As part of our 35th-anniversary, we’re naming the most influential artists of the past 35 years. Today, we’re at #32. From Toronto, Ontario, Canada, here’s Drake.
You can easily compare Aubrey Graham to one of those automatic baseball-pitching machines. Every throw somehow lands exactly where he wants it.
Drawing from Kanye West’s 808s and Heartbreak playbook, Drake’s first move was his 2009 breakout So Far Gone, a mixtape that truly “sounded like an album,” as opposed to, well, a mixtape. And while his signature sing-rapping smashes haven’t since found their way onto equally great albums — with Take Care a major exception — Drizzy could be modern music’s most consistent hit-maker. Attempting to even list his top five is impossible — there really is no comparing “God’s Plan” to “Find Your Love” or “One Dance.”
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While many have done it before him, Drake has managed to mold an entire career out of being both a singer and a rapper, inspiring a generation of young talent to take the same versatile approach. His influence even radiates beyond music: The phrases he’s coined and cultural movements he’s made — including “YOLO” and every single meme born out of a Drake music video — have shaped the last decade of our lives.