Although I am still mending my broken heart after Drake had to cancel his concert that I had tickets to go to, I still stand by the fact that the rapper can do no wrong. October 24 marks the birthday of ‘October’s Very Own,’ so in honor of Drake making it to what he refers to as his “Steph year,” here is a 30 for 30 on why Aubrey Graham is everyone's favorite rapper:
1. He is a basketball fan. A HUGE basketball fan.
I don't think this needs much more explaining, but not only does Drake serve as the Global Ambassador for his beloved hometown team, the Toronto Raptors, but he is also a fan of the Golden State Warriors, and the NBA as a whole; he includes the names of many players and/or teams in his songs and he was heavily involved in the NBA All-Star Game 2016, that was played in Toronto. He also has a random obsession with the University of Kentucky's basketball team, but why question it?
2. He is friends with the entire Curry family
"I been Steph Curry with the shot, been cookin' with the sauce, chef, curry with the pot," is one of Drake's lines about his friend Stephen Curry in the song '0 to 100.' Recently when Stephen's wife, Ayesha, released her cookbook, Drake took to Instagram and declared her "the real 'Chef Curry,'" along with a picture of the cover of her book. He has been seen with the two at In-N-Out in the Bay Area, but also, during halftime of Warrior's games he spends time with Stephen's parents and siblings as seen on the Currys' Instagrams. Stephen and Ayesha's daughter, Riley, is even a fan of the rapper as she is famously know for singing part of his song 'Blessed' while sitting on her dad's lap during a press conference, which was also featured on Drake's Instagram account.
3. He refers to himself as 'Champagne Papi'
Because, why not?
4. He has made a brand out of the month of October
October is no longer just the tenth month of the year or the month of Halloween, it is now the month of Drake. The name of his brand, 'October's Very Own,' or OVO, includes a clothing line, a sneaker line for Nike's Air Jordan, a record label, a radio show for Apple's Beats 1 called OVO Sound, and his OVO Festival in Toronto, which included performances by October's Very Own himself, as well as Future, Kanye West and Rihanna.
5. He is friends with Odell Beckham Jr.
The best rapper + the best and coolest football player ever= friendship goals.
6. He knows how to have a good time
Drake says himself in his song 'U With Me?' that his pool parties are like Mardis Gras.
7. He is in touch with all of his cultural roots
On Saturday Night Live in 2014, Drake reminisced on his Bar Mitzvah that took place in 1999, but in real life Drake, or Aubrey Graham, had a re-Bar Mitzvah that was featured in his video for 'HYFR.'
8. His smile is contagious
9. He is a great Saturday Night Live guest
Drake hosted SNL in 2014 and earlier this year, but he also appeared in sketches when he was a musical guest in 2011.
10. He wasn't always a tough rapper
Drake may try to act tough sometimes, but doesn't he know we all remember or have seen pictures from his Degrassi days?
11. He has more pride in where he is from than most people combined
Drake has so much love for Canada, he might as well trademark it. Toronto has a special place in the rapper's heart, as it is where he was born, but because of Drake, who received a key to the city In February 2016, it is no longer just a city in Canada, it is known as the 6, which Drake took from the city's 647 area code.
12. He is a momma's boy
13. And he parties with his dad
14. He is still in touch with his favorite teacher
Not only did Drake bring his favorite high school teacher, that he credits for helping him officially graduate high school three years ago, to the NBA All-Star game, but she was also his date for Valentine's Day.
15. He coached the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game 2016 against Kevin Hart
Both men are funny, fans of basketball and extremely competitive, which made for a very entertaining game.
16. He made a cameo in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Just another reason as to why Drake is so great. He was in a great sequel of an even better original movie, not taking himself too seriously.
17. His music is amazing
From Room for Improvement to Views, Drake never disappoints when it comes to his music. From his hits to Rihanna, to his deeper songs like 'Redemption,' that has the line, "Ever since Take Care, I've been care taken."
18. He has great collaborations
With every Drake or Rihanna album, it is expected that there will be a new song by the two of them that will be stuck in our heads and have us dancing for a very long time after it is released. Drake also has an amazing collaborative mixtape with Future and will eventually release a collaborative album with Kanye West sometime in the future, according to Kanye at least, which definitely will not fall short of its expectations.
19. He is a great performer
Although my most recent concert was cancelled, I was fortunate enough to have seen Drake and Future on the Summer Sixteen tour in August. I left, unable to say anything else, other then "life changing."
20. He made Summer '16 a thing way before it was a thing
Drake's song 'Summer Sixteen' was released February 1, 2016, months away from the beginning of the season, especially in Canada, but it definitely got people more excited and more prepared as countless people titled their Facebook albums of the summer Summer Sixteen, Summer 16, or some sort of variation.
21. His love for Rihanna
This is a sensitive topic to get into as I, along with many other people, are not over the fact that these two are not together anymore, but Drake's speech, or declaration of love, at the VMAs consisted of words that people dream about being told by their significant other. Plus, this is a pair that people have always rooted for to be in a relationship.
22. He loves his fans
Despite having a bad ankle injury, Drake still performed and put on the best show that he could for his fans. Eventually, he had to break the news with deep sorrow to his fans that his doctor was making him reschedule his remaining Summer Sixteen tour dates, except for three, one being mine, which ended up being cancelled later on. I guess I should really be mad at the doctor. In addition, Drake's Instagram consists of many pictures of his fans at his concert.
23. He took a picture at Drake University
Following his recent concert in Iowa, Drake payed a visit to Drake University in the middle of the night wearing a Drake University varsity jacket. Epic.
24. More importantly, he has repped Syracuse apparel
25. He apologized for YOLO
During his monologue for SNL in 2014, Drake publicly apologizes, jokingly, or cause, about inventing the phrase 'YOLO,' and basically ruining people's lives after it was completely overused. At least he could joke about it!
26. He's one of the easiest people to make a meme of, and he knows it
When Drake recently hosted SNLL to promote his album Views, the rapper sang in his monologue about being more than just a meme. The dancing in his video for his latest single, 'Hotline Bling," led to the creation of a lot of funny memes, as well as the cover of Views. Even Drake posted pictures on his Instagram of his body from the album cover on people's shoulders. At least he saw the humor in it!
27. He is loved by the Obama family
Just this week, videos surfaced of President Obama dancing to 'Hotline Bling' at the White House during BET's "Love and Happiness" event.
28. He gives back
During the time when dating rumors were swirling and Drake was joining Rihanna on stage during her ANTI tour, the duo took the ti backstage in Miami to meet with a mega-fan named Megan, who was battling cancer. Megan described it as the best day of her life and said Drake, who gave her and her family OVO apparel, posed for pictures, and Snapchat videos, was extremely nice and humble. Drake clearly felt a connection with Megan as he posted the picture of the two with Rihanna after meeting and posted a picture of Megan to share how special she was when she unfortunately passed in July.
29. He gave his fans a gift for his own birthday
On October 23, 2016, the day before his birthday, Drake hosted an episode of OVO Sound, where he announced that he intends to release a playlist called More Life in December. This playlist will include three new original songs by him that he played on the show called 'Fake Love,' 'Sneakin' and 'Two Birds, One Stone,' a remix of Santan Dave's song 'Wanna Know,' which was also played on the show, and music from other OVO artists that have yet to be named. Thank you for this gift, Drake!
30. He is genuine
Drake is not a typically rapper who always feels the need to pout all the time. He is not afraid to be himself and smile, make jokes, have fun, confess his love for someone on television to millions of people, or show his love for his parents. He is living his life the way he wants and has many more years to come.
Happy Birthday Drake!!
