Drake bigs up 'diverse' city of Toronto at homecoming show

[dar0ck]

Drake paid tribute to the diversity of his hometown Toronto at the first of two homecoming shows at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night (21Aug18) .

Speaking onstage at the arena, the opener for the joint Aubrey & The Three Migos Tour Live!, the 31-year-old took an indirect swipe at America's current unsettled and undivided climate.

The In My Feelings rapper praised the Canadian city where he was born and raised, thanking its inhabitants for their support and for being a welcoming place for "all races".

“I’m forever grateful, everywhere I go, I carry the value of this city with me,” Drake told the audience. “Every night that I go and I do a show in America, I tell them, ‘This is how the world is supposed to work.'"

The rapper, who holds dual American and Canadian citizenship, continued: “You see, tonight, we got 17,000 people inside one building from all races, from all places, and all we are doing is just listening to music, and smoking and drinking — and enjoying our lives. And I want you to know that that’s something that I learned right here in Toronto.”

Drake was first supposed to play the venue, where he has his own private club Sher, on Monday night, but the show was postponed “due to circumstances beyond our control”.

Migos were seen that night attending the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, while Drake visited 11-year-old fan Sophia Sanchez, who is awaiting a heart transplant, at a Chicago hospital, telling her during their filmed encounter that he “cancelled a concert so I could come see you”.

Fans lucky enough to attend the Toronto show were treated to a surprise performance as Drake brought out Travis Scott for a joint performance of his hits Sicko Mode and Goosebumps.