Drake recalls his bar mitzvah, imitates Lil Wayne on 'SNL'

Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Drake started his entertainment career as a star of Canada's hit teen drama series, Degrassi, so we knew he had acting chops. But he tackled SNL's uneven sketches with skill and aplomb, including one masterful impression of Lil Wayne as Steve Urkel.

The 27-year-old rapper, who also happens to be half-black, Canadian and Jewish, took on a variety of characters, from comedian Katt Williams to Alex Rodriguez. But Drake harkened back to his own childhood in the opening monologue, a flashback sequence recalling his first bar mitzvah.

“I’m also suing steroids for being inside of me," Drake's A-Rod said during an interview with Taran Killam's Piers Morgan.

Critics hailed Drake's affability and talent. He appeared in nearly every single sketch, and seemed more than capable of holding his own. The Washington Post's Chris Richards went so far as to compare him to another musician-turned-SNL regular Justin Timberlake:

One of pop music’s most gifted brooders had officially entered the realm of the hyper-talented, hyper-endearing, hyper-famous, pretty-funny nice guys.

[Washington Post, CNN]