Drake grew up between Vancouver, Canada and Memphis, Tennessee. His mother is Jewish and his father a southern black American, putting him squarely in Baptist country.
In Judaism, religious heritage is passed down through the mother and Drake has claimed being Jewish, making him the most famous black Jew since Lenny Kravitz.
Drake even had a Bar Mitzvah and celebrates most major Jewish holidays with his mother.[1]
He acknowledges that God and faith are important to him as well, saying:
One thing I make sure I do is I always talk to the big guy upstairs. I always let him know what my purpose is on that stage. It's not to further my reputation….I want to make these people happy.[2]
But wait, the list of successful Jewish rappers is only four people long: the three Beastie Boys and Matisyahu. Plus Drake is half-black, so what do you do when you are Jewish and you want to be a famous rapper? You say this:
At the end of the day, I consider myself a black man because I'm more immersed in black culture than any other.
A president's man
Drake hasn't said much about politics except to profess his admiration for America's last two Democratic presidents. He has said:
One of my favorite pictures I have in my house is of me and Bill [Clinton] and I'm wearing a zebra Supreme jacket and he's wearing a suit. It's wild![3]
Of Obama, he said:
I hope somebody makes a movie about Obama's life soon because I could play him. That's the goal. I watch all the addresses. Any time I see him on TV, I don't change the channel.[4]
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