What Is Drake's Real Name? Aubrey Drake Graham: Full Bio

Quick facts

Drake is a Toronto-born rapper, singer and actor who performs under his middle name. See Drake's real name for the short answer.

Drake's real name and how he got his stage name

Drake was born Aubrey Drake Graham. His stage name isn't an invented alias: it's simply his middle name. Court filings and major news outlets use his full legal name; his 2025 lawsuit against Universal Music Group was filed as Aubrey Drake Graham v. UMG Recordings, Inc. (U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y.; Reuters).

He first became famous as an actor credited as Aubrey Graham, then switched to "Drake" as he moved into music.

Early life and Degrassi (Jimmy Brooks)

Drake grew up in Toronto. His mother, Sandi Graham, is a Jewish teacher from Toronto, and his father, Dennis Graham, is an African American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. His parents divorced when he was five, and he lived mainly with his mother in Toronto, spending summers with his father in Memphis (The Canadian Encyclopedia; People).

As a teenager he was cast as Jimmy Brooks on the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, on CTV, playing the role from 2001 to 2009. The part gave him a national audience before his music career took off (Billboard; The Canadian Encyclopedia).

Music career highlights

Drake released his debut mixtape, Room for Improvement, in 2006, followed by Comeback Season in 2007 (The Canadian Encyclopedia). His 2009 EP So Far Gone reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 (Billboard). As a solo artist he is signed to Universal Music Group through Lil Wayne's Young Money and Cash Money (Billboard).

Key milestones include:

• Thank Me Later (2010): his debut studio album, which opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
• Take Care (2011): won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2013 (Billboard).
• "One Dance" (2016): spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100.
• "Hotline Bling" and "God's Plan": each won the Grammy for Best Rap Song, in 2017 and 2019 (Billboard).

As of July 2025, he had placed 359 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, the most by any artist in history (The Canadian Encyclopedia).

Business: OVO

OVO stands for October's Very Own, a name tied to Drake's October birthday (The Canadian Encyclopedia). In 2012, Drake founded the record label OVO Sound with his co-manager Oliver El-Khatib and producer Noah "40" Shebib, and the label signed a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records that same year (Billboard). The OVO name also covers clothing and Drake's annual OVO Fest in Toronto (Billboard).

In September 2013, Drake was named global ambassador for the NBA's Toronto Raptors. He helped with the team's rebranding and hosted the 2016 NBA All-Star Game festivities in Toronto (The Canadian Encyclopedia).

Recent news: the UMG lawsuit and a rumored record deal

The "Not Like Us" lawsuit. In January 2025, Drake sued Universal Music Group, the label that releases both his music and Kendrick Lamar's, over the release and promotion of Lamar's 2024 diss track "Not Like Us." He alleged defamation, harassment and deceptive business practices. Lamar was not a defendant. On October 9, 2025, U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas dismissed the case, ruling that the lyrics at issue were "nonactionable opinion" in the context of a rap battle (Reuters). Drake appealed to the Second Circuit, and oral argument is scheduled for December 4, 2026 (Music Business Worldwide). UMG has asked the court to uphold the dismissal (Rolling Stone).

The record-deal rumor. On October 30, 2026, media personality DJ Akademiks claimed that Drake is close to signing what could be "the biggest record deal" in history (Complex). This is a rumor. Neither Drake nor any label has confirmed a deal, a dollar figure or who it would be with. Read the full breakdown in our post: Drake's Rumored Record-Breaking Deal: What We Know.

News about Drake

• News about Drake: the rumored record deal
• Drake's real name: Aubrey Drake Graham