05.17.10 | Ogden Theatre
First was Denver's own DJ Chonz, who was assigned with warming up the rapidly-filling Ogden. He performed his task admirably [editor's note: with one turntable, no less], but as the first-act DJ, the ceiling was pretty low. Next was Mike Posner, who would sound a lot more interesting if he weren't standing in line behind a bunch of smooth-voiced hook men better than him.
While there's little doubt that Chonz, who has plenty of supporters here, attracted more than a few fans, the smart money says exactly no one came to hear Mike Posner, and everyone was here to see Drake. This tour is his coronation, after all, and his supporters are plentiful. Below is a list of things that, having observed him in action, I am confident he loves, in case you are trying to write sloppy fan mail or something.
1. Free Weezy His DJ played a bunch of Lil Wayne to get the crowd going (it worked) and every other piece of banter out of Drake's mouth was about Wayne and then the chants came early and often. You know that part of "Best I Ever Had" where Drake talks about how this is the sort of song you have to dedicate to that special somebody? Yeah, he dedicated it to Free Weezy.
2. Women Let's get this straight: Drake loves the ladies. And they love him -- there was a much higher ratio of women to men than usual at this show.
3. Vulnerability Drake told a story about the last time he was in Denver: Apparently, it was the third time he'd ever talked to Lil Wayne, and they had some women back on the bus. Drake went to Denny's to get a milkshake and then threw up all over the place. "It was the first time Lil Wayne saw me throw up," he said. (That happen often?) It is well documented that Drake is a particularly emo rapper. His music is full of inner torture. He clearly enjoys the being on stage part, but when he's singing or rapping, it still looks like some sort of painful vigil.
4. Women Seriously, guys. At one point Drake brought a girl on stage. He started slow dancing with her in a manner best described as "freshman homecoming dance." Then he asked her age and... 17! He told her he couldn't go to prison before his album dropped (this, by the way, is the only way Drake could potentially wind up in prison). Then he told her that he liked the way her breasts felt against his chest. He also kissed her, twice on the cheeks and once on the lips. It was...weird.
5. His Many Role Models An incomplete list of Drake's shout-outs: Lil Wayne (of course), Young Money, Roc-A-Fella, Tupac, Biggie, Aaliyah, Gucci Mane, James Naismith and Thomas Edison. The biggest factor in Drake's colossal success to this point is the company he keeps. The second biggest factor is...
6. Women Yep, again. Drake wasted no chance to tell us that he is currently single. He took probably ten minutes with the house lights up to go through singling out girls one by one. He saw a girl who he met at the airport. She had to remind him, and he said, "My heart recognized you." So yeah.
7. The Paradox of Celebrity Other than women, there are two topics in Drake songs: The first is how he wants to be super rich and successful, and the second is how he hates being super rich and successful.
8. Women Drake described what he's looking for in a woman. It goes like this: He wants someone to tell him he had a good show, cook him some chicken noodle soup and rub his back. In return, he will give massages and your choice of being pleasured/going to bed.
9. Self Awareness Much of Drake's rapping is inane garbage. There's no point making a huge deal out of this, however, because he'll be the first to admit it. In one lyric, he actually encourages you not to listen closely to his verses. No matter. His appeal has little to do with rapping anyway.
10. Women Here is a picture of Drake's microphone stand:
