I’ve always listened to rap and hip hop. Always been fascinated by the double entendres, the word play, the showmanship and the braggadocio that is all part of the culture.
Drake aka Champagne Papi aka Wheelchair Jimmy aka Aubrey Graham is the unofficial mascot of Toronto, or as he anointed it, the 6ix. In fact, according to this article on Billboard.com, he was responsible for 5% of Toronto’s tourism economy. I’ve been listening to Drake from time (Toronto slang right there😉). Back then, I don’t really get the Toronto references in his songs, but I was fortunate enough to be able to move to the 6ix. Now, I listened again to his songs and I finally understood the references.
So here are my SIX favorites from the 6 God himself:
- “Kennedy Road taught me not to trust people like you.”
- Kennedy Road is a notoriously, rough neighborhood in the suburb of Scarborough.
2. “How did I finesse this all from Jane and Weston?”
- Jane and Weston is another notoriously bad part of Toronto. In this line, Drake is stating he “started from the bottom”😉 and he avoided the pitfalls of growing up in a rough neighborhood and “made it.”😉
3. “Been flowin’ stupid since Vince Carter was on some through the legs arm in the hoop shit”
- In this line, Champagne Papi is referencing the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk competition that Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors, won. Often called the greatest Slam Dunk competition in history. Vince came up with a between-the-legs dunk as well as putting his entire-arm-in-the-hoop dunk. Back then this was such a big deal as these were never seen before. He did it with such flair, style and power. It was nothing short of majestic seeing that.
- Back to my original point, Drake is simply stating he has been rapping since 2000.
- On a side note, for more about information about Vince Carter’s impact in the city of Toronto, watch The Carter Effect on Netflix.
4. “The city gets stronger when everybody is speakin’ not when everybody out here beefin'”
- This is a reference to his publicized quarrel with fellow Toronto-native, The Weeknd. In this line, Aubrey is saying it would benefit everyone in terms of making more collaborative music, exchanging ideas and improving the overall scene in Toronto, if there was no bad blood between them.
5. “Queen Street visions that nobody believed in.”
- I’m partial to this line just cause I live in the area. But personally, I think it’s a bad ass line. According to Genius.com Queen Street is “filled with centers for Canadian broadcasting, music, fashion, performance, and the visual arts.” Meaning if you made it in Queen West, you’re deeply part of Toronto culture.
6. “Eating like I’m seated at Swish, Joso’s, and Sotto’s”
- Swish was an upscale Korean restaurant serving comfort food and signature drinks in a hip space with exposed brick. Joso’s is an upscale seafood/ Italian restaurant where the cover for Drake’s album Take Care was shot. Sotto’s is Sotto Sotto, another Italian seafood restaurant where celebrity sightings are a regular thing.
- Side note: I celebrated my first birthday in Toronto in Joso’s, of course I had to recreate the famous Take Care cover.
First birthday in Toronto.
YIUTUBE 