Since his breakout debut album in 2010, the Toronto born pop-rap sensation has enjoyed a record smashing decade, and he’s sliding into the New Year with a fresh cadre of tunes

BY EVAN MONROE

Drake’s sound is a fascinating alchemy. The Toronto-born megastar has four Grammys for Rap Song (2), Rap/Sung Performance, and Rap Album, yes, but he’s far from a traditional rapper. From the beginning, his music broke categorical stereotypes and in turn galvanized a new genre, a blend of rap, R&B, and pop that touches on all corners of human emotion, from self-esteem struggles and overcoming hardships to falling in love. If the listener is hankering for a bit of bravado, the man still provides (love it or hate it, don’t forget it is was Drake who gave us the YOLO acronym in 2011’s “ e Motto”), but it’s his powerful anthems that told the world, “Yes I talk about my feelings” and have made him one of the most influential voices in music.

He’s no stranger to superlatives; the former star of the Canadian teen drama Degrassi (yep, he can act, too) has been smashing records since his debut album Thank Me Later in 2010. He has more Billboard Top 10 singles than any other artist (ousting Madonna for the honor), has the most charted songs in the Hot 100 of any artist in history, and is the Recording Industry Association of America’s top certified singles artist.

Anticipation has been mounting for months for the release of his sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy, though there’s been a cloud of confusion over its release date. Odell Beckham Jr. told fans via Twitter in December that “when the ball drops, the album drops,” signifying a New Year’s Day release, though the holiday came and went with no new tunes. Drake and his team assured fans that the album will go live before February 1 (as of press time, the album has not been released), and if history has taught us anything, more Billboard records will soon tumble.