DRAKE: ‘Boy Meets World Tour’ in London

March 29th 2017 at 19:30PM

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Drake, 2016: Photography by Charito Yap

Two months ago, the Canadian rapper, Grammy-award winning, platinum-selling and multi-skilled entertainer Drake, defined his mark on UK territory. His first scheduled ‘Boy Meets World Tour’ performance, at the O2 London arena, was unexpectedly postponed due to ‘production setbacks’. Drake assured fans he would ‘create a special experience’ with ‘new features’ and ‘spectacular production’, a promise well-kept in his following shows. 

All in all, his eight-night run at the O2 had a rocky start. On night two was the frightening fall of special guest rapper Travis Scott, as he crashed through a trap door braking a large inflatable used in the show’s production. However, Drake being the big-hearted artist he is, offered a refund to all 20,000 fans – which is yet to be confirmed.

The promise could prove costly, as ticket prices varied starting at £100 for standing early bird releases, £150-200 for the ‘Golden Circle’ (near the stage) and nearer the dates they became prized, jolting to as high as £600.

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Were the setbacks worth it? From the response of the crowd on the fourth night, they were. Fans waited, growing restless under the Drake-less atmosphere which begun with an interlude of soft, piano sounds and melismatic harmonies from the R&B duo DVSN. At 7.30pm the show kicked off as Drake’s first international supporting act leaped onto the stage, ‘Young Thug’. The mood instantly changed. A sea of devoted fans jumped up and down to the rapper’s bestselling, trap tunes, including the collaboration with Travis Scott ‘Pick up the phone’ and records ‘Best Friend’ and ‘Digits’.

Young Thug, 2015: Photography by cielodlp

At 9.20pm the most streamed artist for the second year on Spotify lived up to his expectations, launching his show which of course – typical of any respected rapper – had a tense 20-minute delay. Just as the audience began to question whether this would be another cancelled show, rows of spherical white lights, placed as a square boarder outlining the room, lit up and began to descend alongside a DVSN melody. After a graceful fall the lamps paused midway, each one flashing like paparazzi at different intervals before shooting back into the air. The production had already stunned most prompting gasps of awe and excitement from fans. A ray of screams followed as Drake appeared through a mist of smoke, spotlight and fireworks bursts, rapping his famous 2014 release, ‘Trophies’.

The hype in the room was too much for some, as several, fans faces streamed with happy tears as they chanted lyrics simultaneously. Production grew as the hundreds of lights worked according to each song’s tempo, style and colour. There was an electronic backdrop projecting a large screen of Drake and fireworks emphasised drops and beats, while smoke swirled around him. It was only the build up to what turned out to be a final surprise.

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Drake shelled down the stage with a line-up of forty plus songs, blending old mixtape masterpieces ‘Over’ and ‘Marvin’s room’ with previous Young Money hits, ‘Up All Night’ and ‘HYFR’. The number of throwbacks fed to fans made the costly tickets well worth the money as there were songs from each of his albums dating all the way back to the start of his 2010 career. New releases ‘Work’, ‘Too Good’ and ‘Controlla’ made an appearance and his set merged commercial chart songs such as ‘Hotline Bling’ with trap-house tunes like 'Jumpman'. The variation kept the crowd hooked so when low feeling songs finished there was an uplifting balance of vibes.

When the ambiance dropped, Drake used this to his advantage, directing instrumentalists to change their melancholy tone. He ordered his piano player, who he felt was playing too many slow, sad songs to have a drink. The audience loved it. Playing with the humour, Drake asked the crowd for alcohol. After successfully bagging some Virginia Black whiskey, he held a cup high and threw back a large shot before handing the liquor to his team. It was more than music, he gave the audience a taste of entertainment through laughter, exhilaration and reflection - a real experience.  

The production continued to shock as fire took the stage. Literal flames sprawled from the ground during several remixes which consisted of snippets of his songs fused into a running ensemble. Drake encouraged the audience to clap, jump and interreact on queue as fans moved in unison.

Shortly after the flames, Drake’s inner Grime scorched the stage and out ran Dave. The upcoming 18-year-old South London rapper, that recently made it big through his track remixed by Drake, ‘Wanna Know’. Although the young musician appeared a little shaky with his words, his eagerness to entertain was greeted with acceptance from keen fans.

Krept and Konan the British rap duo had their moment. Envious but giving fans were coaxed by Drake to sing a sweet happy birthday song to Krept who turned twenty-seven on the night. The pair rapped the song ‘Don’t Waste My Time’, giving an aggressive performance that the crowd soaked in.

Next was UK MC, Giggs. By now the room was jam packed. Fans were hot, sweaty and airless from being in a tightly packed hoard. But as Giggs stormed on conditions seemed irrelevant. Drake spun around the stage with him as they both for the first time dropped an exclusive called 'KMT' (Kiss my Teeth). The heat turned indescribable.

Dedicated fans with a lifetime of Grime knowledge shrieked at the new, phenomenal, soon to be hit record. It was so deep in bass it felt like the speakers would catch fire.

A glow of amber-safari light entered during Drake’s last special guest appearance as he brought out the ‘One Dance’ singer Kyla. Her soothing vocals in the track’s hook sent fans mimicking the lyrics ‘Baaa-byyy… I like your style!’. It was a great end to the second phase and was topped off by the big finale.

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This took 15 minutes to inflate and it resembled a weird, unnecessary white, bouncy ball. The waiting period was full of ‘what is happening?’ and ‘is this thing done yet?’ murmurs. Little did everyone know, the sphere – which seemed to be a recurring theme - was actually an enormous blow up world. Its illuminous gleam began with marbled Earth colours and later shone Jupiter/Venus blood red shades. It glistened towards the audience and other lighting in the room diffused. Drake knew his production was proving to be a hit, as he pranced around his real life, very own world, urging the crowd to take part in a last giant mosh pit.

Drake created an unmatchable performance and proved the delay was essential for the production, which can only be described as a once in a life time sight.