Drake: The Making of a Superstar
Drake has got the credits, the crew and the girls.
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A Young Money Mastermind - Lil Wayne signed Drake to Young Money after seeing the artist's potential in hip hop, R&B and even as a songwriter. In a recent interview, Wayne said that Drake was a better artist than he was. "This kid has the actual R&B presence. He’s one of the dopest lyricists," Wayne said.(Photo: Vince Bucci/PictureGroup)
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Aubrey "Drake" Graham - In a short period of time, Drake has established himself as one of the industry's brightest new stars. Even before the release of his debut album "Thank Me Later," Drake was puttin' in work. But what some may not know is that he is also responsible for big hit records by other artists.(Photo: Arnold Turner/BET/PictureGroup)
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Collaboration King - Drake joined Lil Wayne, Eminem and Kanye West on the highly respected rap song "Forever." On all the verses, every rapper brought his skills to the table and tried to out-rap the next man. Although many would argue in favor of Eminem, Drake delivered a memorable one.(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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"Say Something" - Producer/rapper Timbaland recruited Drake to add some flavor to his infectious mid-tempo single "Say Something." Drake laced the chorus and added a rhyme to seal the deal. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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"Unthinkable (I'm Ready)" - Alicia Keys enlisted Drake for her monster single "Unthinkable (I'm Ready)." Though he was featured on the record, Drake wasn't officially credited as a songwriter. Drake later revealed in an interview that he had written the song for Nicki Minaj, with Alicia and Swizz Beats in mind. (Photo: George Pimentel/Getty Images)
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Award Tour - Though he has only released one official album (Thank Me Later), Drake has already picked up a few awards for his shelf. At the 2010 BET Awards, Drake even picked up the trophy for Best Male Hip Hop Artist. (Photo: George Pimentel/Getty Images)
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"Every Girl" - Every rapper has their posse, and Drake is no different. Young Money won the BET Award in 2010 for Best Group, due in part to their smash hit record "Every Girl." Drake joined Lil' Wayne, Mack Maine, Gudda Gudda and Jae Millz on the song that had the girls asking questions about this Young Money MC. (Photo: Vince Bucci/PictureGroup)
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Mary J. Co-Signs - Before they collaborated on the "Fancy (Remix)," Mary J. Blige handpicked Drake to work on "The One" from her album. Before that, she talked about Drake's "Best I Ever Had" single as being a positive song for females.(Photo: Vince Bucci/PictureGroup)
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"Off That" - You've got to be a talented songwriter to even come close to working with Jay-Z. Drake and Jay-Z traded verses on the song "Off That" from The Blueprint 3. They've even performed on stage together.
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Rapper/Actor For Real - Before dropping "Best I Ever Had," his breakthrough single, Drake was a popular actor on the Canadian TV show Degrassi, playing the wheelchair-bound Jimmy Brooks. (Photo: Jeff Daly/PictureGroup)
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