Dennis Graham Wiki; Seven Facts To Know About Drake’s Father
Published Date: 06 Oct, 2020 Updated date: 04 Jun, 2021
By
Daniel Roffer
Apart from being a celebrity father, Dennis Graham has a name of his own. Just as his son Drake, he is a multi-talented guy, who had a stint on both music and acting.
Dennis Graham is popularly known as the father of a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and entrepreneur Aubrey Drake Graham aka Drake. Just as his son, he has a deep passion for music, working as a drummer and performing alongside country musician Jerry Lee Lewis.
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Dennis often comes into the media spotlight for the relationship with his Grammy Award winner son Drake. Here are the seven facts about the father of the rap star;
1. Dennis Graham’s Parents Is Of African Descent
Dennis of age 66 was born on 20 September 1954 in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. He is the son of Larry Graham and Samantha Beeching. He is of African descent as both his parents hail from South Africa.
Both his father and mother were born in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. He did not know his father much and occasionally talked and seen him. He was raised by his mother Samantha, who was a housewife. Earlier, she worked as a nurse. He has seven siblings; five brothers and two sisters.
2. He Comes From Musical Family
Dennis comes from a musical family. His elder brother Larry Graham Jr. is a legendary funk bassist. Larry, aged 74 is associated with the psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, and as the founder and the frontman of Graham Central Station.
Meanwhile, his uncle Willie Mitchell is a renowned Memphis music producer and his cousin Teenie Hodges was a guitarist and songwriter for Al Green.
3. He Also Has Credits In Music
Growing up amidst the funk, rock, soul, and county of his hometown of Memphis, he noticed the musical instruments at his young age. He started playing piano, guitar, and drums, and even joined the first of many bands, spending his nights and weekends gigging.
At the age of 18, he got an opportunity to perform as a drummer alongside country musician Jerry Lee Lewis. He has been following his passion for music and often makes appearances in his son Drake’s music videos, and has featured on the Canadian band “The Arkells” song “Drake’s Dad.”
In 2017, he released his debut R&B single and music video, “Kinda Crazy.” Later in 2019, he released a new track titled “That on That.”
4. In Addition To Drake, He Has Two Daughters
Dennis married his love Sandra Sher in Toronto in June 1985. Sandra is an Ashkenazi Jewish Canadian who worked as an English teacher and florist. The duo first met while he used to perform at Club Bluenote in Toronto.
Their son Drake was born on 24 October 1986 in Toronto, Canada. The couple split when Drake was five years old. He is now a grandfather to Adonis Graham, Drake’s son with Sophie Brussaux.
In addition to Drake, he has two daughters from his other relationships. His first daughter was born from the relationship with his high school sweetheart, whose name is yet to be revealed. Furthermore, he has another daughter named Stephanie, born after his split with his wife Sandra.
5. He Is A Multi-Talented Guy
Well, Drake’s music and acting skill have been inherited from his multi-talented father. In addition to his music career, Dennis also pursued his acting career. He went to acting school in Los Angeles and studied with Polish-born American actor Lee Strasberg.
Dennis did commercials for brands such as Gillette and Budweiser. Likewise, he appeared in a 1986 movie with Tommy Lee Jones named The Park Is Mine and did some series in Toronto.
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Besides, as an entrepreneur, he opened an interior design store in Toronto in the 1980s. There, he built coffee tables, mirrored pedestals, floral designs, oriental screens, and more.
6. He Had Some Legal Issues
The wiki sources suggest that Dennis had some legal issues after the divorce with his wife. He was in and out of his son Drake’s life because of drug charges that lead to imprisonment. Drake was raised by his mother after he left the family.
Dennis’ passion led him to leave home in pursuit of success in music. And insufficient funds led to him selling drugs and later locked up several times. Drake even spent a lot of time with his father in Memphis after the legal issues. Well, that was his past and he now relishes a luxurious life, often evinced on his social media account.
7. Dennis Graham Speaks Out On Instigating Beef In Hip-Hop
Recently in May 2021, Dennis Graham called out DJ Vlad for his alleged role in many beefs. He urged black entertainers to be aware as he claimed people at Vlad were constantly trying to cause a beef between black entertainers.
The post from Vlad with the headline “Drake laughs at Moneybagg Yo’s Government Name” was the reason why Dennis was lashing out to Vlad. Though Dennis could be operating as the protective father, there are plenty of times of people calling out Vlad.
Besides the possible instigation of beef, people cite Vlad as an informant as he openly asks questions and published interviews which detail past criminal activity and leads to convictions.