Drake performs during his "Would You Like A Tour" show in Toronto on Thursday October 24, 2013. Toronto rapper Drake has publicly disowned the new concert film "Drake's Homecoming: The Lost Footage" - and Drizzy's disdain might be the most interesting thing about the movie.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Toronto rapper Drake has publicly disowned the new concert film Drake's Homecoming: The Lost Footage – and Drizzy's disdain might be the most interesting thing about the movie.
Capturing a Drake performance at Toronto's Sound Academy on May 13, 2009, the film screens for one night only Wednesday at Cineplex theatres in all Canadian provinces except PEI. The film features interviews with UGK rapper Bun B, Rap-a-Lot Records chief executive James Prince and his son, Jas, who takes credit for discovering Drake and introducing him to Lil Wayne.
Here are five things we learned from the film.
1. Drake loved his BlackBerry
Rapping over Kanye West's downcast Say You Will, Drake attested to the truly unprompted nature of his freestyle by bragging: "No BlackBerry, I ain't lookin' at my phone."
Jas Prince then testifies that Drake "most definitely can't write without his BlackBerry."
"It's the keypad – he loves the keypad," Prince said.
Even Bun B noticed, though he pointed out: "Drake has a different situation with phone companies than I do. I pay to use the phone, whereas companies pay him to use their phones."
2. Drake loved his junior-high teacher
In a sweet interview, Ariella Getrajhendler – who taught Drake between grades 5 and 8 – remembers the rapper (and two bulky bodyguards) whisking through her classroom to say hello.
"I didn't know what to call him: Aubrey, Drake?" she recalled. "He said, 'Just call me Aubrey.' He had this consistent smile on his face."
Drake was eventually mobbed by students and his erstwhile teacher cast about for escape routes.
Instead, he waded through the kids and snapped photos.
3. Drake loved late-night dinners
As Bun B attests, a long supper with Drake was a rite of passage for anyone who spun into his orbit. "The one story everybody could probably tell is the first time Drake takes them to dinner," he said. "Drake goes to eat at the same restaurant, constantly, all the time.
"Obviously, it's after-hours," he added. "Most restaurants are closed in the city. Their doors are wide open for him. He gets everybody nice hot meals, nice glasses of wine after midnight."
4. Drake loved loving
Clad in a black T-shirt and jeans, Drake at one point slowed things down for a seductive soliloquy directed at the "ladies" in the audience. "I need a Toronto woman," he began. "I know how hard Toronto women work to look good and smell good and get their money. I've lived here all my life. And I know how mature a Toronto woman is.
"I want you to come home to me [and] I want to have a meal ready for you, like some roasted chicken breast or some steak frites," he added. "Maybe like a glass of wine, like some pinot grigio or some moscato."
Lest his point was too subtle, he then performed Jeremih's Birthday Sex.
5. Drake loved Toronto, and Toronto loved Drake
Not exactly breaking news, but even though Drake's career was only beginning to ignite, his hometown hailed him as a returning conqueror. Impressively, he sold out the sprawling venue and let the enthusiastic crowd finish most of his sentences.
Just 22 at the time, the "6 God" made a vow that he's certainly honoured in the years since.