in the entertainment business at a young age.
"When Aubrey was about five years old I took him to this agent, and she really liked Aubrey, so he did print work, which is catalogues, and he did a couple of commercials," Sandi said in the video.
Drake grew up near Toronto's west end
Drake may currently live in a 50,000-square-foot mansion in Toronto's Bridle Path, complete with an indoor basketball court with its own 21-square-foot pyramidal skylight, but that's not representative of how the artist grew up.
Champagne Papi grew up with his mom in a duplex in the west-end neighbourhood of Weston Road and would visit his dad in Memphis in the summers.
He moved to Forest Hill in the sixth grade
In the sixth grade, Drake moved to a nicer neighbourhood in Forest Hill.
Despite living in a wealthier part of the city, the "Started from the Bottom" singer says they weren't well off.
"My mother was very sick. We were very poor, like broke," he said in an interview with Complex in 2011.
"The only money I had coming in was off of Canadian TV, which isn't that much money when you break it down."
In his Degrassi Unscripted episode, Drake gave fans a tour of his home and showed off his bedroom and impressive CD collection.
Drake's first car was a 2004 Acura TSX
In the same 2005 Unscripted episode, Drake revealed that his first car was a 2004 Acura TSX.
"This is my baby, I guess," he says.
"It's a nice first car for a teenager, I guess, as opposed to a Mercedes or BMW. That's pretentious. But hey, if you have the money to buy it then feel free."
It's safe to say Drake has the means to buy any car he wants these days!
The rapper had a bar mitzvah at an Italian restaurant
Drake has previously said he's a "proud" Jewish man and even had a bar mitzvah.
However, since his family didn't have a lot of money, the rapper told Digital Spy it was held in the basement of an Italian restaurant.
The outlet reports Drizzy hoped he would get a re-do one day, and it looks like that's what he used as his inspiration for his 2011 "HYFR" music video.
"I told myself that if I ever got rich, I'd throw myself a re-bar mitzvah. That's the concept for the video," he told Digital Spy.
The video starts with clips from his actual bar mitzvah, where a young Drake says "mazel tov" to the camera before showing off his dance moves.
In 2017, he even shared his "bar mitzvah board" on Instagram, which shows photos of him as a child and handwritten messages.
Drake went to high school with Elliot Page
Drake attended Toronto's Forest Hill Collegiate and then transferred to Vaughan Road Academy's INTERACT Program, which offers extra flexibility for students heavily involved in arts and athletics.
There, he was classmates with Elliot Page.
Drake was laid off from Degrassi
Drake was 15 years old when he was cast as Jimmy Brooks in the TV show Degrassi: The Next Generation.
His character was a popular star of the high school basketball team who would later become a paraplegic after being shot by a classmate.
The Canadian artist was not only acting but also making music at the same time, and he cites his busy schedule as one of the reasons he was laid off from Degrassi in 2008.
"Eventually, they realized I was juggling two professions and told me I had to choose," Drake told W Magazine in 2015. "I chose this life."
It looks like the Toronto artist still getting small payments from his time on the show.
In 2017, Drake posted a photo of a cheque he received for $8.25.
"Degrassi money still coming in don't sleeeeeeeep," he captioned it.
Drake's interest in rap started when his dad was in prison
Although Drake's interest in music started at a young age, he didn't get into rap until he was in his mid-teens.
In an interview with Complex in 2009, Drake said he got into rap while his dad was in prison.
"How I got into rapping was, my dad was in jail for two years and he shared a cell [with] this dude who didn't really have anyone to speak to," Drake told the outlet at the time.
"So, he used to share his phone time with this dude and at the time I was probably 16 or 17, this dude was like 20-22, and he would always rap to me over the phone."
