Drake Pauses Apollo Theater Show After Fan Falls Off Balcony

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Drake Live From The Apollo Theater For SiriusXM And Sound 42
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 21: Drake performs on stage at The Apollo Theater on January 21, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
Drake stopped the show after a fan fell from the second floor balcony.

It was an eventful weekend in Harlem as Drake finally performed at the Apollo Theater. Sound 42 and SiriusXM hosted back-to-back concerts resulting in plenty of highlights. Drake breezed through his catalog with early hits and recent ones. At the same time, he brought out Dipset and 21 Savage as his special guests.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 22: The atmosphere at Drake Live from Apollo at The Apollo Theater on January 22, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

Unfortunately, the show wasn't as smooth during the Sunday night run. Following 21 Savage's appearance alongside Drizzy to perform songs off of Her Loss, a fan fell from the second-floor balcony onto the orchestra pit floor. The footage of the fall began circulating immediately but according to Insider, the incident prompted a pause in the show.

"Just gotta make sure somebody's OK," Drake said after a crew member informed him of the fall.

Drake later paused the show for nearly 15 minutes to ensure the safety of fans in the venue. The fan took out a light during the fall, and a crew member removed it. Then, they cleared out the cords hanging over the balcony.

Over the speaker, someone announced that there were no injuries.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 21: Atmosphere at Drake Live from Apollo at The Apollo Theater on January 21, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

"Everybody is absolutely OK," a voice said over the speakers. "They are being checked on. Nobody's hurt. But I got even better news for you: We're at the Apollo so the show must go on."

After acknowledging that there weren't any injuries, Drake and 21 Savage said they would extend their set to make up for the delay.

"Let's just make some noise that everybody's OK," Drake said. "I feel like they had to wait like 10 minutes, we should go up a little more."

Along with 21 Savage, Drake brought out Dipset, once again, as well as Lil Uzi Vert, who performed "I Just Wanna Rock."

About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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