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“My 15 minutes started an hour ago,” raps Drake on “Fireworks,” the opening number featuring Alicia Keys on his debut album. True, Drake’s fame—both as a rapper and an actor on Degrassi: The Next Generation—precedes this long-awaited release. Working with hip-hop heavyweights like Jay-Z and Kanye West, the Toronto-born artist shows off his lyrical skills on tracks like “Light Up” and “Show Me a Good Time.” But on the deeply romantic “Find Your Love” Drake also proves himself a most promising crooner.

Among hip-hop superstars, Drake is an anomaly: an actor-turned-rapper who’s never been shy about showing his feelings. Sure, Drake has his chest-thumping moments like any rap artist worth his salt. And, like Kanye West, he’s got his conflicted side, expressing discomfort with some of the trappings of fame. But, at the end of the night, when the party’s over, Drake is the one rapper who can open up and croon convincingly about romance and lost loves. Born Aubrey Graham to a mixed-race couple that divorced, Drake was raised by his Jewish mother in Toronto’s wealthy Forest Hill district. He first made his mark in acting, starring as Jimmy Brook, the disabled basketball player in TV’s Degrassi: ...