In a culture of misfits and outsiders, Aubrey “Drake” Graham is the ultimate outsider — a big-time black Jewish rapper.
Drake’s star is rising rapidly on the hip-hop scene, with his new song, “Over,” sitting at No. 1 on Billboard.com’s rap singles chart earlier this week. Another one of his songs, “Find Your Love,” was at No. 10 and rising on the website’s Hot 100 list.
Though fans have followed the Jewish-Canadian Drake since his days as basketball star Jimmy Brooks on the Canadian teen soap “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” a recent spate of press has introduced the 23-year-old to the broader public. The New York Times declared the young, emotionally vulnerable artist “the most important and innovative new figure in hip-hop.”
Drake released his first album, “Thank Me Later,” earlier this month, though his mix-tapes have been widely circulating since 2006. In fact, Drake earned the unusual distinction of being nominated for a 2010 Grammy without the release of an album.
Last week in New York City, some 15,000 to 20,000 fans — twice as many as organizers expected — showed up for a free Drake concert at the South Street Seaport. After finding out Drake was going to be 90 minutes late, some fans rioted, forcing promoters to pull the plug on the performance.
Drake was born to a black father and a Jewish mother; they divorced when he was 5, according to an interview in Heeb magazine. He was raised by his mother in Forest Hill, a heavily Jewish neighborhood of Toronto, and attended a Jewish day school. At his bar mitzvah party, one of the featured songs was “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys.
His father was primarily absent and, according to the New York Times, struggled with drug addiction and spent time in prison. His mother suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, which precluded her from working and forced Drake to grow up fast. In interviews he often portrays himself as a loner.
“I went to a Jewish school, where nobody understood what it was like to be black and Jewish,” he told Heeb. “When kids are young, it’s hard for them to understand the make-up of religion and race.”
Drake told the magazine that he was often called a shvartze, a derogatory Yiddish term for blacks.
“But the same kids that made fun of me are super proud [of me] now,” he said. “And they act as if nothing happened.”
Drake displays signs of Jewish pride; Heeb says he wears a diamond-studded chai. He also wants to travel to Israel, the magazine reports.
With his complex identity, Drake is using the internalized experience of his childhood to infuse hip-hop with a rare emotionality. The New York Times gave his album “Thank Me Later” an encouraging review, calling it “moody, entrancing and emotionally articulate,” and adding that he “manages to balance vulnerability and arrogance in equal measure.”
After struggling through childhood, Drake seems to be enjoying the current payoff — the Heeb interview chronicles him driving around Manhattan in a Bentley. Already, however, there have been reports of overspending and financial mismanagement.
Even so, with his career ascending, Drake (who doesn’t have any Bay Area dates on his current tour schedule) doesn’t seem to be worried about finances. He told the New York Times that he’s more concerned about the insularity caused by fame.
“Did I sacrifice something?” he wondered. “Have I not realized what it is yet because I’m enjoying this too much?”
This article was adapted from www.jewishjournal.com/hollywoodjew.