THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

921-Drake-Started from the Bottom.

2013-Number 25 single.

Best Bit-At 1.37. He wears every single chain, even when he’s in the house. Now that is dedication to the lifestyle.

Aubrey Drake Graham (see also best songs 1043 and 858) was born on October 24th, 1986, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His father who is an African-American, is a practising Catholic, who toured as a drummer for Jerry Lee Lewis, (1935-2022) (see also best songs 678-362 and 99) and his mother is a Jewish white Canadian, she made a cameo appearance in this songs official video. Drake has two very famous uncle’s, one is Larry Graham, a former member of ‘Sly and the Family Stone, (see also best songs 589) and founder of ‘Graham Central Station,’ and the other is Teenie Hodges, (1945-2014) who is best remembered for his work with Al Green, and Ann Peebles, as a songwriter and guitarist. In his youth Drake attended a Jewish day school, and had a ‘Bar Mitzvah’ when reaching the age of 13.

Since releasing his first music in 2006, Drake has gone on to become the best selling ‘Rap’ artist of all time, with sales at the time of writing in excess of 170 million records sold worldwide. As well as being amongst the best selling artists of all time, Drake also holds many records, including, being the best selling artist of the 2010’s decade. He has had (at the time of writing) the most top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles, (67) and the most top 100 chart entry’s, (293) these are songs that Drake has appeared on as either lead, or as a featured artist. He additionally has the most Number 1 singles on the ‘R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay,’ ‘Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs,’ ‘Hot Rap Songs,’ and ‘Rhythmic Airplay’ charts, on Billboard in America. Drake has been cited as an influential figure in popularising the bringing together of both singing, and Rapping, in his fusing of ‘R&B,’ and ‘Hip-Hop’ music.

The extensive discography of Drake includes seven studio Albums released between 2010-2022, and seven Mixtapes that have been issued between 2006-2020. There are also three compilation Albums, released between 2009-2019, and one collaborative Album, ‘Her Loss,’ (with 21 Savage) which was issued in 2022. Drake has officially released 143 singles, as either the lead or featured artist at the time of writing, but he has also appeared on/or charted on dozens of other tracks by other artists, through either promotional release, digital downloads, or airplay. By the end of 2022, as the lead artist, in Canada, Drake has charted within the ‘Canadian Hot 100’ top 40 on 46 occasions, with eight of those tracks reaching Number 1. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, he has had 54 top 40 hits, and also reached the top spot on eight occasions, while in the UK, he has charted within the top 40 on 35 occasions, with five of those singles making Number 1. For more on the discography of Drake (see best songs 858.)

‘Started from the Bottom’ was the first of seven singles released from ‘Nothing Was the Same,’ the third studio Album by Drake from September 2013. The song was co-written by Drake, Mike Zombie, and Drake’s long term collaborator Noah ’40’ Shebib, with the production being by Zombie and Shebib. The songs backing track which was created by Zombie, features a sample of the 2008 Ambient piece ‘Ambessence Piano & Drones 1,’ by the Argentinian composer Bruno Sanfilippo. In the song Drake is telling us that to have got to this point in his life wasn’t easy, and there has been many obstacles to overcome. He wrote the song in response to other Rappers who had claimed that Drake’s upbringing was a lot easier than their own. Drake counters by saying that he also had problems to overcome in his youth, just different ones.

Commenting on his reasons for writing the songs lyrics Drake has said,’I feel sometimes that people don’t have enough information about my beginnings, and therefore they make up a life story for me that isn’t consistent with actual events. My family, and my second family, consisting of the best friends anybody could ever have, all struggled and worked extremely hard to make all this happen. I did not buy my way into this spot and it was the furthest thing from easy to achieve. I am proud of every part of my past, and I’m excited for this song to find a place in your life as well.’

‘We just want the credit where it’s due, I’ma worry ’bout me, give a f..k about you. N…a, just as a reminder to myself, I wear every single chain, even when I’m in the house.’