By Shanice Abbott

On January 14^th, I attended the Drake concert with special guest J.Cole. Before the concert had even started the fans were so excited that a lot of people started to push in the standing area and a lot of fans started to faint. When Drake came on stage, most of this settled down. I brought a seating ticket and where I was sitting was quite far from the stage so I was disappointed that I could hardly see him. So after the concert I, my aunty and my two friends decided to go round the back of the NIA to look for Drake. When we got to the car park we were told that he had already left. So we pleaded with the security guard to tell us which hotel he was staying at. They gave in and told us so we got in my aunties car and drove straight there.

On the way to the hotel my aunties car broke down and she couldn’t drive which left us in disappointment yet again but then we looked out the window and realised that we were in fact outside the hotel the security guards had told us about. To our excitement we were jumping up and down like flies and decided we would trick the people that worked in the hotel to let us in. So we called them out and asked them if my auntie could keep her car in their car park because it had broken down, they agreed to this and also said that we could wait in the hotel until someone came to pick us up. As soon as I, my auntie and my two friends got into the hotel we could hear Drakes voice! We all got really excited and decided we would not leave that hotel until Drake came out. About an hour later Drake decided to come out the room and we all just stood there in shock, one of my friends then asked him if we could have a group picture with him and he said yes. This is a night I’ll never forget.

Shanice (pictured right) with her friends and family meet their hero Drake (Centre)

Aubrey Drake Graham

Aubrey Drake Graham a.k.a Drake was raised in Toronto, Canada. He started writing songs when he was ten years old. However, he began his career in showbiz industry as a small screen actor.

Drake, who was born on October 24, 1986, got his first role as a junior high schooler named Jimmy Brooks on Canadian teen drama TV series “Degrassi: The Next Generation”. As years went by, he got more roles in such TV series as “Soul Food”, “Best Friend’s Date”, “The Borders” and “Being Erica”. Gaining popularity as small screen actor, Drake couldn’t resist trying his hands at music industry. In February 2006, he released his first indie mixtape titled “Room for Improvement”. The next year, he returned with another independent mixtape “Comeback Season”. One of its single “Replacement Girl” peaked at number 21 on Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.

Drake developed a close relationship with Lil Wayne and became his protege after making a collaboration with the rap mogul on a remix of song “Man of the Year”. Under the assistance of the Young Money’s founder, he worked on an indie mixtape “So Far Gone” in February 2009. In the set, he joined forces with his mentor, Trey Songz, Peter Bjorn, Lloyd, Omarion and many more.

Drake made his debut on Billboard Hot 100 through “Best I Ever Had”, the single in “So Far Gone”. It also peaked at number 1 on Billboard Hot Rap Tracks and at number 2 on Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. What made him different from any other artists was that he reached all his popularity and achievement as an indie singer, being signed to no record label.

In June 2009 Graham signed a recording contract with Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment. In November 2009, Lil Wayne released a statement announcing that Drake’s first studio album, Thank Me Later, had been completed. The album was released on June 15, 2010, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album has since gone platinum. He will release his second studio album in March or April 2011 titled Take Care.

Personal life
On his personal life record, Drake once dated songstress Keshia Chante. Following his break-up with her, he crafted a song called “Deceiving”, making reference to her mother Tessa. He also remixed one of her songs “Fallen”, adding lines “Keshia, Keshia, do you remember the old us? They said we’d never be together that’s what they told us. Immature kids, to entrepreneur kids” to the track.

In 2009, Drake was rumored to embark on a love relationship with Rihanna. He was seen kissing the Barbadian singer at Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge on West 42nd Street in mid May that year. However, the speculation soon came to an end after he denied it during an interview on New York’s Hot 97 radio station. Drake has since featured on Rihanna’s hit single ‘What’s My Name’.