Drake stays true to the three words he lent to Juvenile's Rich Gang single "Show Me Love." "I Show Love" is mantra he lives by when he's in the 6 and when he's on the road. Drake rarely mentioned his Canadian identity during the beginning of his career, setting himself apart from most city-repping, street-affiliated rappers. Since, he's gone on to dedicate himself to "the 6," giving Toronto that universally-recognized nickname and anointing himself the "6 God."
Still, he remains a byproduct of the post-regional rap game, taking interest in the budding scenes and styles in different cities across the world and paying homage in different ways. While he's on tour, he makes a special effort to connect with fans in each city he comes through fans, whether it be by bringing out local artists or simply by working shout-outs into his lyrics.
Drake is gonna make himself feel right at home whether you think he belongs in your city or not. His non-stop, city-to-city, country-to-country love for the fans makes him one of the best live acts out. Here's a recent history of Drizzy putting on for different cities across the globe.
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Houston Appreciation Weekend
Houston has emerged as Drake's favorite city in America and probably his favorite city anywhere outside the 6. He loves H-Town so much that he and his OVO brand decided to host an annual "Appreciation Weekend" for the city.
Drizzy introduced the 1st annual HAW last year, kicking off the event by hosting an Astros' game, during which Houston Mayor Annise Parker presented him with an official document, on behalf of the city, awarding him with his own holiday. Yes, June 10th is "Drake Day" in Houston. We doubt employers will shut down their offices in accordance, but it's still cause for celebration-- as this year's "D-Day" falls on a Wednesday, the club should be goin' up at midnight anyhow.
Drake has been the headliner in Houston both years thus far, but for his first HAW show, in 2014, Drake brought out H-Town mainstays Slim Thug, Z-Ro, Lil Flip, Lil Keke, and Young Star. He also smoked weed for the first time on stage (albeit with Wiz Khalifa).
This year, Drake held a Bun B tribute event and a celebrity softball game, with proceeds going to Houston charities, but didn't bring out any H-Town artists. He brought Future, Boosie, and Fetty Wap with him, so even the most sauced Screwston purists had trouble complaining.
Jungle Tour
Detroit
After HAW, Drake took the "Jungle" tour to Detroit, where he debuted a new verse that sounds like a lonelier version of "No New Friends." Well aware of his audience, he rapped: "Nobody's even hearing it, on top of the pyramid / Might go to Detroit and disappear again." He also shouted-out D rapper Amir Obè, who helped him write "Star67."
Chicago
When Drake touched down in Chicago, he took the time to rep pretty much all the buzzing Chi-town rappers, including: Louie, Bibby, Lil Herb, and Lil Mouse-- before segueing into a rendition of Chief Keef's latest hit, "Faneto." After spitting a "Faneto" verse off-the-top, Drake let the crowd know his "new shit" would be very much Chicago-inspired. Who's ready to see Drake on his "Lil Mouse drill shit"?
Drake be knowin bout them Chicago rappers 😏 pic.twitter.com/JPyal12ri6
Montreal
During his most recent show in Montreal, however, Drake changed the above line to say, "I be on my M-T-L drill shit," a scene I didn't know existed in the French Canadian province. At the end of the show, he also remarked that the second-half of his set was his best in the past five years. Perhaps a sign that OVO Fest will move further north?
Drake Vs. Wayne Tour
Seeing both Drake and Wayne side-by-side should be good enough for most fans, but the Young Money duo kept the surprises coming during their joint, battle-style U.S. tour.
Right when Bobby Shmurda was beginning to blow up, still labeled a "Vine star," Drake bought him out in Jersey (this was before Fetty Wap) to perform "Hot Nigga." Before welcoming Bobby to the stage, Drake told Wayne, "You're my boss, you're my motherfuckin' idol. But I'm telling you, tonight in Jersey, they came for that new shit!"
Drake and Wayne hit Boston a night after the VMA Awards, which they were both unable to attend. Drizzy won best hip-hop video for "Hold On, We're Going Home," a song he admits isn't a hip-hop song. As he was absent for the ceremony, he decided to unveil an official acceptance speech to the crowd in Boston. After Weezy makes the announcement: "And the winner is... that nigga Drizzy Drake!", Aubs addresses all those salty over his R&B jam taking the award: "You're right; I tricked you all. Rappers, better luck next year."
OVO Fest
Obviously, no city is getting the same love as the hometown. Toronto now has a comfortable place in the hip-hop landscape, and it's all thanks to Drake. In 2010, Drake curated his own festival in Toronto, and it's gotten bigger each year since-- tix to this year's fest sold out in three minutes.
Way back in 2010, Drake had little hometown talent to celebrate with, though he did manage to track down Toronto's biggest pre-Aubrey rapper, Kardinal Offishall, who shared the stage with Eminem, Rick Ross, Bun B, and Jay-Z, among others.
By 2011, The Weeknd had come along, and he and Drake showed TO some OVOXO "Crew Love." Other notable guests included: Lil Wayne, Nas, and Stevie Wonder.
The lineups from 2012-2014 are basically a who's who of hip-hop, both past legends and new stars-- 2 Chainz, Nicki Minaj, ASAP Rocky, J. Cole, Kanye West, TLC, Lauryn Hill, 50 Cent, OutKast, and many more. In 2014, PartyNextDoor came to the festival as another Drake-inspired R&B prodigy from the T-dot suburbs.
This year's lineup includes J. Cole, Big Sean, and YG, and going off past years, many more surprise guests.
Thanks to Drizzy, Canadians have been blessed with one of the best summer festivals hip-hop has to offer, though soon, they may not be the only ones. At the beginning of his HAW show (May 24), Drake announced that whichever crowd goes the "craziest" during the upcoming leg of his "Jungle" tour (H-Town included), will get their own OVO Fest. The candidates are: Houston, Detroit, Chicago, and Montreal. Will OVO Fest be crossing the border next year? Depends on the type of noise Montreal made last night.
Would You Like a Tour?
Drake's "Would You Like a Tour" covered 62 cities and three continents. Beginning in October 2013, Drake traversed the U.S. and Canada before crossing the Atlantic in February 2014. Apparently Oceania wanted a tour, too, so a year later, he went to New Zealand for a show in Auckland, and then hit four cities in Australia.
U.S.
Before Wiz forced Drizzy to perform high for the first time (the next year in Houston), he joined Drake in Pittsburgh for a performance of "Black and Yellow."
In Brooklyn, Drake not only previewed a new song, "Trophies" (which would become one of 2014's biggest hits), he also brought out Busta Rhymes and the entire A$AP Mob.
He brought out Snoop Dogg in L.A., aiding Snoop in performances of "The Next Episode," "Nothin' But a G Thang," and "Drop It Like It's Hot."
In Philly, he brought out Meek Mill, who performed "Dreams & Nightmares Intro," the song Drake called "one of the best rap moments of our generation," and "Levels." Drake also invited members of an inner-city Philly high school for a meet & greet before the show. He promised to donate a recording studio to the same school, which ended up being built earlier this year.
Europe
Drizzy didn't bring out any European artists when in Europe-- next time he goes back, expect grime MCs to storm his show à la Kanye at the Brit Awards-- but he still found ways to treat his E.U. audiences
He brought out Rihanna in Paris, and the two got extra flirty during their first-ever joint performance of "Take Care."
In Birmingham, UK, he dropped a new one, which we now know as "Days in the East."
Belgian fans got more Rihanna in the form of a cover of "Stay," in which he sang, "Brussels, I want you to stay with me."
At the height of their all-in-good-fun sparring sessions, Drake brought out Kanye in Berlin.
Australia
The 6 God didn't debut any new material on the final leg of "Would You Like a Tour," but he got very emotional in front of a sold-out crowd during his first-ever show in Australia. The Jumbotron caught Drizzy getting a little teary-eyed before telling his Sydney fans, "this is a night I'll remember for the rest of my fucking life."