Lil Wayne, the founder of Young Money Entertainment, signed Drake to the label in 2009. Being musically inspired by Jay-Z and Clipse, Drake self-released his debut mixtape, Room for Improvement featuring Trey Songz and Lupe Fiasco, in 2006.

Rapper Drake Reveals The Reason Why He Hasn't Gotten Married: "A Thing Of Ancient Times"

His father is African-American, and his mother, who is caucasian and Canadian, is Ashkenazi Jewish (of Latvian Jewish and Russian Jewish descent). Drake was raised in his mother's faith.

Drake's breakthrough came in 2009 with the release of the mixtape So Far Gone and its hit single “Best I Ever Had.” A bidding war between labels soon ensued, and Drake ultimately signed with Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, a subsidiary of Cash Money. Later that year the label put out So Far Gone as an EP.