Drake made his 40th birthday celebration an opportunity to express gratitude to the friends and family members closest to him.
On Friday (October 23), a day before Drizzy officially turned 40, the Iceman rapper hosted a party for 400 guests at Casa Cipriani in New York City, where he took a moment to thank everyone in attendance.
“There’s a lot of extremely important people who I resonate with in here because they work extremely hard,” the five-time Grammy winner told the crowd. “And even though it’s a Friday, I know we take time for ourselves.”
“I wanted to say thank you,” he continued. “Tonight is not about a tour or an album release or a bunch of videos that we shot or a fragrance or a Nike shoe. Tonight is just about being alive, staying alive.”
Drake also made sure his guests left with special gifts. Attendees received Chanel and Hermès handbags, according to Billboard, while a game show at the party awarded cash prizes worth up to $1 million.
One of the evening’s biggest surprises was a performance by the Backstreet Boys. Drake joined the group onstage to perform their 1999 hit “I Want It That Way.” The rapper had previously performed the song alongside the boy band during their 2022 DNA World Tour stop in Toronto. He also shared with the group that he had his first kiss as a child to the same song.
Before the New York celebration, Drake met up with friends at Toronto’s CN Tower on Wednesday (October 21). Among those present was OVO signee Popcaan, and the rapper was surprised with a collage featuring photographs and memorable moments from his life.
Drake later travelled to New York with his mother, Sandi Graham, and his entourage aboard his private Boeing 767, famously known as Air Drake. On Thursday night (October 22), he also enjoyed a meal at Mamo, an Italian restaurant in SoHo, ahead of his birthday festivities.
