title: Drake (musician)

text: "What a Time to Be Alive" debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200, making Drake the first hip hop artist to have two projects reach number one in the same year since 2004. It was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales, streaming and track-sales equivalent of over 1 million units. Drake also appeared on the cover of "The Fader" for their 100th issue.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake announced in January 2016 that his fourth studio album would be launched during the spring, releasing the promotional single "Summer Sixteen" later that month. The album was originally titled "Views from the 6", but was later shortened to "Views". "Summer Sixteen" debuted at number six on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, and proved controversial, with Drake comparing his standing in hip hop to more tenured artists. This move divided many contemporary music critics, describing his self-comparison as "goodly brash" or "conventionally disrespectful." It was also interpreted as a diss track towards Tory Lanez, who was unhappy at Drake for popularizing the term "The Six" when referencing Toronto.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake soon released the album's lead singles, "Pop Style" and the dancehall-infused "One Dance", on April 5. Both debuted within the top 40 of the "Billboard" Hot 100; however, the latter proved more commercially successful, with "One Dance" becoming Drake's first number-one single in Canada and the US as a leading artist. The single also became Drake's first number one single as a lead artist in the United Kingdom, and peaked at number one in Germany, France, Australia, Brazil, Sweden, Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands. During an episode for OVO Sound Radio, Drake confirmed the album's release date of April 29, and followed it up with various promotional videos. On October 15, "One Dance" became Spotify's most-streamed song ever, amassing over 882 million plays .


title: Drake (musician)

text: "Views" was previewed in London before its premiere on Beats 1 a day later. It was released as an Apple Music and iTunes exclusive on April 29 before being made available to various other platforms later that week. "Views" would become Drake's most commercially successful album, sitting atop the "Billboard" 200 for ten nonconsecutive weeks, as well as simultaneously leading the "Billboard" Hot 100 and the "Billboard" 200 for eight weeks. It also achieved double-platinum status in the U.S., and earned over 1 million album-equivalent units in the first week of its release, as well as gaining over half-billion overall streams of the album. Despite its success, critical opinion towards the album remained much divided, drawing criticism for being overlong and lacking in a cohesive theme, while also claiming Drake was not challenging himself artistically, as opposed to his contemporaries. He later released a short film titled "Please Forgive Me", starring Swedish twin models Elizabeth and Victoria Lejonhjärta who are frequent collaborators with him. , "Views" remains Drake's best-selling album in pure sales.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake returned to host "Saturday Night Live" on May 14, serving as the show's musical guest. Later, Drake was named as a member of the "Forbes Five," which ranks the wealthiest artists in hip-hop, placing fifth after Birdman, Jay Z, Dr. Dre, and Diddy respectively. Drake and Future then announced the Summer Sixteen Tour to showcase their collective mixtape, as well as their respective studio albums. This marked Drake's third co-headlining tour, which began in Austin, Texas on July 20. On July 23, Drake announced that he was working on a new project, scheduled to be released in early 2017, and was later named as the headline act for the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Festival. The latter dates of the Summer Sixteen Tour were postponed, however, due to Drake suffering an ankle injury. During the 2016 OVO Festival, Kanye West confirmed that he and Drake had begun working on a collaborative album. Soon after, the music video for "Child's Play" was released, depicting Drake and Tyra Banks playing a couple encountering relationship issues at the Cheesecake Factory in a reference to one of the song's lyrics. On September 26, "Please Forgive Me" was released as an Apple Music exclusive. It ran a total of 25 minutes, and featured music from "Views". At the 2016 BET Hip-Hop Awards, Drake received the most nominations, with 10, winning the awards for Album of the Year and Best Hip-Hop Video. Drake later announced the Boy Meets World Tour on October 10, with twenty-six dates announced for the course of the tour in Europe. Seven additional dates were added a day later due to overwhelming demand.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Soon after, during an episode of OVO Sound Radio, Drake confirmed he would be releasing a project titled "More Life" in December. However, he later pushed the date back to the new year. The project was described as a "playlist of original music", rather than being classified as a traditional mixtape or solo album. He was later revealed to be Spotify's most streamed artist for the second consecutive year in 2016, amassing a total 4.7 billion streams for all projects on the service, which is more than double the amount of streams he had in 2015. Drake later secured his second and third Grammy Awards, winning for Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap Song at the 59th ceremony.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Despite multiple setbacks, Drake announced "More Life" would be released on March 18, 2017, via a series of multiple video commercials released through Instagram. Upon release, "More Life" received mostly positive reviews, and debuted atop the "Billboard" 200, earning 505,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It also set a streaming record, becoming the highest ever streamed album in 24 hours, with a total of 89.9 million streams on Apple Music alone. The album also garnered 61.3 million streams on Spotify, dethroning Ed Sheeran's "÷" as the highest opening on the service in a single day. He later won 13 awards at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards in May, which saw him breaking the record for the most wins in a single show. "Billboard" also reported Drake had been present on the "Hot 100" chart for eight consecutive years, and has the most recorded entries by a solo artist. He later declined to submit "More Life" for consideration at the 2018 Grammy Awards, stemming from his displeasure at "Hotline Bling" being "pigeonholed" into the rap category.


title: Drake (musician)

text: He then released the single "Signs" on June 24, as well as reuniting with Metro Boomin on a single with Offset. The singles marked his first releases since "More Life", with "Signs" was initially released as a collaboration between Drake and French fashion house Louis Vuitton, as part of the "Louis Vuitton Men's Spring-Summer 2018" fashion show.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake hosted the first annual NBA Awards on June 26, and starred in multiple commercials alongside his father in promotion of Virginia Black. Drake also appeared in "The Carter Effect" documentary, honouring the basketball career of Vince Carter, who was the first superstar player to play for the Toronto Raptors since the franchise's inception in 1995. The documentary also featured NBA players Chris Bosh, Tracy McGrady, Steve Nash, and LeBron James.


title: Drake (musician)

text: After rumours circulated of Drake possibly collaborating with various artists, including rapper Trippie Redd and producer Pi'erre Bourne, for his new studio album, multiple snippets of songs were leaked near the closing end of 2017. Two songs would later be released as members of a mini EP, titled "Scary Hours", on January 20, 2018, marking Drake's first solo release since "More Life", as well as his first appearance on any song after featuring on a remix of the Jay-Z song "Family Feud" with Lil Wayne, as the lead single of the latter's "Dedication 6: Reloaded" mixtape. "Scary Hours" featured the songs "Diplomatic Immunity" and "God's Plan", which both debuted within the top-ten, with the latter eventually breaking various streaming records as it debuted at number one on the US "Billboard" Hot 100. The song was Drake's first song as a solo artist to reach number one, as well as his second chart topper as a lead artist.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake earned his 70th top 40 entry after featuring on the Migos song "Walk It Talk It", which debuted at number eighteen, and peaked at number ten. He was later featured on BlocBoy JB's debut single "Look Alive", which was released on February 9, 2018. The song's entry at number six on the Hot 100 made Drake the rapper with the most top 10 hits on the Hot 100, with 23. He then featured on a remix to "Lemon", a song originally released as a collaboration between band N.E.R.D and Rihanna. On April 5, Drake announced he was finishing his fifth studio album and he was releasing a single later that night. On April 6, "Nice for What" was released, alongside a music video directed by Karena Evans, which featured several female celebrities.


title: Drake (musician)

text: After "Nice For What" replaced his own "God's Plan" on the "Billboard" Hot 100 at number one, making him the first artist to have a new number-one debut replace their former number-one debut, Drake announced the title of his fifth studio album as "Scorpion", with a planned release date of June 29, 2018. He then released "I'm Upset" on May 26 as the album's third single. "Scorpion" was then released as a double-album, and marked Drake's longest project, with a run-time of just under 90 minutes. The album broke both the one-day global records on Spotify and Apple Music, as it gained 132.45 million and 170 million plays on each streaming service, respectively. It eventually sold 749,000 album equivalent units in its first week of sales, and debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200. In 2018, articles by "The Guardian" and "Rolling Stone" called him "the definitive pop star of his generation" and "perhaps [the] biggest post-Justin Timberlake male pop star of the new millennium", respectively.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Shortly thereafter, Drake collaborated with British hip hop promotion Link Up TV on July 7, releasing a freestyle as a part of the promotion's 'Behind Barz' segment, before releasing another freestyle a week later after featuring on Charlie Sloth's long-running "Fire in the Booth" program on BBC Radio 1Xtra. Drake then earned his sixth number-one hit with "In My Feelings" on July 21, which also spawned the viral "#InMyFeelingsChallenge" or "#KiKiChallenge". The success of "In My Feelings" also made Drake the record holder for most number one hits among rappers. Soon after, he released the music video for "Nonstop", which was filmed in London during his surprise performance at the Wireless Festival.


title: Drake (musician)

text: He then appeared on the Travis Scott album "Astroworld", featuring uncredited vocals for his song "Sicko Mode", which peaked at number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Drake announced in July 2018 that he planned to "take 6 months to a year" to himself to return to television and films, producing the television series "Euphoria" and "Top Boy". He then began the Aubrey & the Three Migos Tour with co-headliners Migos on August 12. This preceded a collaboration with Bad Bunny titled "Mia", which featured Drake performing in Spanish. He subsequently received the award for Hot Ticket Performer at the 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards on October 16. During a performance in Edmonton on November 7, Drake announced his intention to begin composing his next project in early 2019.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In February 2019, he received his fourth Grammy Award for Best Rap Song, for "God's Plan", at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. During his speech, producers abruptly cut to a commercial break, leading viewers to speculate they were censoring his speech during which he criticized The Recording Academy. A legal representative for the academy then released a statement stating "a natural pause [led] the producers [to] assume that he was done and cut to commercial," and added the organization offered him an opportunity to return to stage, but he declined.


title: Drake (musician)

text: On February 14, Drake re-released his third mixtape, "So Far Gone", onto streaming services for the first time to commemorate its 10-year anniversary, and later collaborated with Summer Walker on a remix of Walker's song "Girls Need Love", marking his first release of 2019. On April 10, during a performance on the Assassination Vacation Tour, he announced he was working on a new album. On June 8, Drake appeared on Chris Brown's single "No Guidance". On June 15, Drake released two songs, "Omertà" and "Money in the Grave", on his EP "The Best in the World Pack" to celebrate the NBA Championship win of the Toronto Raptors. On August 2, he released the compilation album "Care Package", consisting of songs released between 2010 and 2016 that were initially unavailable for purchase or commercial streaming; it debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake released the song "War" on December 24, 2019, with an accompanying music video, which was widely noted for its UK drill-inspired instrumental. The following day, in an interview with "Rap Radar", it was revealed that he was in the process of completing his sixth studio album. On January 10, 2020, Drake collaborated with Future on the song "Life Is Good", which appeared on the album "High Off Life". On January 31, the pair again collaborated on the song "Desires", although it was released for free after being leaked. On February 29, Drake released the songs "When to Say When" and "Chicago Freestyle" with a combined music video. On April 3, he released "Toosie Slide" with a music video, which features a dance created in collaboration with social media influencer Toosie. It debuted at number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100, making Drake the first male artist to have three songs debut at number one.


title: Drake (musician)

text: On May 1, 2020, Drake released the commercial mixtape "Dark Lane Demo Tapes", with guest appearances from Chris Brown, Future, Young Thug, Fivio Foreign, Playboi Carti, and Sosa Geek. He also announced that his sixth studio album would be released in the summer of 2020. The mixtape is a compilation of new songs and tracks that leaked on the internet. It received mixed reviews and debuted at number two on the US "Billboard" 200 with 223,000 album-equivalent units, and at number one on the UK Albums Chart, earning 20,000 units in its first week.


title: Drake (musician)

text: On July 17, Drake was featured on DJ Khaled's singles "Greece" and "Popstar", debuting at numbers eight and three on the "Billboard" Hot 100, respectively, becoming Drake's record-extending 24th and 25th debuts in the Hot 100's top 10. It also became his 39th and 40th Hot 100 top ten entries, breaking Madonna's record for most Hot 100 top ten hits. On July 20, Drake and Headie One released the drill track "Only You Freestyle", making it the third drill-inspired song he released in 2020, after "War" and "Demons", both of which appear on "Dark Lane Demo Tapes". On August 14, "Laugh Now Cry Later" featuring Lil Durk was released, which was intended as the lead single from Drake's album "Certified Lover Boy", but not included on the final track listing. It debuted at number two on the Hot 100, and was nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.


title: Drake (musician)

text: On September 3, the video for "Popstar" was released, in which Drake makes a cameo appearance. On October 2, Drake was the sole guest appearance on Bryson Tiller's album "Anniversary" (2020), on the song "Outta Time". He subsequently appeared on the remix to "You're Mines Still", alongside Yung Bleu on October 16; just over a week later, on his 34th birthday, Drake announced "Certified Lover Boy" was set to be released in January 2021. This was later pushed back to an unspecified date after he sustained a knee injury which required surgery.


title: Drake (musician)

text: On December 1, he reunited with Lil Wayne on "B.B. King Freestyle", the lead single from the latter's double-disc mixtape "No Ceilings 3" (2020). In January 2021, Drake became the first artist to surpass 50 billion combined streams on Spotify. He later collaborated with Drakeo the Ruler on the single "Talk to Me", which was released on February 23. On March 5, Drake released an EP titled "Scary Hours 2", which includes three songs: "What's Next", "Wants and Needs" with Lil Baby, and "Lemon Pepper Freestyle" with Rick Ross. These three songs entered the charts at numbers one, two, and three, respectively, making Drake the first artist to have three songs debut in the top three on the "Billboard" Hot 100. He then appeared on the single "Solid" from the YSL Records compilation "Slime Language 2", alongside Gunna and Young Thug. "Solid" was originally meant to appear on "Certified Lover Boy", and to only feature Gunna. On May 14, Drake was featured alongside mentor Lil Wayne on former labelmate Nicki Minaj's "Seeing Green", a new song on the streaming re-release of her 2009 mixtape "Beam Me Up Scotty". Two weeks later, he was named Artist of the Decade at the 2021 "Billboard" Music Awards. On June 12, he featured on Migos' "Having Our Way", from the group's third studio album, "Culture III" (2021), and on July 1, collaborated with Brent Faiyaz and The Neptunes on the song "Wasting Time". On July 23, Drake appeared on "Over the Top" with Smiley, the newest signee to OVO Sound.


title: Drake (musician)

text: During an appearance on "Fri Yiy Friday", a radio show supported by OVO Sound, Drake revealed "Certified Lover Boy" "is ready. [I'm] looking forward to delivering it". He then appeared on "Betrayal", a collaboration with Trippie Redd for "Trip at Knight" (2021). "Certified Lover Boy" was then released on September 3, 2021, becoming his tenth number-one album on the "Billboard" 200; every song debuted on the "Billboard" Hot 100, while the album was the first to chart nine songs on the top 10, with "Way 2 Sexy" becoming Drake's ninth number-one single. He subsequently set the record for the fourth-most cumulative weeks (52) at number one on the Hot 100, behind Mariah Carey (84), Rihanna (60), and The Beatles (59). He received a nomination for Best Global Act at the 2021 All Africa Music Awards, and appeared on Young Thug's "Punk" (2021), featuring on the song "Bubbly". On October 22, Drake featured on Majid Jordan's "Stars Align", the lead single to the band's third album "Wildest Dreams". Two weeks later, on November 5, Drake released a horror-themed black and white music video for "Knife Talk", the third single from "Certified Lover Boy", with featured appearances by 21 Savage and Project Pat.


title: Drake (musician)

text: On November 6, he debuted the song "Give It Up" on OVO Sound Radio. "Certified Lover Boy" was nominated for Best Rap Album and "Way 2 Sexy" was nominated for Best Rap Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. He was later named "Billboard"'s Top Artist of the Year for 2021, and was the fourth most streamed artist on Spotify for the year, and the most streamed rapper. On December 6, he withdrew his music for consideration for the Grammys, with multiple outlets noting his contentious relationship with the Recording Academy. Drake accumulated 8.6 billion on-demand streams in 2021, making him the most overall streamed artist of the year in the United States; one out of every 131 streams was a Drake song.


title: Drake (musician)

text: On January 7, 2022, Drake was announced as a featured artist on Gunna's "DS4Ever"; he was included on the deluxe edition released a week later. On January 17, Drake announced another collaboration with DJ Khaled; this was reportedly recorded that June, and eventually released with Lil Baby on August 5 as "Staying Alive", the lead single from Khaled's thirteenth studio album "God Did" (2022). On March 3, Drake placed fourth on "Forbes"s ranking of highest paid rappers of 2021, with an estimated pre-tax income of $50 million, and then announced a return to touring, with two "interactive" concerts expected in Toronto and New York City. On March 23, he won Hip-Hop Artist of the Year at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards. On April 16, it was calculated Drake generated more streams in 2021 than every song released prior to 1980 combined; his music accumulated 7.91 billion streams, while songs pre-1980 had generated 6.32 billion. Drake was then confirmed as a guest artist on Future's "I Never Liked You" (2022), featuring on the songs "Wait for U" alongside Tems and "I'm on One", the former of which debuted atop the "Billboard" Hot 100, becoming Drake's tenth number-one song and making him the tenth act to achieve ten number ones. On May 2, Jared Krichevsky, a Character and Creature Designer for Warner Bros. Pictures revealed the studio once sought to cast Drake as Victor Stone / Cyborg in an untitled television series, publishing concept art.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In Universal Music Group's Q1 earnings call on May 4, it was announced Drake re-signed with the company in a multifaceted deal, which includes recordings, publishing, merchandise, and "visual media projects"; although an official figure wasn't revealed, it was reported to be worth as high as $400 million, making it one of the largest recording contracts ever. On June 16, Drake announced his seventh album, "Honestly, Nevermind", which released a day later; on the debut episode of his recently launched radio show "Table for One" on Sirius XM, he announced a poetry book with frequent writing collaborator Kenza Samir in 2022, and a yet undetermined release of the third iteration of his "Scary Hours" EP series. "Honestly, Nevermind" sold 204,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, becoming Drake's eleventh US number-one album and making him the fifth artist with over 10 number one albums, after the Beatles (19), Jay-Z (14), Bruce Springsteen, and Barbra Streisand (both 11). It was also the fourth-largest streaming week for any album in 2022, after "Un Verano Sin Ti", "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers", and "I Never Liked You". "Jimmy Cooks" also became Drake's eleventh US number-one song, although, the song "Texts Go Green" tied the record (held by Kendrick Lamar and Taylour Paige's "We Cry Together") for biggest single-week drop in "Billboard" Hot 100 history, falling from number 13 to number 94.


title: Drake (musician)

text: On July 14, it was announced Drake would reunite with former Young Money label mates Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj on a three date Toronto exclusive concert series titled the "October World Weekend", on July 28, July 29, and August 1. The concerts are also set to feature both Chris Brown and Lil Baby, and is expected to be the first leg of the Road to OVO Fest Tour, a worldwide edition of OVO Fest to commemorate its 10th anniversary. On July 29, Drake was revealed as a collaborator on Beyoncé's "Renaissance" (2022), co-writing the song "Heated". On August 2, the music video for "Sticky", the second single from "Honestly, Nevermind", was released. After the debut of "Staying Alive" on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, it marked the 30th Drake song to reach the top five on the chart, breaking a 55-year-old record for most songs to reach the top five on the chart (29), held by The Beatles. On October 5, 2022, Drake, in conjunction with SiriusXM, announced a special two-night live concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York for November 11 and 12; these were first delayed to that December and then delayed to January 2023, citing production delays. Drake then refused to submit his solo music for consideration at the 2023 Grammy Awards, refusing to submit his music for Grammy consideration for a second consecutive year. At the 2022 SOCAN Awards, Drake won Songwriter of the Year.


title: Drake (musician)

text: On October 22, Drake announced "Her Loss", a collaborative album with 21 Savage which would release on October 28; it was then delayed to November 4 after Drake's longtime producer, 40, was diagnosed with COVID-19. At the 2022 People's Choice Awards, Drake was nominated for three awards: Male Artist of 2022, Song of 2022 (for "Wait for U" with Future and Tems), and Collaboration Song of 2022 (for "Jimmy Cooks" with 21 Savage). "Her Loss" debuted atop the "Billboard" 200, accumlating first week sales of 404,000 album-equivalent units. Eight of the album's songs debuted in the top ten on the "Billboard" Hot 100, extending Drake's record for most top ten entries, with 67 (with a record 49 as a lead artist). He is also the only artist to log eight top tens from one album twice. On November 15, Drake was nominated for four awards at the 2023 Grammy Awards: Album of the Year (for his writing on Beyoncé's "Renaissance"), Best Melodic Rap Performance (for "Wait for U"), and two for Best Rap Song (for "Churchill Downs" with Jack Harlow, and "Wait for U"). A day later, he released the music video for "Rich Flex" from "Her Loss".


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake has cited several hip hop artists as influencing his rapping style, including Kanye West, Jay-Z, MF Doom, and Lil Wayne, while also attributing various R&B artists as influential to the incorporation of the genre into his own music, including Aaliyah and Usher. Drake has also credited several dancehall artists for later influencing his Caribbean-inflected style, including Vybz Kartel, whom he has called one of his "biggest inspirations".


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake is considered to be a pop rap artist. While Drake's earlier music primarily spanned hip hop and R&B, his music has delved into pop and trap in recent years. Additionally, his music has drawn influence from regional scenes, including Jamaican dancehall and UK drill. Drake is known for his egotistical lyrics, technical ability, and integration of personal backstory when dealing with relationships with women. His vocal abilities have been lauded for an audible contrast between typical hip-hop beats and melody, with sometimes abrasive rapping coupled with softer accents, delivered on technical lyricism.


title: Drake (musician)

text: His songs often include audible changes in lyrical pronunciation in parallel with his upbringing in Toronto, and connections with Caribbean and Middle Eastern countries which include such phrases as "ting", "touching road", "talkin' boasy" and "gwanin' wassy". Most of his songs contain R&B and Canadian hip hop elements, and he combines rapping with singing. He credits his father with the introduction of singing into his rap mixtapes, which have become a staple in his musical repertoire. His incorporation of melody into technically complex lyrics was supported by Lil Wayne, and has subsequently been a critically acclaimed component to Drake's singles and albums. Drake's style of R&B is characterized by vacant beats and a rap-sung dichotomy, which has also seen incredible mainstream success, spawing several imitators.


title: Drake (musician)

text: The lyrical content that Drake deploys is typically considered to be emotional or boastful. However, Drake is often revered for incorporating "degrading" themes of money, drug use, and women into newer, idealized contexts, often achieving this through his augmentation of the typical meaning of phrases in which he combines an objective and subjective perspective into one vocal delivery. His songs often maintain tension between "pause and pace, tone timbre, and volume and vocal fermata." Drake is credited with innovating what has been referred to as "hyper-reality rap", characterized by its focus on themes of celebrity as distinct from the "real world."


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake's lyrical subject matter, which often revolves around relationships, have had widespread use on social media through photo captions to reference emotions or personal situations. However, this content has incited mixed reception from fans and critics, with some deeming him as sensitive and inauthentic, traits perceived as antithetical to traditional hip hop culture. He is also known for his large and extravagant lifestyle, including for high-end themed birthday parties; he maintained this image in his early career by renting a Rolls-Royce Phantom, which he was eventually gifted in 2021. He cultivated a reputation as a successful gambler; between December 2021 and February 2022, he was reported to have made bets of over $1 billion, which included winnings ranging between $354,000 and $7 million.


title: Drake (musician)

text: "The Washington Post" editor Maura Judkis credits Drake for popularizing the phrase "YOLO" in the United States with his single "The Motto", which includes, "You only live once: that's the motto, nigga, YOLO." Drake later popularized the term "The Six" in 2015 in relation to his hometown Toronto, subsequently becoming a point of reference to the city. June 10 was declared "Drake Day" in Houston. In 2016, Drake visited Drake University after a show in Des Moines in response to an extensive social media campaign by students that began in 2009, advocating for his appearance. According to a report from Confused.com, Drake's Toronto home was one of the most Googled homes in the world, recording over a million annual searches in 2021; its features, such as its NBA-size indoor basketball court and Kohler Numi toilet, have also received widespread media attention.


title: Drake (musician)

text: The music video for "Hotline Bling" went viral due to Drake's eccentric dance moves. The video has been remixed, memed, and was heavily commented on due to the unconventional nature on the song, causing it to gain popularity on YouTube, and spawning several parodies. Drake has also been critiqued for his expensive, product placement-heavy attire, exemplified by the video for "Hotline Bling". Drake modelled a $1,500 Moncler Puffer Jacket, a $400 Acne Studios turtleneck, and limited edition Timberland 6" Classic Boots. He was labeled by "GQ" magazine as "[one of] the most stylish men alive"; during promotion for "Certified Lover Boy", Drake debuted a "heart haircut", which became popular and widely imitated. Writing for "GQ", Anish Patel noted Drake's consistent incorporation of styles and themes not typically associated with hip hop, such as wearing gorpcore in the music video for his song "Sticky". Between 2016 and 2019, Drake was noted for the "Drake curse", an internet meme based on the incidents where he appears to be support of particular sports team or person, just for that team or person to lose, often against the odds.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In 2016, Drake spoke on the shooting of Alton Sterling, publishing an open letter expressing his concern for the safety of ethnic minorities against police brutality in the United States. In 2021, he joined a group of Canadian musicians to work with the Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC) to lobby Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to restructure the country's copyright law to allow artists and their families to regain ownership of copyrights during their lifetime. He also campaigned for the expansion of a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) franchise in Toronto, and headlined a benefit concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with Kanye West on December 9, 2021, to raise clemency for Larry Hoover, although his solo performance was later removed from the Prime Video replay. In Christmas 2021, Drake gave away money to individuals in Toronto.


title: Drake (musician)

text: A prominent figure in pop culture, Drake is often praised one of the most influential figures in hip hop; particularly his use of singing over hip hop instrumentals has been noted as an influence on modern rappers. He is widely credited for popularizing the Toronto sound to the music industry and leading the "Canadian Invasion", a play on the British Invasion in the 1960s, of the American charts — alongside the likes of Justin Bieber and The Weeknd. In 2022, music recognition app Shazam revealed Drake to be their most searched artist by users, with music featuring Drake collecting 350 million recognitions; his 2016 single "One Dance" collected 17 million recognitions alone.


title: Drake (musician)

text: "The Insider" declared Drake the artist of the decade (2010s). Regarding the general view that Drake introduced singing in mainstream hip hop, the publication said that at the height of Auto-Tune in hip hop during the late 2000s, "there were virtually no artists who were both a legit rapper and a legit crooner who delivered velvety smooth pop/R&B hybrid vocals that could exist separately from his hip-hop songs." Commenting on Drake's "Take Care", Elias Leight of "Rolling Stone" noticed in 2020 that "now nearly every singer raps, and nearly every rapper sings", as many artists "have borrowed or copied the template of [the album] that the boldness of the original is easily forgotten", according to the writer.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Aaron Williams of Uproxx added "jump-starting the sad boy rapper craze alongside Kid Cudi" and "helping to renew stateside interest in UK grime and Caribbean dancehall with Skepta, PartyNextDoor, and Rihanna" to the modern trends Drake assisted. BBC Radio 1Xtra argued that his co-signs helped push the British hip-hop scene to a wider international market, as he did with the Toronto music scene. According to CBS Music in 2019, Drake has inspired "the next wave" of artists coming out of his hometown. Writing for "Bloomberg", Lucas Shaw commented Drake's popularity has influenced the promotion of music, with "Certified Lover Boy" attaining large commercial success despite relatively minimal orthodox marketing techniques, stating "fans are consuming Drake's [music] in a way that is different to others". He also noted the album as novel in relation to consumption, with each song having relatively equivalent streams, as opposed to a dominant single(s). Justin Charity of The Ringer noted Drake's signature of producing "half-hearted" performances on songs to create a "natural and off-the-cuff" effect has become the "obvious touchpoint for [subsequent] male R&B singers". Charity further wrote Drake's success in the genre is "so thorough that it's all but impossible to hear certain vintages of R&B without hearing Drake".


title: Drake (musician)

text: The ubiquity of Drake's music has consistently seen it played during various activities or events. In 2021, a study conducted by Pour Moi found, over a kilometer, joggers ran 21 seconds slower while listening to Drake's music compared to other artists. Drake's music was also found to extend a three-mile run by 105 seconds. Beginning in 2022, Drake's music was canonized academically by Toronto Metropolitan University, which began teaching courses titled "Deconstructing Drake and the Weeknd", with the pair's music used to explore themes related to the Canadian music industry, race, class, marketing and globalization. With the release during LGBT Pride Month of his seventh album "Honestly, Nevermind" (2022), Mark Savage of the BBC wrote Drake's exploration of house, a genre with overt origins in black and queer spaces, would help "build a bridge to those [origin] subcultures" for younger music listeners.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake is the highest-certified digital singles artist ever in the United States, having moved 142 million units based on combined sales and on-demand streams. His highest-certified single is "God's Plan" (11× Platinum), followed by "Hotline Bling", which was certified 8× Platinum. He holds several "Billboard" Hot 100 chart records; he has the most charted songs of any artist (258), the most simultaneously charted songs in a single week (27), the most debuts in a week (22), the most top 10 singles (54), the most top 10 debuts in a week (9), the most top 10 debuts (39), and the most continuous time on the chart (431 weeks). He has accumulated 10 number-one singles, a record among rappers. In 2021, Drake became second act to occupy the entire Hot 100's top five in a single week, the other act being The Beatles in 1964. He also has the most number-one singles on the Hot Rap Songs (23), Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (23), and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. He is also the only artist to have two albums log 400 weeks each on the "Billboard 200".


title: Drake (musician)

text: , Drake has won four Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. He has also won a record 29 "Billboard" Music Awards. In 2017, he surpassed Adele's record for most wins at the Billboard Music Awards in one night, winning 13 awards from 22 nominations. He was named Artist of the Decade at the 2021 "Billboard" Music Awards. "Billboard" editor Ernest Baker stated "Drake managed to rule hip-hop in 2014", adding "the best rapper in 2014 didn't need a new album or hit single to prove his dominance". From 2015 to 2017, Drake ranked within the top-five of the "Billboard" year-end chart for Top Artists topping it in 2018. He was named the IFPI Global Recording Artist of 2016 and 2018. Drake was Spotify's most streamed artist of the 2010s.


title: Drake (musician)

text: "Pitchfork" ranked "Nothing Was the Same" as the 41st best album of the decade "so far"—between 2010 and 2014, and ranked him fifth in the publication's list of the "Top 10 Music Artists" since 2010. "Take Care" was ranked at number 95 on "Rolling Stone"s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020). He has been ranked by "Complex" on their "Best Rapper Alive Every Year Since 1979" list, awarding Drake the accolade in 2011, 2012, and 2015.


title: Drake (musician)

text: On May 31, 2009, Drake was robbed at gunpoint in Toronto's Little Italy district and was forced to forfeit a gold and diamond necklace, an Audemars Piguet watch, and $2,000. Soccerties Cotterell and Paul Lelutiu were initially charged with armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, three counts of pointing a firearm and possession of stolen property. All charges were later dropped, except conspiracy to commit armed robbery, to which the men pleaded guilty. They were sentenced to time served, amounting to just over six months in jail. In April 2017, Mesha Collins was arrested for criminal trespass after breaking into Drake's home in Calabasas; although no criminal charges were brought, Collins filed a $4 billion lawsuit against Drake for defamation in June 2021, which was dismissed that December. Drake then filed a restraining order against Collins in March 2022, which was granted that April. In March 2021, an unidentified woman armed with a knife was arrested after a failed attempt to break into Drake's Toronto home.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In 2012, singer Ericka Lee filed a lawsuit against Drake for the usage of her voice on "Marvins Room". Claiming to have provided the female vocals, Lee also alleged she was owed songwriting credits and royalties. Despite Drake's legal team countering by claiming that Lee simply requested a credit in the liner notes of the album, the matter was resolved in February 2013, with both parties agreeing to an out-of-court settlement. In 2014, Drake was sued for $300,000 for sampling "Jimmy Smith Rap", a 1982 single by jazz musician Jimmy Smith. The suit was filed by Smith's estate, who said Drake never asked for permission when sampling it for the intro on "Pound Cake / Paris Morton Music 2", claiming Smith himself would have disagreed as he disliked hip hop. Drake would win the lawsuit in 2017, with federal judge William Pauley ruling the content used was transformative, and there was no liability for copyright infringement. Also in 2014, it emerged that Drake was sued by rapper Rappin' 4-Tay, claiming Drake misused his lyrics when collaborating with YG on the song "Who Do You Love?". He sought $100,000 for mistreatment and artistic theft, which Drake paid to the rapper later that year. In 2016, Drake caused a nightclub in Oklahoma City to close down, due to his usage of marijuana and other illegal drugs being prevalent at the club. In December 2021, Drake sued jeweler Ori Vechler and his company Gemma LTD for incorrectly using his likeness in promotional material; he also sought to return three items he purchased. In December 2022, a lawsuit brought by rapper Angelou Skywalker, who allged Drake stole his song "Reach for Skies" to make "Way 2 Sexy", was dismissed following "repeated misconduct" by Skywalker against prosecutors and U.S. district judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who presided over the case; Skywalker was also accused of filing no less than 50 irrelevant motions and was handed a restraining order, preventing contact with Drake.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In 2017, Drake was embroiled in another lawsuit, being sued by producer Detail (Noel Fisher) over an alleged assault in 2014. Fisher claimed Drake's bodyguard, Nessel "Chubbs" Beezer, punched him in the face and allegedly broke his jaw over musical and financial disputes. Fisher also said the injuries caused him to be hospitalized for days and had to undergo several surgeries, following which he sued for damages related to medical bills and physical and emotional suffering. The case, which was set to undergo trial in May 2018, was dismissed by Superior Court Judge Elaine Lu after Fisher failed to show up for a final status conference. Lu ruled that Beezer solely acted in self-defense.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In January 2019 Drake, Odell Beckham Jr., and Younes Bendjima were sued by a man named Bennett Sipes in regards to an alleged assault that occurred outside of a L.A. nightclub in 2018. Sipes claims he suffered "traumatic brain injury, as well as injuries to his back, neck, shoulders, etc." on March 24, 2018 when he was attacked by Bendjima, as well as members of Drake and Beckham’s entourages in an alley near the nightclub and sought $250,000 in damages. The suit alleges Drake and Beckham followed their respective crews to the alley to watch Sipes get attacked. A video of the incident was recorded using the on-site surveillance system. The suit was eventually settled out of court.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In October 2021, Drake and Chris Brown were sued by Braindon Cooper and Timothy Valentine for copyright infringement between "No Guidance" and their own song "I Love Your Dress", but Drake was dropped by Cooper and Valentine from the lawsuit in April 2022. Drake was handed another copyright lawsuit from Samuel Nicholas, citing infringement from Drake's "In My Feelings" and "Nice For What".


title: Drake (musician)

text: In November 2021, he was named co-defendant with Travis Scott in a multi-claimant lawsuit for inciting "a riot and violence" at the Astroworld Festival, to which he released a statement; he was later criticized for reportedly attending the Area 29 strip club in Houston the day after the incident, and reportedly delayed the release of "Splash Brothers", a collaboration with French Montana, as a result.


title: Drake (musician)

text: On July 14, 2022, Drake was detained by Swedish police, reportedly stemming from drugs present within a Stockholm nightclub. That November, Drake and 21 Savage were sued by Condé Nast, the publisher of "Vogue", for using the "Vogue" name without permission to promote their collaborative album "Her Loss"; Drake and 21 Savage "voluntarily ceased" to a preliminary injunction to stop using "Vogue" trademarks to promote the album.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake and Chris Brown were allegedly involved in a physical altercation in June 2012 when Drake and his entourage threw glass bottles at Brown in a SoHo nightclub in Manhattan, New York City. Chris Brown tweeted about the incident, and criticized Drake in music until 2013, including on the "R.I.P." remix. Despite no response from Drake, he and Brown both appeared in a comedic skit for the 2014 ESPY Awards, and rehearsed the skit together prior to the televised airing, virtually ending the dispute. The pair later collaborated on "No Guidance" in 2019.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In December 2014, Drake was involved in another altercation, being punched by Diddy outside the LIV nightclub in Miami, Florida. The altercation was reported to be over Drake's usage of the instrumental for "0 to 100 / The Catch Up", allegedly produced by Boi-1da for Diddy, before Drake appropriated the track for his own use. Drake was later rushed to the ER after aggravating an old arm injury during the dispute. Drake was also involved in a feud with Tyga, stemming from Tyga's negative comments about him during an interview with "Vibe" magazine. Drake would later respond on "6 God" and "6PM in New York", which has been interpreted as directly involved in Tyga's abrupt removal from Young Money Entertainment.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Further controversy arose in July 2015 when it was alleged by Meek Mill that Drake had used ghostwriters during recording sessions for "RICO", one of the lead singles off Mill's second studio album. This proceeded further allegations that Drake did not help in promotion of the album, due to Mill discovering the ghostwriter, widely believed to be Quentin Miller. Despite Miller collaborating with Drake and receiving past credits, Mill assured that Miller had written Drake's verse for "R.I.C.O." Soon after, Funkmaster Flex aired reference tracks in support of Mill's claims, notably for "R.I.C.O.", "10 Bands", and "Know Yourself". This prompted Drake to respond with two diss tracks, titled "Charged Up" and "Back to Back", in the space of four days. Mill would later respond with "Wanna Know", before removing it from SoundCloud weeks later. Following several subliminal disses from either artist, Drake further sought to denounce Funkmaster Flex while performing in New York (Flex's home state) on the Summer Sixteen Tour. Following Mill's prison sentencing for probation violation, Drake stated "Free Meek Mill" at a concert in Australia, and ended their rivalry on "Family Feud"; the pair later collaborated on "Going Bad" in 2019.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Pusha T would also use the same rationale to criticize Drake on "Infrared" in 2018, leading Drake to respond with the "Duppy Freestyle" diss track on May 25. Pusha T responded with "The Story of Adidon" on May 29, which presented several claims and revealed Drake's fatherhood. The pair are considered to have been in a rivalry since 2012, resulting from Pusha T's feuds with Lil Wayne and Birdman, with Drake yet to respond to "The Story of Adidon".


title: Drake (musician)

text: In 2016, Drake was embroiled in a feud with Joe Budden, stemming from Budden's derogatory comments when reviewing "Views". Drake would allegedly respond to Budden through "4PM in Calabasas", prompting Budden to respond with two diss tracks in the space of five days, echoing the same sentiment Drake deployed during his feud with Meek Mill. Drake would later appear on "No Shopping" alongside French Montana, directly referencing Budden throughout the song, although, Montana claimed Drake's verse was recorded before the release of Budden's diss tracks. Despite Budden releasing two further songs in reference to Drake, he has yet to officially respond to Budden. In the same year, Drake dissed Kid Cudi on "Two Birds, One Stone" after Cudi launched an expletive-filled rant on the artist on Twitter. Cudi later checked into a rehabilitation facility following the release of the song, and continued to disparage Drake in further tweets; the pair eventually resolved their feud, and collaborated on "IMY2" in 2021.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In mid-2018, Drake was embroiled in a feud with long-time collaborator Kanye West. In an appearance on "The Shop", Drake recounted several meetings with West, who voiced his desire to "be Quincy Jones" and work with Drake and replicate the producer-artist relationship between Jones and Michael Jackson. West requested Drake play and inform him of upcoming releases, while he gave Drake the instrumental to "Lift Yourself". West requested the pair work in Wyoming, with Drake arriving a day after close friend 40, who said West was instead recording an album. Judging the pair to have differing release schedules, Drake traveled to Wyoming, but "only worked on [West's] music"; they explored Drake's after he played West "March 14", which addressed Drake's relationship with his newborn son and co-parent. This prompted a conversation with West regarding his personal issues, after which, news of his son would be exposed by Pusha T, which Drake concluded was revealed to him by West; West also released "Lift Yourself" as a solo song and produced "Infrared". Drake then denounced West in songs and live performances. West would retaliate in a series of tweets in late 2018, and the pair continued to respond on social media and in music as of late 2021, which included Drake leaking West's song "Life of the Party". During their feud, West also made several public attempts to reconcile with Drake, which is reported to have occurred after they co-headlined a benefit concert in December 2021.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake has also been involved in reported feuds with DMX, music critic Anthony Fantano, Kendrick Lamar, Common, The Weeknd, XXXTentacion, Jay-Z, Tory Lanez, and Ludacris, although the latter five, and his feud with DMX, have been reported to be resolved.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Prior to venturing into business, Drake garnered several endorsement deals with various companies, notably gaining one with Sprite following his mention of drinking purple drank, a concoction that contains Sprite as a key ingredient. In the aftermath of his highly publicized feud with Meek Mill, Drake was also endorsed by fast food restaurants Burger King and Whataburger. Business magazine "Forbes" commented his endorsement deals and business partnerships "combined heavily" for Drake's reported pre-tax earnings at $94 million between June 2016 to June 2017, being one of the highest-paid celebrities during that period.


title: Drake (musician)

text: During the composition of "Nothing Was the Same", Drake started his own record label in late 2012 with producer Noah "40" Shebib and business partner Oliver El-Khatib. Drake sought for an avenue to release his own music, as well helping in the nurturing of other artists, while Shebib and El-Khatib yearned to start a label with a distinct sound, prompting the trio to team up to form OVO Sound. The name is an abbreviation derived from the October's Very Own moniker Drake used to publish his earlier projects. The label is currently distributed by Warner Bros. Records.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake, 40, and PartyNextDoor were the label's inaugural artists. The label houses artists including Drake, PartyNextDoor, Majid Jordan, Roy Woods, and dvsn, as well as producers including 40, Boi-1da, Nineteen85, and Future the Prince.


title: Drake (musician)

text: On September 30, 2013, at a press conference with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke, Drake was announced as the new "global ambassador" of the Toronto Raptors, joining the executive committee of the NBA franchise. It was announced together with the 2016 NBA All-Star Game being awarded to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. This was also the setting where Drake was given The Key to the City. In the role, it was announced that Drake would help to promote and serve as a host of festivities, beginning with the All-Star Game. He would also provide consulting services to rebrand the team, helping to redesign its image and clothing line in commemoration of the franchise's 20th anniversary. He also collaborated with the Raptors on pre-game practice jerseys, t-shirts, and sweatsuits, and began hosting an annual "Drake Night" segment with the organization, beginning in 2013.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Following the launch of Apple Music, a music and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc., the company announced Drake as the figurehead for the platform at their Worldwide Developers Conference in 2015, with the artist also penning an exclusivity deal with the service worth a reported $19 million. This saw all future solo releases by Drake becoming available first on Apple Music, before seeing roll out to other streaming services and music retailers. Drake had also developed the OVO Sound Radio station on Beats 1, which is utilized as the primary avenue for debuting singles and projects, with the station overseeing over 300 million unique users when it debuted "More Life". Drake's partnership with Apple Music has largely been credited for the platform's sharp success, as it attained 10 million subscribers after six months, as well as giving birth to exclusivity from artists, with many independent and signed artists, such as Frank Ocean and The Weeknd, also brokering exclusivity deals with streaming services. Through signing with the company, Drake was one of the artists, alongside Pharrell and Katy Perry, to exclusively own an Apple Watch before the smartwatch saw public release.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In 2017, Drake and Adel "Future" Nur co-founded the production company DreamCrew, with functions in both management and entertainment. The company has produced the television series "Euphoria" and "Top Boy". Their debut produced film was sports documentary "The Carter Effect", detailing the impact of Vince Carter in Canada. On August 5, 2022, Drake was among those nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for acting as a producer on "Euphoria".


title: Drake (musician)

text: In July 2021, Drake was announced as an executive producer, alongside LeBron James and Maverick Carter, for "Black Ice", a documentary film charting the experiences of black and ethnic minority professional and amateur ice hockey players. It is due to be produced by Uninterrupted Canada in partnership with Drake's DreamCrew Entertainment, James' SpringHill Company, and Bell Media. DreamCrew also began production on the unscripted survival series "Chillin' Island" in 2021, due to air on HBO. In June 2021, Live Nation confirmed a long-standing partnership with Drake to open History, a 2,500 convertible capacity live-entertainment and general function venue in Toronto. It was in development for over three years and is situated in The Beaches. He also aided in the venue's interior design, which contains LED screens, soundproofing, quick-change rooms and a customizable staircase. In November 2022, DreamCrew invested near-$100 million to revive the open-air museum and amusement park "Luna Luna"; originally staged in Hamburg, it is set to go on a worldwide tour, with Drake stating, "[Luna Luna] is such a unique and special way to experience art. This is a big idea and opportunity that centers around what we love most: bringing people together".


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake signed as an investor and collaborator with Los Angeles-based sustainability and financial services startup Aspiration; he will also use the company's enterprise services to monitor and ensure personal carbon neutrality. He has also invested in robo-advisor Wealthsimple, the "livestreaming video commerce platform" NTWRK, the cannabis provider Bullrider, and several sports-related ventures, including online esports betting platform Players' Lounge, the sportstech firm StatusPro, and online sports network Overtime. In an analysis by Brennan Doherty for "Toronto Star", Drake's investment "carry all the hallmarks" typical of musicians, which is often momentum investing, and cited Jason Pereira, who described Drake's business deals as typically angel investing and private equity (often venture capital) funds. Pereira also noted his "leveraging his personal brand to generate cash". On August 30, 2022, it was reported that Drake and LeBron James, as part of the investment fund Main Street Advisors, would partner with U.S. private equity group RedBird Capital and Yankee Global Enterprises to purchase Italian football club A.C. Milan for a rumored $1.2 billion. Drake has also invested in cryptocurrency firm Moonpay.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In 2018, Drake purchased an ownership stake in the gaming organization 100 Thieves, joining as a co-founder and co-owner. The investment was partly funded by music executive Scooter Braun and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Two months prior to the release of "Views", Drake announced the development of Virginia Black, a bourbon-based whiskey. This would be his second foray into selling foodstuffs, previously partnering with celebrity chef Susur Lee to open Fring's Restaurant and Antonio Park to open the sports bar Pick 6ix, both in Toronto and eventually closed. Virginia Black was created and distributed by Proximo Spirits and Brent Hocking, a spirits producer who founded DeLeón Tequila in 2008. The company described the partnership as "fruitful [as they] share a passion for style, music, and the pursuit of taste [on] a quest to redefine whiskey." In 2021, using ratings compiled from Vivino and complimentary website Distiller, Virginia Black was ranked the worst value celebrity liquor for quality and price.


title: Drake (musician)

text: The product was launched in June 2016, and contained two, three and four-year old Bourbon whiskies. The company sold over 4,000 bottles in the first week domestically. The brand was also promoted and marketed through Drake's music and various tours, such as being part of the "Virginia Black VIP Lounge" additional package available for purchase during the Summer Sixteen Tour. Virginia Black shipped a further 30,000 units when rollout was extended to select international markets in late 2016. The company later aired commercials with Drake's father, Dennis Graham, which featured the mock tagline of "The Realest Dude Ever" (in reference toward "The Most Interesting Man in the World" tagline employed by Dos Equis) after extending the sale of the drink to Europe in 2017. In 2019, Drake began collaborating with Hocking on Mod Sélection, a luxury range of champagne, and in May 2021, formed part of a $40 million series B investment funding round led by D1 Capital Partners in Daring Foods Inc., a vegan meat analogue corporation. That September, he purchased a minority stake in Californian food chain Dave's Hot Chicken, and organized a promotion on October 24, 2022, to give away free chicken to Toronto residents on his 36th birthday.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In December 2013, Drake announced he was signing with Nike and Air Jordan, saying "growing up, I'm sure we all idolized Michael Jordan. I [am] officially inducted into the Team Jordan family." Drake also released his own collection of Air Jordans, dubbed the "Air Jordan OVOs". This foresaw collaborations between OVO and Canada Goose, in which various items of clothing were produced. In 2020, A Bathing Ape announced a collaboration with Drake, releasing an OVO x BAPE collection of clothing, while he also partnered with candle manufacturer Revolve to create "Better World Fragrance", a line of scented candles.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In December 2020, Drake announced Nocta, a sub-label with Nike. In a press release, Drake said "I always felt like there was an opportunity for Nike to embrace an entertainer the same way [as] athletes," he wrote, "to be associated with the highest level possible was always my goal." The apparel line is named after Drake's "nocturnal creative process", in which Nike described as a "collection for the collective", and noted by GQ as "fashion-forward, minimal-inspired sportswear". One clothing item features an image of Drake's muses, Elizabeth and Victoria Lejonhjärta, with a poem. After the first collection sold out, another was released in February 2021, which introduced t-shirts, adjustable caps, a utility vest, and a lightweight jacket. That July, OVO released the "Weekender Collection", which includes a line of hoodies, velour sweatsuits, t-shirts, shorts, and accessories for women. OVO then released a "Winter Survival Collection" that December which included puffer jackets, vests, and parkas made with 700-fill down and Oeko-Tex certified down feathers. They followed this with limited "Jurassic Park"-themed collection and an indoor footwear collaboration with Suicoke, as well as a Playboy-collaborated capsule collection.


title: Drake (musician)

text: In July 2022, a capsule inspired by and in collaboration with Mike Tyson was released, featuring both blouson jackets and caps. In conjunction with Spotify's 12-year, $540 million sponsorship deal with FC Barcelona, the club wore special edition OVO owl silhouette branded jerseys in their El Clásico match against Real Madrid CF on October 16, 2022. OVO then partnered with former professional ice hockey player Tie Domi and fashion retailer Roots Canada to release a capsule collection on October 28, matching Domi's jersey number for the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs; a capsule collection was later released in collaboration with the Maple Leafs in November.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake lives in Toronto, Ontario, in a 35,000-square-foot, $100 million estate nicknamed "The Embassy", which was built from the ground-up in 2017, and is seen in the video to his song "Toosie Slide". He owned a home nicknamed the "YOLO Estate" in Hidden Hills, California from 2012 to 2022, and bought a Beverly Crest home in 2022 from Robbie Williams for $70 million. He owns a condominium adjacent to the CN Tower. He also owns a Boeing 767, and in 2021, rented a $65 million multi-purpose property in Beverly Hills.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake has a variety of tattoos, some of which are symbols associated with personal accomplishments, such as a jack-o-lantern, "October Lejonhjärta" (), owls, and a controversial "Abbey Road" (1969) inspired depiction of himself and The Beatles. He has portraits of Lil Wayne, Sade, Aaliyah, Jesús Malverde, Denzel Washington, 40, his parents, grandmother, maternal uncle, and son; and several related to Toronto, including the CN Tower and the number "416".


title: Drake (musician)

text: On August 18, 2021, Drake revealed he contracted COVID-19 amidst the pandemic, which led to temporary hair loss. He was also one of the first celebrities to publicly test for the virus in March 2020. He contracted the disease again in 2022, causing the postponement of reunion concerts with Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake's paternal uncles are guitarists and songwriters Larry Graham and Teenie Hodges. Graham was a member of Sly and the Family Stone, while Hodges contributed to songs for Al Green, including "Love and Happiness", "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)", and "Take Me to the River".


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake has two dogs, a snow white American Bully and an American Akita; he acquired another Akita in 2016, but surrendered the dog to a trainer not long after due to tour commitments.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake is close friends with Adele. He dated SZA between 2008 and 2009, and was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Rihanna from 2009 to 2016. He has mentioned the relationship in every one of his studio albums, and when presenting Rihanna with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award in 2016, he said "she's a woman I've been in love with since I was 22 years old." On his relationship with her, he said on the talk show "The Shop":


title: Drake (musician)

text: As life takes shape and teaches you your own lessons, I end up in this situation where I don't have the fairy tale [of] 'Drake started a family with Rihanna, [it's] so perfect.' It looks so good on paper [and] I wanted it too at one time.


title: Drake (musician)

text: Drake is a father to one son who was born on October 11, 2017, to French painter and former model Sophie Brussaux. Brussaux's pregnancy was the subject of several rumours after featuring in a TMZ article in early 2017. After the nature of the pair's relationship was discussed in Pusha T's "The Story of Adidon", Drake confirmed his fatherhood on the album "Scorpion" in 2018, citing a desire for his child's privacy.


title: YouTube Music

text: YouTube Music is a music streaming service developed by YouTube, a subsidiary of Google. It provides a tailored interface for the service, oriented towards music streaming, allowing users to browse through songs and music videos on YouTube based on genres, playlists, and recommendations.


title: YouTube Music

text: The service also offers a premium tier, which enables ad-free playback, audio-only background playback, and downloading songs for offline playback. These subscription benefits are also offered to subscribers of YouTube Premium. The service superseded Google Play Music as Google's main brand for music streaming on December 1, 2020.


title: YouTube Music

text: The YouTube Music app was unveiled in October 2015 and released the following month; its release came alongside the unveiling of YouTube Premium (originally called "YouTube Red"), a larger subscription service that covers the entirety of the YouTube platform, including the Music app. Although redundant to Google's existing Google Play Music All Access subscription service, the app is designed for users who primarily consume music through YouTube.


title: YouTube Music

text: On May 17, 2018, YouTube announced a new version of the YouTube Music service, including a web-based desktop player and redesigned mobile app, more dynamic recommendations based on various factors, and the use of Google artificial intelligence technology to search songs based on lyrics and descriptions. In addition, YouTube Music became a separate subscription service (positioned as a more direct competitor to Apple Music and Spotify), offering ad-free and background/audio-only streaming, and downloading for offline playback, for music content on YouTube. The service's benefits will continue to be available as part of the existing YouTube Premium (formerly YouTube Red) service and to Google Play Music All Access subscribers. The YouTube Music subscription is priced in line with its competitors at US$9.99 per-month; the price of YouTube Premium was concurrently increased to $11.99 for new subscribers.


title: YouTube Music

text: In 2018, YouTube Music reached multiple sponsorship agreements with Dick Clark Productions to serve as a partner for its television specials "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" and the American Music Awards.


title: YouTube Music

text: YouTube Music became available on Google Assistant smart speakers (including Google Nest smart speakers) on April 18, 2019, with feature-limited ad-supported playback available for non-subscribers in only a limited number of countries.


title: YouTube Music

text: The availability of music includes many of the releases from mainstream artists and extends to any video categorized as music on the YouTube service.


title: YouTube Music

text: YouTube Music initially operated in parallel with Google Play Music, but the latter was shut down in December 2020. Product manager Elias Roman stated in 2018 that they aimed to reach feature parity with Google Play Music before migrating users to it, but as of 2021 this has not been achieved.


title: YouTube Music

text: In September 2019, YouTube Music replaced Google Play Music in the core Google Mobile Services bundle distributed on new Android devices. In May 2020, an update was released to allow imports from Google Play Music, including purchased music, playlists, cloud libraries, and recommendations. The service still contains regressions over Google Play Music, including no online music store functionality (cannot purchase songs), and a YouTube Music Premium subscription being required in order to cast cloud library speakers to Google Nest smart speakers. Google stated that they planned to address this and other "gaps" in features between the services before Play Music is shut down. However, at the time of the shutdown, most feature gaps had not been addressed.


title: YouTube Music

text: The free tier plays songs in its music video version where applicable. The premium tier plays official tracks of the album unless the user searches for the music video version. YouTube Music Premium and YouTube Premium subscribers are able to switch to an audio-only mode that can play in the background while the application is not in use. The free tier does not allow audio-only mode with background playback as it displays video advertisements.


title: YouTube Music

text: YouTube Music Premium and YouTube Premium plans are available in individual and family variants. A family plan allows up to six family members from the same household to access plan features. Eligible students can obtain a discount on an individual plan.


title: YouTube Music

text: The service is available in 100 countries: American Samoa, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Germany, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Uruguay and Venezuela.


title: Ireland

text: Ireland ( ; ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth.


title: Ireland

text: Geopolitically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. As of 2022, the population of the entire island is just over 7 million, with 5.1 million living in the Republic of Ireland and 1.9 million in Northern Ireland, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain.


title: Ireland

text: The geography of Ireland comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. Its lush vegetation is a product of its mild but changeable climate which is free of extremes in temperature. Much of Ireland was woodland until the end of the Middle Ages. Today, woodland makes up about 10% of the island, compared with a European average of over 33%, with most of it being non-native conifer plantations. The Irish climate is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and thus very moderate, and winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, although summers are cooler than those in continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant.


title: Ireland

text: Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century AD. The island was Christianised from the 5th century onwards. Following the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion, England claimed sovereignty. However, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, and was extended during the 18th century. With the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. A war of independence in the early 20th century was followed by the partition of the island, thus creating the Irish Free State, which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades, and Northern Ireland, which remained a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s. This subsided following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. In 1973, the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland as part of it, did the same. In 2020, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland included, left what was by then the European Union (EU).


title: Ireland

text: Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the field of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, a strong indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music, Irish language, and Irish dance. The island's culture shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing, golf, and boxing.


title: Ireland

text: The names "Ireland" and derive from Old Irish "Ériu", a goddess in Irish mythology first recorded in the ninth century. The etymology of Ériu is disputed but may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *"", referring to flowing water.


title: Ireland

text: During the last glacial period, and until about 16,000 BC, much of Ireland was periodically covered in ice. The relative sea level was less than 50m lower resulting in an ice bridge (but not a land bridge) forming between Ireland and Great Britain. By 14,000 BC this ice bridge existed only between Northern Ireland and Scotland and by 12,000 BC Ireland was completely separated from Great Britain. Later, around 6100 BC, Great Britain became separated from continental Europe. Until recently, the earliest evidence of human activity in Ireland was dated at 12,500 years ago, demonstrated by a butchered bear bone found in a cave in County Clare. Since 2021, the earliest evidence of human activity in Ireland is dated to 33,000 years ago.


title: Ireland

text: By about 8000 BC, more sustained occupation of the island has been shown, with evidence for Mesolithic communities around the island.


title: Ireland

text: Some time before 4000 BC, Neolithic settlers introduced cereal cultivars, domesticated animals such as cattle and sheep, built large timber buildings, and stone monuments. The earliest evidence for farming in Ireland or Great Britain is from Ferriter's Cove, County Kerry, where a flint knife, cattle bones and a sheep's tooth were carbon-dated to c. 4350 BC. Field systems were developed in different parts of Ireland, including at the , that has been preserved beneath a blanket of peat in present-day Tyrawley. An extensive field system, arguably the oldest in the world, consisted of small divisions separated by dry-stone walls. The fields were farmed for several centuries between 3500 BC and 3000 BC. Wheat and barley were the principal crops.


title: Ireland

text: The Bronze Age began around 2500 BC, with technology changing people's everyday lives during this period through innovations such as the wheel; harnessing oxen; weaving textiles; brewing alcohol; and skilful metalworking, which produced new weapons and tools, along with fine gold decoration and jewellery, such as brooches and torcs.


title: Ireland

text: How and when the island became Celtic has been debated for close to a century, with the migrations of the Celts being one of the more enduring themes of archaeological and linguistic studies. The most recent genetic research strongly associates the spread of Indo-European languages (including Celtic) through Western Europe with a people bringing a composite Beaker culture, with its arrival in Britain and Ireland dated to around the middle of the third millennium BC. According to John T. Koch and others, Ireland in the Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-network culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age that also included Britain, western France and Iberia, and that this is where Celtic languages developed. This contrasts with the traditional view that their origin lies in mainland Europe with the Hallstatt culture.


title: Ireland

text: The long-standing traditional view is that the Celtic language, Ogham script and culture were brought to Ireland by waves of invading or migrating Celts from mainland Europe. This theory draws on the "Lebor Gabála Érenn", a medieval Christian pseudo-history of Ireland, along with the presence of Celtic culture, language and artefacts found in Ireland such as Celtic bronze spears, shields, torcs and other finely crafted Celtic associated possessions. The theory holds that there were four separate Celtic invasions of Ireland. The Priteni were said to be the first, followed by the Belgae from northern Gaul and Britain. Later, Laighin tribes from Armorica (present-day Brittany) were said to have invaded Ireland and Britain more or less simultaneously. Lastly, the Milesians (Gaels) were said to have reached Ireland from either northern Iberia or southern Gaul. It was claimed that a second wave named the Euerni, belonging to the Belgae people of northern Gaul, began arriving about the sixth century BC. They were said to have given their name to the island.


title: Ireland

text: The theory was advanced in part because of the lack of archaeological evidence for large-scale Celtic immigration, though it is accepted that such movements are notoriously difficult to identify. Historical linguists are skeptical that this method alone could account for the absorption of Celtic language, with some saying that an assumed processual view of Celtic linguistic formation is 'an especially hazardous exercise'. Genetic lineage investigation into the area of Celtic migration to Ireland has led to findings that showed no significant differences in mitochondrial DNA between Ireland and large areas of continental Europe, in contrast to parts of the Y-chromosome pattern. When taking both into account, a study concluded that modern Celtic speakers in Ireland could be thought of as European "Atlantic Celts" showing a shared ancestry throughout the Atlantic zone from northern Iberia to western Scandinavia rather than substantially central European.


title: Ireland

text: In 2012, research showed that the occurrence of genetic markers for the earliest farmers was almost eliminated by Beaker-culture immigrants: they carried what was then a new Y-chromosome R1b marker, believed to have originated in Iberia about 2500 BC. The prevalence amongst modern Irish men of this mutation is a remarkable 84%, the highest in the world, and closely matched in other populations along the Atlantic fringes down to Spain. A similar genetic replacement happened with lineages in mitochondrial DNA. This conclusion is supported by recent research carried out by the geneticist David Reich, who says: "British and Irish skeletons from the Bronze Age that followed the Beaker period had at most 10 per cent ancestry from the first farmers of these islands, with other 90 per cent from people like those associated with the Bell Beaker culture in the Netherlands." He suggests that it was Beaker users who introduced an Indo-European language, represented here by Celtic (i.e. a new language and culture introduced directly by migration and genetic replacement).


title: Ireland

text: The earliest written records of Ireland come from classical Greco-Roman geographers. Ptolemy in his "Almagest" refers to Ireland as "Mikra Brettania" ("Little Britain"), in contrast to the larger island, which he called "Megale Brettania" ("Great Britain"). In his later work, "Geography", Ptolemy refers to Ireland as "Iouernia" and to Great Britain as "Albion". These 'new' names were likely to have been the local names for the islands at the time. The earlier names, in contrast, were likely to have been coined before direct contact with local peoples was made.


title: Ireland

text: The Romans referred to Ireland by this name too in its Latinised form, "Hibernia", or Scotia. Ptolemy records sixteen nations inhabiting every part of Ireland in 100 AD. The relationship between the Roman Empire and the kingdoms of ancient Ireland is unclear. However, a number of finds of Roman coins have been made, for example at the Iron Age settlement of Freestone Hill near Gowran and Newgrange.


title: Ireland

text: Ireland continued as a patchwork of rival kingdoms; however, beginning in the 7th century, a concept of national kingship gradually became articulated through the concept of a High King of Ireland. Medieval Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of high kings stretching back thousands of years, but modern historians believe the scheme was constructed in the 8th century to justify the status of powerful political groupings by projecting the origins of their rule into the remote past.


title: Ireland

text: All of the Irish kingdoms had their own kings but were nominally subject to the high king. The high king was drawn from the ranks of the provincial kings and ruled also the royal kingdom of Meath, with a ceremonial capital at the Hill of Tara. The concept did not become a political reality until the Viking Age and even then was not a consistent one. Ireland did have a culturally unifying rule of law: the early written judicial system, the Brehon Laws, administered by a professional class of jurists known as the "brehons".


title: Ireland

text: "The Chronicle of Ireland" records that in 431, Bishop Palladius arrived in Ireland on a mission from Pope Celestine I to minister to the Irish "already believing in Christ". The same chronicle records that Saint Patrick, Ireland's best known patron saint, arrived the following year. There is continued debate over the missions of Palladius and Patrick, but the consensus is that they both took place and that the older druid tradition collapsed in the face of the new religion. Irish Christian scholars excelled in the study of Latin and Greek learning and Christian theology. In the monastic culture that followed the Christianisation of Ireland, Latin and Greek learning was preserved in Ireland during the Early Middle Ages in contrast to elsewhere in Western Europe, where the Dark Ages followed the Fall of the Western Roman Empire.


title: Ireland

text: The arts of manuscript illumination, metalworking and sculpture flourished and produced treasures such as the "Book of Kells", ornate jewellery and the many carved stone crosses that still dot the island today. A mission founded in 563 on Iona by the Irish monk Saint Columba began a tradition of Irish missionary work that spread Celtic Christianity and learning to Scotland, England and the Frankish Empire on continental Europe after the fall of Rome. These missions continued until the late Middle Ages, establishing monasteries and centres of learning, producing scholars such as Sedulius Scottus and Johannes Eriugena and exerting much influence in Europe.


title: Ireland

text: From the 9th century, waves of Viking raiders plundered Irish monasteries and towns. These raids added to a pattern of raiding and endemic warfare that was already deep-seated in Ireland. The Vikings were involved in establishing most of the major coastal settlements in Ireland: Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Wexford, Waterford, as well as other smaller settlements.


title: Ireland

text: On 1 May 1169, an expedition of Cambro-Norman knights, with an army of about 600 men, landed at Bannow Strand in present-day County Wexford. It was led by Richard de Clare, known as 'Strongbow' owing to his prowess as an archer. The invasion, which coincided with a period of renewed Norman expansion, was at the invitation of Dermot Mac Murrough, King of Leinster.


title: Ireland

text: In 1166, Mac Murrough had fled to Anjou, France, following a war involving Tighearnán Ua Ruairc, of Breifne, and sought the assistance of the Angevin King Henry II, in recapturing his kingdom. In 1171, Henry arrived in Ireland in order to review the general progress of the expedition. He wanted to re-exert royal authority over the invasion which was expanding beyond his control. Henry successfully re-imposed his authority over Strongbow and the Cambro-Norman warlords and persuaded many of the Irish kings to accept him as their overlord, an arrangement confirmed in the 1175 Treaty of Windsor.


title: Ireland

text: The invasion was legitimised by reference to provisions of the alleged Papal Bull "Laudabiliter", issued by an Englishman, Adrian IV, in 1155. The document apparently encouraged Henry to take control in Ireland in order to oversee the financial and administrative reorganisation of the Irish Church and its integration into the Roman Church system. Some restructuring had already begun at the ecclesiastical level following the Synod of Kells in 1152. There has been significant controversy regarding the authenticity of "Laudabiliter", and there is no general agreement as to whether the bull was genuine or a forgery. Further, it had no standing in the Irish legal system.


title: Ireland

text: In 1172, Pope Alexander III further encouraged Henry to advance the integration of the Irish Church with Rome. Henry was authorised to impose a tithe of one penny per hearth as an annual contribution. This church levy called Peter's Pence, is extant in Ireland as a voluntary donation. In turn, Henry assumed the title of Lord of Ireland which Henry conferred on his younger son, John Lackland, in 1185. This defined the Anglo-Norman administration in Ireland as the Lordship of Ireland. When Henry's successor died unexpectedly in 1199, John inherited the crown of England and retained the Lordship of Ireland. Over the century that followed, Norman feudal law gradually replaced the Gaelic Brehon Law across large areas, so that by the late 13th century the Norman-Irish had established a feudal system throughout much of Ireland. Norman settlements were characterised by the establishment of baronies, manors, towns and the seeds of the modern county system. A version of the Magna Carta (the Great Charter of Ireland), substituting "Dublin" for "London" and the "Irish Church" for, the English church at the time, the "Catholic Church", was published in 1216 and the Parliament of Ireland was founded in 1297.


title: Ireland

text: From the mid-14th century, after the Black Death, Norman settlements in Ireland went into a period of decline. The Norman rulers and the Gaelic Irish elites intermarried and the areas under Norman rule became Gaelicised. In some parts, a hybrid Hiberno-Norman culture emerged. In response, the Irish parliament passed the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1367. These were a set of laws designed to prevent the assimilation of the Normans into Irish society by requiring English subjects in Ireland to speak English, follow English customs and abide by English law.


title: Ireland

text: By the end of the 15th century, central English authority in Ireland had all but disappeared, and a renewed Irish culture and language, albeit with Norman influences, was dominant again. English Crown control remained relatively unshaken in an amorphous foothold around Dublin known as The Pale, and under the provisions of Poynings' Law of 1494, Irish Parliamentary legislation was subject to the approval of the English Privy Council.


title: Ireland

text: The title of King of Ireland was re-created in 1542 by Henry VIII, the then King of England, of the Tudor dynasty. English rule was reinforced and expanded in Ireland during the latter part of the 16th century, leading to the Tudor conquest of Ireland. A near-complete conquest was achieved by the turn of the 17th century, following the Nine Years' War and the Flight of the Earls.


title: Ireland

text: This control was consolidated during the wars and conflicts of the 17th century, including the English and Scottish colonisation in the Plantations of Ireland, the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Williamite War. Irish losses during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (which, in Ireland, included the Irish Confederacy and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland) are estimated to include 20,000 battlefield casualties. 200,000 civilians are estimated to have died as a result of a combination of war-related famine, displacement, guerrilla activity and pestilence throughout the war. A further 50,000 were sent into indentured servitude in the West Indies. Physician-general William Petty estimated that 504,000 Catholic Irish and 112,000 Protestant settlers died, and 100,000 people were transported, as a result of the war. If a prewar population of 1.5 million is assumed, this would mean that the population was reduced by almost half.


title: Ireland

text: The religious struggles of the 17th century left a deep sectarian division in Ireland. Religious allegiance now determined the perception in law of loyalty to the Irish King and Parliament. After the passing of the Test Act 1672, and the victory of the forces of the dual monarchy of William and Mary over the Jacobites, Roman Catholics and nonconforming Protestant Dissenters were barred from sitting as members in the Irish Parliament. Under the emerging Penal Laws, Irish Roman Catholics and Dissenters were increasingly deprived of various civil rights, even the ownership of hereditary property. Additional regressive punitive legislation followed in 1703, 1709 and 1728. This completed a comprehensive systemic effort to materially disadvantage Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters while enriching a new ruling class of Anglican conformists. The new Anglo-Irish ruling class became known as the Protestant Ascendancy.


title: Ireland

text: The "Great Frost" struck Ireland and the rest of Europe between December 1739 and September 1741, after a decade of relatively mild winters. The winters destroyed stored crops of potatoes and other staples, and the poor summers severely damaged harvests. This resulted in the famine of 1740. An estimated 250,000 people (about one in eight of the population) died from the ensuing pestilence and disease. The Irish government halted export of corn and kept the army in quarters but did little more. Local gentry and charitable organisations provided relief but could do little to prevent the ensuing mortality.


title: Ireland

text: In the aftermath of the famine, an increase in industrial production and a surge in trade brought a succession of construction booms. The population soared in the latter part of this century and the architectural legacy of Georgian Ireland was built. In 1782, Poynings' Law was repealed, giving Ireland legislative independence from Great Britain for the first time since 1495. The British government, however, still retained the right to nominate the government of Ireland without the consent of the Irish parliament.


title: Ireland

text: In 1798, members of the Protestant Dissenter tradition (mainly Presbyterian) made common cause with Roman Catholics in a republican rebellion inspired and led by the Society of United Irishmen, with the aim of creating an independent Ireland. Despite assistance from France the rebellion was put down by British and Irish government and yeomanry forces. In 1800, the British and Irish parliaments both passed Acts of Union that, with effect from 1 January 1801, merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain to create a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.


title: Ireland

text: The passage of the Act in the Irish Parliament was ultimately achieved with substantial majorities, having failed on the first attempt in 1799. According to contemporary documents and historical analysis, this was achieved through a considerable degree of bribery, with funding provided by the British Secret Service Office, and the awarding of peerages, places and honours to secure votes. Thus, the parliament in Ireland was abolished and replaced by a united parliament at Westminster in London, though resistance remained, as evidenced by Robert Emmet's failed Irish Rebellion of 1803.


title: Ireland

text: Aside from the development of the linen industry, Ireland was largely passed over by the industrial revolution, partly because it lacked coal and iron resources and partly because of the impact of the sudden union with the structurally superior economy of England, which saw Ireland as a source of agricultural produce and capital.


title: Ireland

text: The Great Famine of 1845–1851 devastated Ireland, as in those years Ireland's population fell by one-third. More than one million people died from starvation and disease, with an additional million people emigrating during the famine, mostly to the United States and Canada. In the century that followed, an economic depression caused by the famine resulted in a further million people emigrating. By the end of the decade, half of all immigration to the United States was from Ireland. The period of civil unrest that followed until the end of the 19th century is referred to as the Land War. Mass emigration became deeply entrenched and the population continued to decline until the mid-20th century. Immediately prior to the famine the population was recorded as 8.2 million by the 1841 census. The population has never returned to this level since. The population continued to fall until 1961; County Leitrim was the final Irish county to record a population increase post-famine, in 2006.


title: Ireland

text: The 19th and early 20th centuries saw the rise of modern Irish nationalism, primarily among the Roman Catholic population. The pre-eminent Irish political figure after the Union was Daniel O'Connell. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Ennis in a surprise result and despite being unable to take his seat as a Roman Catholic. O'Connell spearheaded a vigorous campaign that was taken up by the Prime Minister, the Irish-born soldier and statesman, the Duke of Wellington. Steering the Catholic Relief Bill through Parliament, aided by future prime minister Robert Peel, Wellington prevailed upon a reluctant George IV to sign the Bill and proclaim it into law. George's father had opposed the plan of the earlier Prime Minister, Pitt the Younger, to introduce such a bill following the Union of 1801, fearing Catholic Emancipation to be in conflict with the Act of Settlement 1701.


title: Ireland

text: Daniel O'Connell led a subsequent campaign, for the repeal of the Act of Union, which failed. Later in the century, Charles Stewart Parnell and others campaigned for autonomy within the Union, or "Home Rule". Unionists, especially those located in Ulster, were strongly opposed to Home Rule, which they thought would be dominated by Catholic interests. After several attempts to pass a Home Rule bill through parliament, it looked certain that one would finally pass in 1914. To prevent this from happening, the Ulster Volunteers were formed in 1913 under the leadership of Edward Carson.


title: Ireland

text: Their formation was followed in 1914 by the establishment of the Irish Volunteers, whose aim was to ensure that the Home Rule Bill was passed. The Act was passed but with the "temporary" exclusion of the six counties of Ulster, which later became Northern Ireland. Before it could be implemented, however, the Act was suspended for the duration of the First World War. The Irish Volunteers split into two groups. The majority, approximately 175,000 in number, under John Redmond, took the name National Volunteers and supported Irish involvement in the war. A minority, approximately 13,000, retained the Irish Volunteers' name and opposed Ireland's involvement in the war.


title: Ireland

text: The Easter Rising of 1916 was carried out by the latter group together with a smaller socialist militia, the Irish Citizen Army. The British response, executing fifteen leaders of the Rising over a period of ten days and imprisoning or interning more than a thousand people, turned the mood of the country in favour of the rebels. Support for Irish republicanism increased further due to the ongoing war in Europe, as well as the Conscription Crisis of 1918.


title: Ireland

text: The pro-independence republican party, Sinn Féin, received overwhelming endorsement in the general election of 1918, and in 1919 proclaimed an Irish Republic, setting up its own parliament () and government. Simultaneously the Volunteers, which became known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA), launched a three-year guerrilla war, which ended in a truce in July 1921 (although violence continued until June 1922, mostly in Northern Ireland).


title: Ireland

text: In December 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was concluded between the British government and representatives of the Second Dáil. It gave Ireland complete independence in its home affairs and practical independence for foreign policy, but an opt-out clause allowed Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom, which it immediately exercised. Additionally, Members of the Free State Parliament were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the Irish Free State and make a statement of faithfulness to the king. Disagreements over these provisions led to a split in the nationalist movement and a subsequent Irish Civil War between the new government of the Irish Free State and those opposed to the treaty, led by Éamon de Valera. The civil war officially ended in May 1923 when de Valera issued a cease-fire order.


title: Ireland

text: During its first decade, the newly formed Irish Free State was governed by the victors of the civil war. When de Valera achieved power, he took advantage of the Statute of Westminster and political circumstances to build upon inroads to greater sovereignty made by the previous government. The oath was abolished and in 1937 a new constitution was adopted. This completed a process of gradual separation from the British Empire that governments had pursued since independence. However, it was not until 1949 that the state was declared, officially, to be the Republic of Ireland.


title: Ireland

text: The state was neutral during World War II, but offered clandestine assistance to the Allies, particularly in the potential defence of Northern Ireland. Despite their country's neutrality, approximately 50,000 volunteers from independent Ireland joined the British forces during the war, four being awarded Victoria Crosses.


title: Ireland

text: The German intelligence was also active in Ireland. Its operations ended in September 1941 when police made arrests based on surveillance carried out on the key diplomatic legations in Dublin. To the authorities, counterintelligence was a fundamental line of defence. With a regular army of only slightly over seven thousand men at the start of the war, and with limited supplies of modern weapons, the state would have had great difficulty in defending itself from invasion from either side in the conflict.