They say home is where the heart is, and for Drake, his chest beats for two cities: his native Toronto and Memphis, Tennessee.
After his parents split, Drizzy would spend summers in Memphis visiting his dad. It was there Drake witnessed the rise of rappers like Yo Gotti and truly fell in love with rap. Tuesday night (June 5) will be a homecoming of sorts, when the Take Care MC brings his Club Paradise Tour to Memphis' FedEx Forum.
"That's my town, you know, that's like home," Drake told correspondent Sway Calloway while he was out in Houston last month. "Memphis is a place I hold dear to my heart, actually a place on this next project I just want to start talking more about and maybe even do some recording out there, just to reconnect with that." Drake has long rapped about his relationship with the city on a number of tracks.
Most recently, he paid homage on "Under Ground Kings," an album cut from Take Care. "Memphis, Tennessee, know, see I start to go deep back/ In Ridge Crest with my seat back, with Yo Gotti and E-Mack," Drake spits about his connection to the Southern city and its beloved rap scene.
It was a night of watching Gotti record that helped shape the OVO general's rap dreams. "I remember just sitting there watching, watching this guy record, how it was all done, I hadn't really been subjected to it before. That shaped a lot of my early days like, 'Oh, I wanna rap,' " he said. "Being around him in Memphis, Tennessee, was a big moment for me. I would definitely give him a lot of credit for just embracing me."
No word whether Yo Gotti will join Drake onstage Tuesday night at the FedEx Forum, but it's definitely going to be a family affair. Drizzy's cousin Royalty will open up for him and, of course, his father Dennis Graham will be in attendance. "He'll definitely be there, my whole family will be there," Drake said.
What's your favorite Drake performance? Tell us in the comments!