Drake’s celebrity has become so big that even his relatives get cover stories now. Local Memphis magazine Memphis Flyer, followed around Drake’s father, Dennis Graham, for a profile that ultimately made it to the cover. In the story, Dennis is spotted in empty bars, driving through Memphis in his ’02 Jaguar and talks briefly about his son and his upbringing.
Here are a few excerpts:
He played lots of gigs in Toronto, where he lived with Drake and Drake’s mother. But more time playing music meant less time being at home with his family.
“Yeah, that’s a hard one,” Graham says, before looking away. “I would never do it again.” He stares at the ground.
“That ruined part of his mother’s and my relationship. Yeah. I’m coming home after 2 a.m. every night and…” he hesitates, his distinctive swagger broken for the first time. “It just doesn’t work.”
***
The bar stays pretty empty throughout the night and though locals say hi to Graham, he’s mostly left alone, a rare thing for a man who has become something of a folk hero on the street. Normally, there will be picture requests from adoring fans. Fans — Graham knows — of Drake’s dad, not of Graham. “The reason these people all want to take pictures with me is due to the fact that I’m Drake’s dad,” he admits, not without pride. “You know like, hey, I got a picture with Drake’s dad.”
Graham knows who he is, and he doesn’t mind.
“I want to be known as Drake’s dad,” he says. “That’s my son.”
The article is a pretty interesting look at a guy who is more often viewed as one of Drake’s cronies who hits the road with him instead of his father.
