Five Degrees of Separation

By: Brianna Rock

Drake“Part of the whole appeal

of me as an artist is I did have things that were initially seen as strikes against me. Like being from Canada, being an

actor, being light-skinned, being Jewish.

It’s all these things that I guess in the

stereotypical rap world don’t really fit the

package.”

Who is Drake?

• He was born October 24, 1986 in Toronto.• His claim to fame is the song "Best I Ever Had" • His mom and dad got divorced when he was

five.• He started out as an actor on the show

Degrassi. • He became Lil Wayne's protégé. • Eventually he became part of Young Money, a

label run by Lil Wayne. • Drake now writes about his life after becoming

famous, relationships, and haters.

Drake was influenced by…

Jay Z: “I will not lose for

even in defeat, there’s a valuable

lesson learned so it evens up for me.”

Who is Jay Z?

• Jay Z was born December 4, 1970 in Brooklyn, NY.

• His father left him and his mother before he was a teenager.

• He went to the streets and made a name for himself as a rapper.

• He made his own company, Roc-A-Fella Records

• His debut album was "Reasonable Doubt" On this album, he worked with many famous artists such as Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blidge.

Jay Z worked with…

Mary J. Blidge: “It all translates; at the end of the day, we've all been picked on for

some reason or another. We all get bashed, we all get hurt. Different races get picked on every day.

Regular hard-working people just trying to provide get picked on, as do gay people. The important thing

is to realize that no matter what people's opinions may be, they're only just that - people's opinions. You have to believe in your heart what you know to be true about yourself. And let that be that.”

Who is MJB?

• Mary J. Blidge was born in the Bronx on January 11, 1971.

• She had a rough life which led to her dropping out of high school as a junior.

• Blidge recorded herself singing "Caught Up in the Rapture" by Anita Baker and her stepfather passed this to the Uptown Records CEO.

• Sean "Puffy" Combs took her under his wing.• Her debut album was "What's the 411?" • Her music is focused around things that happened in her

life and certain experiences she had during her younger years.

Mary J. Blidge worked with…

Sean “P. Diddy” Combs:

“It's okay to be crazy, but don't be insane.”

Who is “Puff Daddy”?

• P. Diddy was born in Harlem in 1971. • He went to Howard University and majored in

business administration. • He started his own record company called Bad

Boy Entertainment.• When Biggie Smalls died in 1997, P. Diddy

recorded his debut single "I'll Be Missing You." • He now is more of a producer and works with

many up and coming artists.

P. Diddy made hits for…

Christopher Wallace a.k.a

Notorious B.I.G.:

"When you read magazines and you see everybody having fun, you think, ‘okay, that’s

where I want to be.’ But once you get in it and you achieve the sucess that you want, it seems like that’s where the

player hating starts. You know that’s where

everybody’s like, ‘Well it’s not all that. "

Who is Biggie?

• Notorious B.I.G. was raised in Brooklyn, New York City• Rapping was only a hobby when he was discovered • Demo tape Sean "Puffy" Combs who was working at

Uptown Records. • His debut single was "Party and Bulls***." The album

features "Big Poppa," one of rap’s most famous “playa anthems.”

• Wallace met Tupac Shakur. They recorded a number of songs together.

• On March 9, 1997, Biggie was shot and killed in Los Angeles.

Bibliography• Microphone. D.C. Pro Sports Report. November 18, 2010.

http://dcprosportsreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Live-Microphone.jpg

• Drake Photograph. Grape Juice. November 18, 2010. http://thatgrapejuice.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/drake1.jpg

• Danielle Harling. Drake Talkes Influences, Rap Stereotypes, and More with CNN. cnn.com. Nov 9, 2010. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11194/title.drake-talks-influences-rap-stereotypes-and-more-with-cnn

• Biz Jones. Drake Reveals his top Five Influences. sohh.com. Nov 9,2010. http://www.sohh.com/2010/07/drake_reveals_his_top_5_influential_arti.html

• P. Diddy. IM Stars. November 18, 2010. http://imstars.aufeminin.com/stars/fan/p-diddy/p-diddy-20040406-210.jpg

• Diddy Quotes. Think Exist. November 16, 2010. http://thinkexist.com/quotes/p._diddy,_puff_daddy/

• P. Diddy Biography. Band Biographies. November 16, 2010. http://www.bandbiographies.com/p_diddy/biography.htm

Bibliography Ctd.• Jay Z. Dr. Jay’s. November 18, 2010.

http://live.drjays.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/jay-z.jpg• Jay-Z Biography. Starpulse. November 12, 2010.

http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Jay-Z/Biography/• Jay-Z quotes to live by. Please don't stare. November 12, 2010.

https://pleasedontstare.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/jay-z-quotes-to-live-by-2/• Mary J. Blidge. Shadow and Act. November 18, 2010.

http://www.shadowandact.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/mary-j-blige.jpg• Mary J. Blidge Full Biography. MTV. November 16, 2010.

http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/blige_mary_j/artist.jhtml#biographyEnd• Mary J. Blidge Quotes. Think Exist. November 16, 2010.

http://thinkexist.com/quotes/mary_j._blige/ • Notorious B.I. G. Hunt. November 18, 2010.

http://hunt.fm/images/featured/notorious.jpg• Notorious BIG quotes. West Lord. November 16, 2010.

http://www.westlord.com/notorious-big-quotes/• Notorious BIG Biography. West Lord. November 16, 2010.

http://www.westlord.com/notorious-big-biography/