It’s fair to say Migos were already huge in their hometown of Atlanta when Drake took an interest in the trio and jumped on their hit ‘Versace’. The story behind Drake’s involvement concerns Hot 107.9’s annual Birthday Bash in 2013. 2 Chainz performed and brought out Drake, who Migos ran into backstage. When Drake impressed them with his knowledge of their early mixtape, No Label, Migos sent him ‘Versace’ and the rest as they say is history. Although ‘Versace’ was getting strong support in ATL, the Drake feature pushed the track worldwide, helping solidify Migos’s position in rap, with their long awaited debut album, Yung Rich Nation, being well received by critics and fans alike.

Like Migos, Fetty Wap was already on his way to chart success before Drake stepped in. His first single, ‘Trap Queen’, a lovable tune about Wap teaming with his girl in the drug trade, was a local hit before he teamed with 300 Entertainment and the track crossed over. A few months later, and with the momentum behind him, Wap dropped second single ‘My Way’, another hook-laden banger featuring a verse from Remy Boyz crewmember Monty. Drake heard the track and immediately got in contact with Wap via Instagram. Talking with HotNewHipHop about Drake’s involvement, Wap had this to say; “He sent me a DM, and I sent him my number. When I landed from Tampa a couple days ago, and as soon as I landed and turned my phone off airplane mode, he was Face Timing from DC where he was playing ‘My Way’ at a club. He was like, ‘Yo, I want to cut the record tonight.’ Next thing I know, I checked my email and it was there. Drake soon uploaded the track, minus Monty’s verse, and Wap became a household name, his self-titled debut album hitting the number one spot on the Billboard charts.

Of all Drake’s co-signs, The Weeknd has been his most successful. In the five years since he released his debut project, House Of Balloons, Able Tesfaye has gone from creating dark R&B tracks to a cross over pop star with the release of his critically acclaimed sophomore album, Beauty Behind The Madness. As a fellow Toronto native, Drake was one of the first artists to help put The Weeknd on the map, shouting him out in blogs and tweeting lyrics to his songs before eventually featuring on ‘The Zone’, a track taken from The Weeknd’s second mixtape Thursday. Although their relationship soured after the The Weeknd signed a deal with Republic Records, there’s no denying Drake’s impact on his career.

If there’s any artist on this list that’s found Drake’s co-sign more of a curse than a gift, it’s Atlanta’s iLoveMakonnen. The former drug peddler had been grinding out his own path, forming strong relationships with producers Mike WiLL Made-It, Metro Boomin, and Sonny Digital, releasing a number of successful mixtapes and generally getting his name out there off his own merit. Then came Drake. Hearing Makonnen’s ‘Club Goin’ Up On A Tuesday’, Drake reached out to producer Sonny Digital. After getting the okay from Makonnen, Drake dropped his remix, ‘Tuesday’, and all hell broke loose. Not only did Makonnen become an internet sensation, but Drake also signed him to his OVO label. That was a year ago and not all has gone to plan. While he still talks to Drake intermittently, Makonnen’s last few projects haven’t had the commercial backing he’d like. He’s still waiting to put out his debut album and recently told The Fader he still doesn’t think he’s made it yet.

This might seem a little controversial, as the A$AP Mob have always had a cult following in New York, but Drake’s support of A$AP Rocky has always been a key to his early success. Drake first shared the stage with Rocky when he brought him out during a DJ set at a Fashion’s Night Out event in 2011, before handpicking the A$AP Mob and Kendrick Lamar to open for him on his Club Paradise tour later that year. Soon after, Rocky and his crew landed themselves a record deal and a few years later, the MC dropped his amazing debut, Long. Live. A$AP., including the hit single, ‘Fuckin’ Problems,’ featuring both Drake and Lamar. Since then Rocky has become one of the biggest names in both hip-hop and fashion and is destined for a long career at the top.

If that doesn’t sway you, there’s also the fact Rocky continually shouts out Drake for his support, claiming once again during an interview earlier this year, “I forever, forever owe Drake.” You can’t argue with that.