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, 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 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, Microphone.jpg Microphone.jpg Drake Photograph. Grape Juice. November 18, Danielle Harling. Drake Talkes Influences, Rap Stereotypes, and More with CNN. cnn.com. Nov 9, rap-stereotypes-and-more-with-cnn rap-stereotypes-and-more-with-cnn Biz Jones. Drake Reveals his top Five Influences. sohh.com. Nov 9, P. Diddy. IM Stars. November 18, Diddy Quotes. Think Exist. November 16, P. Diddy Biography. Band Biographies. November 16,

Bibliography Ctd. Jay Z. Dr. Jay’s. November 18, content/uploads/2009/08/jay-z.jpghttp://live.drjays.com/wp- content/uploads/2009/08/jay-z.jpg Jay-Z Biography. Starpulse. November 12, Jay-Z quotes to live by. Please don't stare. November 12, Mary J. Blidge. Shadow and Act. November 18, Mary J. Blidge Full Biography. MTV. November 16, Mary J. Blidge Quotes. Think Exist. November 16, Notorious B.I. G. Hunt. November 18, Notorious BIG quotes. West Lord. November 16, Notorious BIG Biography. West Lord. November 16,