Drake makes fan’s dying wish come true

Canadian rapper, Drake, has out with fellow celebrity, Rihanna, a lot lately, but last weekend, he spent time with another really special girl named, Kennedy Brown.

Kennedy is a 15-year-old high school student in Houston, USA who has suffered from brain cancer for the past two years. She’s currently in a hospice, but she left to pay her high school a visit where her classmates surprised her with a party and a graduation ceremony.

One of Kennedy’s dying wishes was to get a message or a visit from her favourite artist, Drake.

By using the hashtag #DrakeForKen on Twitter, her classmates got the attention of Drake, who said he would record a special video for her.

Instead, Drake travelled to Houston, where he was planning his Houston Appreciation Weekend for June, and paid Kennedy a visit for what he called an “incredible day” on Instagram.

Drake’s profile and net worth

Canadian recording artist and actor, Drake was born Aubrey Drake Graham on October 24, 1986 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

He has an estimated net worth of $40m (about N6.8bn).

Drake was initially known for his role as Jimmy Brooks in a Canadian teen drama television series, ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’.

He stepped out as a rapper and singer with pop appeal in 2006 when he initiated a series of mix tapes.

A year later, despite being unsigned, he got public attention when his cocky and laid-back track ‘Replacement Girl’, featuring Trey Songz, was featured on BET’s 106 & Park programme as its ‘Joint of the Day’.

He raised his profile throughout the next several months by popping up on countless mix tapes and remixes, and as rumours swirled about contract offers from labels, he gradually became one of the most talked-about artists in the industry. He had support from the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne, who were more experienced in the industry.

By the end of June 2009, Drake’s promotional single ‘Best I Ever Had’, had climbed to number two on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. After a fierce bidding war, Drake signed with Universal Motown in late summer and released an EP (So Far Gone) made up of songs from his popular ‘So Far Gone’ mix tape. It peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and won a 2010 Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year.

Drake was the highest-earning newcomer on the Forbes 2010 list of Hip-Hop Cash Kings with $10m (N1.7bn). He returned on Forbes 2011 Cash Kings with earnings of $11m (N1.87bn), thanks to a new record deal, advertising pact with Kodak, Coca-Cola’s Sprite and agreement with Virgin America, that plasters his likeness onto the sides of airplanes. Another good decision was recruiting Lil Wayne and Jay-Z to appear on his debut album.

Drake’s cars

Drake has been photographed driving around the streets of Hollywood in his white Bentley Continental GT. It is one of the fastest production cars from the Bentley stable and boasts of a top speed of 328 km/hour. The sports car comes with an open top and the presence of an upright darkened chrome mesh grille along with LED xenon headlights gives it a very contemporary exterior look. The glamorous interiors contain expensive diamond-stitch leather upholstery and an extensive maple wood trim level. The sophisticated infotainment package consists of the 11-speaker Naim audio system and a rear-view camera.

The rapper was also spotted back in his hometown of Toronto taking delivery of his Bugatti Veyron Sang Noir before he headed back to the US to finish off his Club Paradise Tour last year.

The striking Bugatti Veyron Sang Noir, which costs a whopping $3.4m (N578m), will be in good company in his garage, which also boasts of other luxury vehicles like the Bentley Continental Supersports, Range Rover and a Maybach.

The Sang Noir edition is listed as the most expensive new car to be advertised and sports a ‘black blood’ exterior and a creamsicle orange guts’ interior. The aesthetic treatment is a departure from the more common two-tone colour schemes that Bugatti tends to favour.

Only 15 Sang Noirs were available in North America when released and they’re now worth more than what they sold for from Bugatti direct.

So it’s no surprise to see the ‘Started from the Bottom’ rapper act fast to jump on his chance to purchase a Sang Noir and set himself apart from his fellow Bugatti-owning rappers like Lil Wayne and Birdman (who also own Veyrons).

Drake‘s $7.7m mansion

It seems Drake is enjoying the fruits of being successful. He recently splashed out a whopping $7.7m (about N1.3bn) on a luxurious mansion in Los Angeles.

The singer appears to love plenty of privacy, as the property sits in the Hidden Hills locale. Partying seems to have featured on 28-year-old rapper’s decision to buy the property, as it boasts of a mechanical bull, fake lagoons, cave and 80-foot waterside.

He will no doubt enjoy showing his rumoured girlfriend, Rihanna, a good time by inviting her to his new residence.

The sprawling property was initially on the market for an eye-watering $27m (about N4.6bn) in 2009.

The facilities at his new abode certainly offer the potential for epic parties to rival those of his hip-hop forebears.

In addition to the fake lagoons and gigantic waterslide, the mansion also boasts of a hidden cave, stables, equestrian ring, and sand volleyball court.

It appears Drake may also be a cowboy at heart, as he has also acquired a mechanical bull with a viewing area.

Inside the building, there is a 24-seat theatre, where he can entertain his guests by putting on old episodes of his hit Canadian television show, Degrassi: The Next Generation.