Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and entrepreneur. A prominent figure in popular music, Drake is credited for popularizing the Toronto sound. He first gained recognition as an actor on the teen drama television series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-2007); intent on pursuing a career in music, he left the series after releasing his debut mixtape Room for Improvement. He released two more independent projects, Comeback Season and So Far Gone, before signing to Young Money Entertainment.Drake released his debut studio album Thank Me Later in 2010, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. He achieved major critical success with Take Care (2011), and commercial success with Nothing Was the Same (2013) and his first commercial mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015); the later two were certified multi-platinum in the US. Drake's fourth album Views (2016) sat atop the Billboard 200 for 13 nonconsecutive weeks, becoming the first album by a male solo artist to do so in over a decade.