University Union has announced Drake as the headliner for this year’s Block Party, with opening acts Francis & The Lights and K-OS, with a special guest announced later in the semester. The annual spring concert will be on Friday, April 30, in the Carrier Dome at 8 p.m. (doors at 7 p.m.). Presale tickets will be available for students beginning in March (date TBA) online at http://suathletics.com and are $15 for students with a valid SU I.D. and $25 for the general public.

Drake, a Canadian actor turned rapper, started his music career in 2006, but it wasn’t until he released his hit mix tape “So Far Gone” in February of 2009 that he started to garner great success, success he earned without a record deal. On June 29, 2009, Drake finally confirmed that he signed a record deal with Young Money Entertainment, which Billboard claimed as "one of the biggest bidding wars ever."

Drake’s breakout single from his 2009 mix tape “Best I Ever Had” peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. He teamed up with Lil Wayne on the hit song “Every Girl,” which also entered the Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten. The two songs earned Drake the distinction of being the second artist ever to have his first two top 10 hits in the same week. “Best I Ever Had” recently earned him two nominations for Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song at the 2010 Grammy Awards, where he also performed alongside Lil Wayne, Eminem and Travis Barker.

Drake’s highly anticipated first full-length studio album, “Thank Me Later,” is set to be released in March.

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