Laugh Now, Cry Later
The character development of Jimmy Brooks & Drake 🦉 🇨🇦 6️⃣ 🙏
Aubrey Drake Graham’s arch nemesis, Kendrick Lamar, performed at the Super Bowl this past week. He brought out special guests Serena Williams, who briefly dated Drake, and SZA, a frequent collaborator of Lamar’s who also briefly dated Drake. Meanwhile, Drake was on tour in Australia giving out a combined $45,000 in cash gifts to audience members. Not sure why he can’t send me – a prominent Drake scholar – $45,000, but I am holding out hope! “Are we sure Drake is going to recover?” is a fair question to ask, as the well-documented End of Drake continues to unfold in real-time.
This essay was presented at the 2024 Sixposium, The End of Drake, by 13101401 Inc. Thanks to Ruby Thelot for the continued opportunity to pursue my passion for pop culture scholarship! Please share this video/essay with anyone interested in the burgeoning field of Drake Studies, and watch the full presentation here:
Laugh Now, Cry Later: The character development of Jimmy Brooks & Drake
In 2010, Drake said, “It’s far from over.” But what about now? Over fifteen years into his career as the crossover rapper and meme of a generation, we’re witnessing the end of Drake – or at least, the current iteration of his musical career – in real-time. Drake went from being the most-streamed-artist of Spotify’s first ten years (2008-2018) and of the 2010s to not even breaking the top ten artists in terms of monthly listeners (Sept. 2024). It’s time to regroup.
This is not the first instance of Aubrey Graham publicly turning the page from one life chapter to the next. There’s a correlation between the story arc of his Degrassi The Next Generation character, Jimmy Brooks, and the career path of his most prolific character, the rapper Drake. They take a journey of similar proportions, equipped with wealth, skill, social capital, and resilience in the face of conflict, setbacks, and controversies.
Don’t cry because Drake is over, smile because it happened and will likely happen again. Now presenting Laugh Now, Cry Later, an exploration of how Aubrey Graham’s character of Drake, much like his fictional counterpart in Jimmy Brooks, has a knack for reinvention.
If we compare the percentage of episodes Jimmy Brooks appears in by season from 2001-2008 and the number of studio albums Drake has sold by two-year segments from 2009-2024 – another eight seasons, if you will – we see a pattern. It starts out strong, breaks through to an even higher threshold, and steadily declines over time before eventually making a sharp and dramatic drop.
Season one is their breakthrough debut, starting out strong. Jimmy is popular, a star athlete, and from a wealthy family. Drake is an already-famous former child actor, protégé of Lil Wayne, and rising star in the hip-hop music industry. “I just wanna be successful” is an early Drake refrain that rings very true for both of them.
Season two shows an even greater level of achievement and material success, though not without drama or emotional complexity. Jimmy’s romance with Ashley is a central component of his storyline, with conflicts surfacing around love and even jealousy.
This era of mainstream success showed a more emotional side of Drake. Notably, the infamous song “Marvin’s Room” reflected a deeper, sensitive, introspective, dramatic tone. This late night confessional style lyricism and emotional vulnerability would define and differentiate Drake’s persona in contrast to other rappers.
Season three depicts Jimmy and Drake’s continued achievement and maintenance of social status. There is a continued exploration of complex relationship dynamics, and other common themes include loyalty, trust, and intensified conflict.
Jimmy’s involvement in high school politics and Drake’s embroilment in many highly-publicized feuds would go on to significantly impact others’ perception of them, usually for the worse.
Season four is the most pivotal period in Jimmy’s life and in Drake’s career. Jimmy is profoundly impacted physically and mentally after being shot and paralyzed from the waist down.
Drake’s career reached a critical turning point as streaming replaced traditional album sales as the primary form of music consumption. He was at the forefront of this transition, ranking as the top artist on Spotify with billions of streams. “One Dance” (2016) marked a clear shift in Drake’s music toward more international sounds, incorporating and perhaps appropriating Afrobeat, dancehall, and Caribbean influences.
Season five is focused on growth, personal hurdles, and reinvention in the face of adversity. Jimmy adapts to a new life as he actively recovers from trauma, faces emotional and physical challenges post-paralysis, and reexamines his identity as an athlete. He deals with vulnerability, anger, and determination, seeking a sense of normalcy while rediscovering his passion for art and music.
Drake adapted to the changing landscape of music, attempting to evolve his sound and categorizing More Life (2017) as a playlist rather than a traditional album. He also tapped into a new level of vulnerability and determination after becoming a father to son Adonis in 2017.
Season six is where Jimmy starts to see beyond his limitations and focuses on what is within his control. He finally accepts his reality, pursues a relationship with his girlfriend Trina, and finds fulfillment through his artistic exploration.
Drake also moved forward, despite a disruption in album release cycles, marketing plans, and touring in 2020. Despite these limitations, Drake’s status as a social media darling would sustain his relevance, notably via “Flip The Switch” and “Toosie Slide” TikTok virality. (See: SOCIAL MEDIA RUINS EVERYTHING, Sixposium 2023.)
Season seven presents a crossroads of sorts, with Jimmy looking to his future post-Degrassi High. He embraces his creativity and affinity for the arts as he realizes his potential beyond basketball.
New paths are illuminated for Drake as well, as his formulaic approach is questioned despite maintaining success by commercial standards. Honestly, Nevermind (2022) experimented with house and dance music, showcasing a new direction and an essential willingness to take risks.
Jimmy makes only one guest appearance in season 8, and he’s one of only two characters mentioned after their series departure. Jimmy’s end at Degrassi High implies his pursuit of art and music, a new beginning independent of his original love for basketball.
Drake has proverbially graduated as well. Like Jimmy embracing his identity, no longer centered around basketball, Drake has explored new creative avenues and culturally impactful collaborations. Themes of legacy, continued self-discovery, and vocational evolution are central to both Jimmy’s and Drake’s narratives. They can both learn from their past successes and setbacks to sustain relevance and fulfillment in new phases of their lives.
The worlds of Jimmy Brooks and Drake don’t often collide, but one critical instance of their alignment is Drake’s “I’m Upset” music video (2018). It took place on the Degrassi set, where most of the cast members reunited for the first time in ten years. In “I’m Upset”, Drake said, “I still got like seven years of doin’ what I want.” Aubrey did have seven years of doing what he wanted, playing Jimmy Brooks as a regular cast member on Degrassi. But for Drake, time’s almost up again. 2025 will mark seven years since the release of the 2018 single. So where do we go from here?
‘The End of Drake’ was an inevitability, with the Drake persona repeating the general character development arc of Jimmy Brooks. While Jimmy’s story has come to an end, Drake’s – or rather, Aubrey’s – can continue with equal or even greater success. He currently faces three hurdles to evolution:
Sonic repetition
Drake’s consistent sound, recurring thematic elements, long albums with many similar-sounding tracks, and lack of authentic stylistic variation or boundary-pushing have left Drake’s fans – and the general public – bored. As more time passes, Drake fans will continue to age, and “that trumpet sound” (i.e. “Over”, “Fancy”, etc.) will sound nostalgic at best and an outdated sign-of-the-times at worst.
Meme fatigue
Drake went from being a Millennial on the internet (good thing) to being a Millennial on the internet (bad thing). Drake has long passed what I call The Chasm (similar timing to an astrological Saturn Return), when the realization sinks in that you are no longer part of the focal generation on which youth culture is centered. Like every other micro-aesthetic or viral trend, all good things must come to an end.
Legacy sandwich
Drake said it best: “I’m really too young to be feeling this old.” He is solidly between two generations: that of youth and that of legacy acts. He’s no longer a newcomer and was never an underdog. He has a proven, extensive track record, but a Lifetime Achievement Award would be premature for someone not even considered middle-aged.
Fear not, as there are solutions to Aubrey Drake Graham’s halted momentum at this juncture of his career.
Good guy
Drake said in “8 Out of 10” (2018), “As luck would have it I've settled into my role as the good guy.” Being a ‘good guy’, as opposed to a toxic one who’s always texting his ex, causing drama, having secret children, etc. would be a good look for Drake. His ‘babygirl’ persona has effectively weirded enough people out, and it’s time to act like an adult. He could release an album to showcase his crooning vocals, like when everyone found out that T-Pain could actually sing even better without autotune.
Co-parenting also gives Drake an opportunity to position himself as a good guy and role model to his son. Adonis is primed for stardom, as the seven-year-old has already made his rap debut and drew the artwork for the For All the Dogs (2023) album cover. Whether Drake makes a pivot in his music or he passes the baton to his son, he’s still here, and he’s not going anywhere.
Ball out
Like Jimmy Brooks, Drake is obsessed with basketball. He has been involved in the basketball industry for a long time and has ties to all the Toronto professional sports teams. Drake has a plethora of opportunities for reinvention in the pro sports world as an entrepreneur or investor. DreamCrew Entertainment, his multi-disciplinary media company, has produced sports documentaries The Carter Effect and Black Ice.
His “Laugh Now, Cry Later” (2020) music video was filmed on the Nike campus and essentially looked like a [very expensive] Nike commercial. Speaking of expensive, Drake receives an annual $100 million endorsement as an ambassador for Stake.com. I’d personally rather see Drake do more interesting and culturally meaningful things than shilling for a gambling firm, but he does get the bag, so I will stop hating and just deal.
Old Drake
Degrassi: The Next Generation was an extremely formative and important show to me in high school, but I’ve come to realize this is not the norm. Millennials and younger generations alike, particularly non-Canadians, don’t know Degrassi at all, let alone the fact that Drake starred in its award-winning ensemble cast. In the 2000s, Aubrey Graham had to overcome any existing skepticism about a former teen actor becoming a rapper. Now, Drake will have to face preconceived notions the public has about a rapper becoming an actor, despite acting being his professional origin. (It’s like when Selena started singing in English without audiences realizing it was actually her first language.)
Going back to “the old Drake” means going back to Aubrey. Degrassi explored serious and controversial themes, and most people probably don’t realize that Drake has the range. His existing fame is a bankable starting point, but he could maintain career longevity and garner respect for pursuing intentional roles that truly showcase his talent.
Though it’s now The End of Drake – or at least the end of this eight-season series – Aubrey Drake Graham will move forward. He will reinvent himself, even if it entails an identity shift or a detachment from what has been in order to step into who he will become. Maybe he will fall in love. Maybe he will win an Academy Award. Maybe he’ll become a teacher on Degrassi: The *Next* Next generation. Whatever it is, I’m sure we’ll be entertained.
Nicole Tremaglio (@nicoletremaglio) explores how pop culture, media, and technology impact individual and collective identity. Nicole writes the Nicstalgia newsletter, which explores niche, offbeat pop cultural ephemera and phenomena and hosted the Nicstalgia video podcast, devoted to deep conversations about superficial things. She created SOCIAL MEDIA RUINS EVERYTHING, a TITLES RUIN EVERYTHING-inspired poetry book of Drake lyrics and was MySpace friends with Aubrey Graham in 2005.
Drake scholarship required reading/viewing:
• My 2023 Sixposium presentation, SOCIAL MEDIA RUINS EVERYTHING
• if you want to create a monocultural event, start a war by Nick Susi
• Why Drake is the most meme’d rapper of all time by Ruby Thelot
• 2024 Sixposium videos
• 2023 Sixposium videos
• More on the Sixposium project by 13101401 Inc.
You might already know about the coming Degrassi documentary, but if not I feel it is my duty to let you know about it.