“I’d prefer to take you on slightly journey tonight, if that’s okay?,” Drake requested onstage on the Apollo Theater on Saturday (Jan. 21).

After two postponements final fall, the Toronto celebrity lastly graced the stage on the legendary Harlem venue on Saturday evening for his first of two reveals there this weekend. In partnership with SiriusXM and his radio present Sound 42, the live performance was initially meant to happen on Friday (Nov. 11) however was moved to early December to mourn Takeoff whose premature demise occurred slightly over every week prior. The present was then delayed once more on account of manufacturing points.  

Twenty-five minutes after his scheduled set time of 9:00 p.m., a white display screen lifted to disclose Drake sitting in a bed room made to seem like his outdated room in his mom’s basement. The opposite facet resembled a report label workplace.

Drake then took followers and friends on a journey via his profession. As he sat on the sting of the mattress “the place I wrote plenty of these songs,” he mentioned, he took the group again to his early days with songs like “Marvin’s Room,” “Say One thing” and “Apply.” After quarter-hour there was a slight pause earlier than the set modified to an workplace, representing the occasions he performed his music at report labels, solely to get rejected. Early hits like “Greatest I Ever Had,” “Over,” “Headlines” and “I’m On One” soundtracked that scene.

Drake powered via a great mixture of his largest hits and deep cuts. Under are eight finest moments from Drake’s evening on the Apollo.

Free merch

Followers and friends had been handled to free OVO T-shirts that had been particularly made for the present. The shirts had been white with the OVO owl and the Apollo Theater’s brand on the left chest with the unique present flier printed on all the again.

The star-studded crowd

What’s a Drake present and not using a star-studded visitor listing? Notable folks like Elliott Wilson, Kevin Durant, Odell Beckham Jr, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Ice Spice, 2 Chainz and extra had been in attendance for Drake’s first present in, what he mentioned, “like 5 years or some s—.” Just a few occasions all through the efficiency, the rapper additionally thanked his longtime good friend and producer Noah “40” Shebib, who was within the crowd.

Drake’s nods to his Degrassi days

As he opened the live performance with Take Care minimize “Over My Useless Physique,” Drake sported his Degrassi character Jimmy Brooks’s basketball jersey with dishevelled denims and white Air Power 1s. “That’s what this sequence is about, me attempting to grind my a– off and let folks know that I’m not in a wheelchair in actual life [and] Canadians could make music or no matter it was,” he joked later within the evening after the report label scene.

The evening was about gratitude

About seven minutes into his set, Drake took time to deal with the group. “I needed to make this present about gratitude. It is a little story we put collectively about my deep love for my household, for my expensive mates and for every considered one of you which were supporting me for a very long time,” he mentioned. The star mentioned he associates New York Metropolis with emotions of creating it, and he revisited these emotions of gratitude by performing his largest hits and deep cuts spanning his catalog to date.

Drake being a mama’s boy

Everyone knows that Drake is mama’s boy at coronary heart. The rapper identified his mom, Sandi Graham, sitting within the mezzanine and thanked her for every part she’s performed for him.

Dipset and diamond bracelets

After the report label scene, the stage design transitioned to a Harlem bodega and Dipset emerged together with Drake, who was sporting Cam’ron’s unique pink mink coat and headband combo. The Harlem rap group — which incorporates Cam’ron, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana and Freekey Zekey — carried out their songs “I Actually Imply It,” “Dipset Anthem” and Jones’s solo hit “We Fly Excessive (Ballin’).” “I do know I speak quite a bit about being influenced and I received plenty of love, however like … these guys proper right here from Harlem made us gown completely different, speak completely different, stroll completely different, rap completely different, all the way in which in Canada,” mentioned Drake after they carried out. Jones then gifted Drake a diamond bracelet with jewels resembling the Dipset fowl, praying palms, OVO brand, OVO owl and the Apollo brand.

’21, are you able to do one thing for me?‘

Followers had been in for a deal with when Drake introduced out 21 Savage to carry out a slew of Her Loss songs for the primary time collectively. The 2 began with “Wealthy Flex” then tag-teamed for “Privileged Rappers,” “Spin Bout U,” “Jimmy Cooks” and “Knife Speak.” The Atlanta rapper advised the group that his friendship with Drake is past music saying the Toronto native Drake would test on him typically after they met in 2015. “He helped me each step of my profession behind the scenes,” 21 mentioned earlier than hugging his good friend.

Drake hinted at a summer season tour with 21

“You must come see us this summer season, we is likely to be round,” Drake mentioned earlier than 21 left the stage.