Started From the Bottom?

By: JaCorey Thompson

“Started from the bottom now we’re here”

This is a quote from Drake’s song “Started From The Bottom” which was released in 2013, but my question is did he really?

Aubrey Drake Graham was born in Toronto, Canada on October 24, 1986. His dad Dennis Graham, is an African American and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. His mother was a white Canadian Jew who grew up in Canada. Drake grew up in Forest Hill in Toronto. Forest Hill is not close to being a poor neighborhood. In fact, Census data from Statistics Canada states an average income for all private households in Forest Hill to be $101,631. Compared to $56,994 that is made on average for a household in Kansas City, MO.  Also the average cost for a house is $1,527,067. This shows that he didn’t live in bad neighborhood and it wasn’t the “bottom”.

Also Drake attended the Forest Hill Collegiate Institute(FHCI) and Vaughan High School during his tenure in Toronto. Both of the schools offer you extra help in theater and musical productions. For example, on the FHCI website it says, ”We offer an extensive co-curricular program in the theatre and music productions.” Also at Vaughan High they had the INTERACT program which was for students in the school that are heavily involved in the arts or athletics program outside of school. In fact, Drake went on to become Jimmy Brooks on the Canadian T.V. show Degrassi. To conclude, he had support in what he wanted to do and the school wasn’t holding him back.

I know many people in my community who had the talent to succeed in life, but didn’t have adequate resources. It is very sad that these particular people have the talent but limited to no support. Meanwhile, Drake is always mentioning his upbringing like it was rough, when his parents and school did all they could to help him succeed.

“Good questions outrank easy answers”-Paul Samuelson

This quote is very true because I have a good question and there is no easy answer, so now it is your time to decide,”Did Drake really start from the bottom?”