Drake's Dad Dennis Graham Details His Son's Acting Start: He "Was Different"

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Recording artist Drake (L) accepts the Top Artist award with his father Dennis Graham during the 2017 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena on May 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dennis Graham dishes out on the Drake stories on "A Waste Of Time" podcast.

Drake gets all of his jiggy-ness from his dad. Dennis Graham's become a prominent figure in the music biz before having a son. Even as Drake's surpassed him, Graham's become a vital part of Drake's brand. Graham recently sat down with ItsTheReal on their podcast where they chopped it up with Dennis G about everything from his famous son to working with some of the most influential artists of all time. Dennis explained how he and his wife, Drake's mother Sandy, both knew something was special about him at a young age. "Drake was different," Graham said. "I told my wife that Drake had that look and we should put him into doing modeling... We got his pictures done, got him an agent and there we go, he started working."

Dennis Graham explained that he had already done acting in Canada and by the time Drake was 7-years-old, he already knew he wanted to be an actor as well.

"I went to Kohl's and I started buying acting scenes," Dennis explained. "We started reading, back and forth, taught him how to laugh. Taught him out to cry. Taught him how to smile. How to be happy, how to be sad," he continued. "He had it. I knew he had it."

By the time Drake was 9-years-old, he already got into Degrassi.

Peep the interview below with the Drake bit starting at the 45-min. mark. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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