Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986), who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He was born in Toronto, Ontario. He first garnered recognition for his role as Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. He later rose to prominence as a rapper, releasing several mixtapes like Room for Improvement before signing to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment in June 2009.