and in toronto friday night, after he made his way to the stage with maple leafs great tie domi at his side for the first of two sold-out shows at scotiabank arena (renamed the october’s very own arena to mark his homecoming), the 36-year-old rapper kept his streak of generosity going by offering to pay tuition for seven people in the crowd and pledging to cover one fan’s medical expenses as she battles multiple sclerosis.
here comes the boy 🦉 @drake pic.twitter.com/nxrnqmosxk
— scotiabank arena (@scotiabankarena) october 7, 2023
“there’s a couple of things i want to do tonight,” the music superstar told the cheering crowd. “i don’t know if you’ve been watching these shows, but everywhere i go, i try and spread love and i try and help people the way i can. so tonight i want to do a bunch of things. first and foremost, i saw somebody that had a sign that said they paid for their ticket with osap (ontario student assistance program) money. somebody else had a sign that said, ‘pay for my tuition’ … this is what i’m going to do. we’re paying for your tuition tonight and we’re paying for your tuition tonight. and we’re going to find five more people who need their tuition paid. i’m taking care of everything.”
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drake paying off 7 people’s college tuition 🤑 pic.twitter.com/qhzgkmzlxc
— complex music (@complexmusic) october 7, 2023
chills 🥲
— complex music (@complexmusic) october 7, 2023
drake encountered a fan with ms and offered to connect her with 40 and pay her medical bills. pic.twitter.com/ltnz7ncl37
elsewhere on his tour, the hotline bling hitmaker has handed out a birkin bag (“drake ain’t cheap!” he declared, as he scoured the crowd to find one lucky recipient), a chanel handbag and stacks of cash.
drake just gave a chanel bag away for his last night in la. #iaabtour pic.twitter.com/d60tey3k5g
— word on road (@wordonrd) august 23, 2023
“listen, this is what life is about,” he continued, addressing the crowd . “i’m trying to teach you something tonight. i want you to understand something tonight. you never know what the next person is going through. you never know what the person in front of you, to the left of you, to the right of you, behind you, is going through.”
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drake gifted a fan with a first class trip to atlanta and $10k #iaabtour pic.twitter.com/p8b8ioomny
— word on road (@wordonrd) september 19, 2023
back in 2018, while shooting his video for god’s plan in florida, the grammy winner gifted a $50,000 scholarship to then-university of miami student destiny james. after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in public health, james went on to finish her master’s in public health from the university of north carolina at chapel hill in 2021.
“drake told me that he has read great things about me and appreciates how hard i’ve worked through so many trials and decided to give me $50k for my tuition,” she wrote [per people ]. “ @champagnepapi thank you so much!!’ you don’t understand what this means to me! i would’ve never imagined this happening to me. i’m just a girl from denmark, sc that wants to make it and be somebody and for you to see my hard work means the world.”
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october's very own in october's very own arena 🏠 @drake pic.twitter.com/wda9bkmghs
— scotiabank arena (@scotiabankarena) october 7, 2023