Everything That Drake Needs To Apologize For

Canadian-born rapper Drake is undoubtedly one of the most successful rappers of his time, but his platform comes at a price. If he's not making enemies, he's singing about them on a catchy pop hook that lands at the top of the charts. Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, got his big break on the Canadian teen drama "Degrassi: The Next Generation" playing "Jimmy Brooks." He later launched a massively successful music career with his record-breaking studio album debut "Thank Me Later." The album was an instant hit, earning him his first Grammy for "Best Rap Album" and cementing his status as a rap phenomenon.

 While his international fame has granted him plenty of women to write about, being in one of his songs is far from a romantic gesture. Quite literally, it might be "Her Loss," referring to the controversial title of his 2022 album. If it's true that all press is good press, Drake uses his relevance to his advantage. SNL even premiered their own skit on his shadiness, titled "Drake PSA," which satirically called for all the women Drake wrote about in his songs to file for financial compensation. Since he's making millions on his heartbreak and shade, no one's in a rush to dry the rapper's tears, certainly not if he might drop a bar about it later. We're breaking down everything that Drake needs to apologize for.

Nobody could have predicted the tragedy that was 2021's Astroworld — when a massive crowd crush resulted in utter chaos. The devastating event resulted in eight deaths and multiple injuries when a poorly planned event cost fans their lives. At the forefront of the mass casualty event was headliner Travis Scott and surprise guest Drake — who appeared midway through Scott's set. In a since-deleted Instagram post (via The Hollywood Reporter), the Toronto native addressed the night writing "I hate resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief but this is where I find myself," he added, "My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in any way I can. May God be with you all."

It seemed that Drake had other things on his mind than grief a day after the tragedy. The rapper was seen out at Area 29 in Houston the next day to blow off steam with strippers. The Sun obtained a deleted tweet from the strip club tagging the rapper's Twitter account and thanking him for stopping by. Instagram snaps also obtained by The Sun show floors covered in dollar bills with the caption "2 floors covered with money and EVERY DANCER who worked last night went home happy thank y'all for the love and support WE RUNNING IT BACK 2 NIGHT!"

Not everything was kosher with Drake's "HYFR" music video shoot at Temple Israel in Miami. The Toronto native filmed the video with the permission of the Reform synagogue's president, who hoped it would help connect youth to Judaism. Drake was raised by a single Jewish mother, and even attended a Jewish school, telling Heeb Magazine that he was largely misunderstood for being both Black and Jewish. 

However, his attempt to tap into his former religious roots didn't garner any praise from Temple Israel's president Ben Kuehne. "Temple Israel does not adopt, condone, or sponsor any aspect of the Drake video, and was not involved in its production," Kuehne said in a statement (via Jewish Telegraph Agency). The music video follows Drake singing the profanity-heavy track, which includes lyrics like "I took her for sushi, she wanted to f***, so we took it to go, told them don't even plate it," as he recreated his bar mitzvah. Kuehne first called the video (lyrics aside) "an embracing of religious passage," but doubled back on his statement after more closely reviewing it.

Despite the criticism, Drake still embraces his Jewish roots. "When kids are young it's hard for them to understand the make-up of religion and race," Drake told Heeb Magazine. "But the same kids that made fun of me are super proud [of me] now. And they act as if nothing happened." The Canadian rapper even donned a diamond-encrusted Chai pendant for his Vibe Magazine cover (as shown here).

Drake and Chris Brown may have let bygones be bygones, but there was a time when the two artists had plenty to beef about. The tension between the two stemmed from their mutual ex Rihanna, who was a victim of domestic assault by Brown in 2009. Rihanna started dating the "Run It" singer in 2008, but they split up following the incident in 2009. They got back together briefly in 2012 before ultimately calling it quits for good in 2013, as per Hollywood Life. Drake has history with the Fenty founder, meeting her in 2005 and dating her on and off for a decade following her first split with Brown.

Drake and Brown faced off in 2012 when witnesses told TMZ that Drake was seen yelling and pointing at the R&B artist inside a New York City nightclub. At one point, a bottle was thrown, which resulted in several punches between both parties' entourages. A photo obtained by TMZ shows Brown's bloody gash from the incident. The pair left before the cops showed up, and the mayhem resulted in several individuals needing medical assistance. 

Fast forward a decade, and the two seem to have put the drama behind them. Brown appeared on "Drink Champs" in 2022 and addressed his former beef with the rapper. "It was just a misunderstanding on both ends," Brown said. "It was funny, and then when we actually sat and talked about it afterward, it was just like, man, what the f*** was we doing?"

It's hard to keep track of the on-again-off-again beef between Drake and Kanye West. Their polarizing rap careers have been characterized by constant digs at each other, which seemed to end when the two performed together at a benefit concert in 2021. It's hard to tell if the two have put aside their differences for good, with drama dating back to 2010. The feud began when the Canadian rapper was taken off West's Grammy award-winning track "All of the Lights." Drake revealed in an interview, "Kanye's creative process is ever-changing. [I don't know why I] was removed. We make music differently. I make what comes to me and I hate changing it, whereas 'Ye will change something 30 or 40 times to get it perfect. To each their own, and the change was to put all those people on it, and I wasn't one of them. That's completely OK."

The two went on to be rivals for years, with Drake singing in his "Summer 16" track, "Now I got a house in L.A., now I got a bigger pool than Ye." Rapper Pusha T added to the fire after releasing the "Story of Adidon" track through West's music label that revealed Drake's son to the world. West seems to have had enough of the fighting and responded to Drake's mention of him in the 2022 track "Circo Loco." Drake sings, "Linking with the opps, b****, I did that for J. Prince/B****." The Donda founder tweeted (via TMZ), "Enough already ... Imagine all the rappers on the same side."

Drake took his digs to a new level when he took a shot at someone who's literally been shot. The "Tuscan Leather" rapper called out Megan Thee Stallion in his track "Circo Loco" saying, "This b**** lie 'bout getting shot but she still a stallion, she don't even get the joke but she still smiling." Drake was referring to an incident in 2020 in which Tory Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, shot the "Savage" rapper's foot when she was leaving a party at Kylie Jenner's house. The Houston native wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post (via Buzzfeed News): "On Sunday morning, I suffered gunshot wounds, as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me." 

Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, took to Twitter (via People) to fire back at Drake. "Stop using my shooting for clout b**** a** N—s! Since when tf is it cool to joke [about] women getting shot !" she wrote. "You n—s especially RAP N—S ARE LAME! Ready to boycott bout shoes and clothes but dog pile on a black woman when she say one of y'all homeboys abused her." In December of 2022, Pete was vindicated when Peterson was convicted of assault and weapons charges for firing multiple shots at the rapper and striking her several times in the foot. The altercation was sparked after it was revealed that Pete and Peterson had intimate relations behind her friend Kelsey Harris's back.