Look at a photo of Drake from the Degrassi days and compare it to a shot from his latest tour. It’s wild, right? We’ve basically watched Aubrey Drake Graham grow up in real-time, from a lanky teenager in a wheelchair to the most dominant force in modern music. But with his face plastered across every social media feed for twenty years, it’s actually kind of easy to lose track of the calendar.
So, let's get right to it. How old is Drake?
As of right now, in early 2026, Drake is 39 years old. He was born on October 24, 1986.
Honestly, hitting that late-thirty bracket is a massive deal in hip-hop. Historically, rappers were "old heads" by thirty-five, usually fading into the background or becoming legacy acts. Drake hasn't done that. He’s still moving like a rookie, dropping projects at a breakneck pace and staying at the center of every major industry conversation—whether it's his record-breaking streaming numbers or the high-stakes lyrical warfare we saw go down in 2024 and 2025.
The Birthday That Changed Everything (and the Recent Milestones)
Drake’s most recent birthday on October 24, 2025, wasn't just about cake and "Champagne Papi" Instagram captions. It was actually a bit of a victory lap. After a year of intense professional pressure and that massive, era-defining feud with Kendrick Lamar, Drake used his 39th birthday to remind everyone he isn't going anywhere.
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Just around his birthday, the RIAA dropped some staggering news: Drake secured 16 new certifications, including six diamond plaques for tracks like "Nice for What" and "Take Care." Think about that for a second. While some artists struggle to go gold once, he's hitting 10-million-unit milestones nearly two decades into his career.
He also spent the latter half of 2025 teasing a project called Iceman and dominated the Apple Music charts. Most people his age are starting to think about "retirement tours," but Drake seems more obsessed with the scoreboard than ever.
A Timeline of the Boy's Life
If you're trying to visualize the math, here's how the years break down:
- 1986: Born Aubrey Drake Graham in Toronto, Ontario. His dad, Dennis Graham, was a drummer from Memphis, and his mom, Sandi, was an English teacher.
- 1991 (Age 5): His parents divorced. This is a huge theme in his music—that feeling of being caught between two worlds.
- 2001 (Age 15): He lands the role of Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He was just a kid trying to support his mom while they lived in a small basement apartment in Forest Hill.
- 2006 (Age 20): Releases his first mixtape, Room for Improvement. This is where the music career really starts, even if the world didn't know it yet.
- 2009 (Age 23): So Far Gone changes everything. He signs with Young Money/Cash Money and the "Drake Era" officially begins.
- 2017 (Age 31): His son, Adonis, is born on October 11.
- 2026 (Age 39): Still at the top of the Spotify and Apple Music charts, navigating the fallout of the Kendrick Lamar beef and readying new music.
Why 39 Hits Differently for Drake
There’s this weird phenomenon where Drake feels both younger and older than he actually is. Because he’s been famous since he was 15, we feel like he’s been around forever. But at 39, he’s actually younger than many of his peers like J. Cole (born 1985) or Kendrick Lamar (born 1987—okay, they’re basically the same age).
The industry has changed a lot since he entered it. When he started, people were still buying CDs. Now, he’s the king of a streaming world that didn’t even exist when he was filming Degrassi.
The Kendrick Lamar Effect at 38-39
You can’t talk about Drake’s current age without talking about the "Battle of 2024." When Drake was 37 going on 38, he entered the most public and vitriolic rap battle of the decade. Critics said it was a moment where the "youth" of the culture finally moved past him.
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But did they? Even after the "Not Like Us" wave, the data shows that Drake's 2025 numbers were actually higher than almost anyone else's. He became the first rapper to hit a billion Spotify streams in 2025, beating out Kendrick by two days. It shows that even as he approaches 40, his fanbase is essentially a permanent fixture of the internet.
What’s Next as He Approaches 40?
The "big 4-0" is only a year away. In the rap world, that used to be the expiration date. But Jay-Z and Nas have moved the goalposts, showing that you can be "old" and still elite.
Drake's 2025 project with PARTYNEXTDOOR, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, showed a more relaxed, R&B-heavy side of his artistry. It moved over a million units, proving that his "vibe" music is just as potent as his diss tracks. As he heads into his 40th year, the industry is watching to see if he’ll pivot into a "statesman" role or keep fighting for the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
Honestly, based on how he spent the last year, he’s going for the latter. He’s still signing massive deals—like that $400 million contract with Universal Music Group—and his "Embassy" mansion in Toronto remains the center of the OVO empire.
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Fast Facts You Might Have Missed
- Zodiac Sign: Scorpio (October 24). It explains a lot about the moody, intense lyrics, doesn't it?
- Height: Around 6'0".
- Citizenship: Dual. He holds both Canadian and U.S. citizenship, which is why he spends so much time in both Toronto and L.A.
- Family Roots: His father is African-American and Catholic; his mother is Jewish and Canadian. He often talks about his bar mitzvah and his roots in the Memphis music scene through his uncle, Larry Graham.
Keeping Up With the 6 God
If you're trying to stay updated on what he's doing at 39, keep an eye on his OVO Sound label and his Nike "Nocta" line. He’s basically built a lifestyle brand that doesn’t require him to be 21 years old to be relevant.
To stay on top of his latest moves, check out his official Instagram (ChampagnePapi) or follow the OVO Sound blog. If you’re looking to dive deeper into his discography to see how his sound changed as he aged, start with Take Care and jump to For All The Dogs to hear the decade-plus evolution.