Drake allegedly told Akademiks 2 police cars were stationed on his block because of Kendrick Lamar’s Toronto concerts
On Thursday and Friday (June 12 and 13), Kendrick Lamar and SZA performed in Drake's hometown, Toronto, as part of their ongoing Grand National Tour. In light of Lamar's arrival in Toronto, extra security was allegedly stationed near Drizzy's home, according to DJ Akademiks in a clip shared by Kurrco on X.
In the clip, Akademiks claims to have encouraged Drake to show up during Kendrick's Rogers Center performance, saying:
"Yo, me and Drake talked yesterday. You know what I told that n***a Drake? I said, 'Drake, if you like that, you see how Big Ak popped up at the show? N***a, you pop out at the show.' 'I'm an instigator, I'm an instigator. [...] 'They in your city. Pop out, n***a!' You know what he told me? He said, 'Yo, Ak, they've had two cars on my block since two days ago. Since they know this n***a's coming here.'"
While the claim about police cars stationed outside Drake's home during Kendrick Lamar hasn't been confirmed by the God's Plan rapper himself, his fans did attempt to organize an OVO takeover outside of Rogers Center on Thursday night.
However, HotNewHipHop reported that the Toronto police dispersed the gathering outside the concert venue. The Drizzy fans who had gathered there were asked by authorities to leave, per the news outlet.
Later that day, the organizers behind the OVO Takeover wrote on social media:
"Unfortunately, we have to cancel the OVO Takeover. We genuinely just wanted to bring people together, have some fun, and create good vibes for the city. But unfortunately, some people decided to report us, falsely claiming we were planning to 'start trouble' or cause chaos."
Toronto crowd asked Kendrick Lamar for encore after his Not Like Us performance
While the OVO Takeover planned by Drake's fans was interrupted by authorities, Kendrick and SZA's performance at the Rogers Center was a success on Thursday night (June 12).
The GNX rapper performed his biggest hit of 2024, Not Like Us—a Drake diss track—which was very well-received by the audience, as evident from the crowd cheering, "One more time, one more time!"
Per Billboard, Kendrick Lamar and SZA's Toronto concert was also rumored to have extra security due to its location in Drizzy's hometown, supported by footage showing police cars lined up outside the stadium.
Besides his Toronto performance, Kendrick Lamar also made headlines for dominating the BET Awards earlier this week, held at L.A.'s Peacock Theater on June 9. As reported by BBC, the Wacced out murals rapper was nominated in six categories this year and won five:
- Album of the Year for GNX
- Video of the Year for Not Like Us
- Best Collaboration with SZA for Luther
- Video Director of the Year (with Dave Free)
- Best Male Hip-Hop Artist
Thanking BET in his award acceptance speech, Lamar said:
"BET has always made sure they're representing the culture right and always put me in the midst of the cycle of what we represent."
Meanwhile, the Best Female Hip-Hop Artist award went to Doechii.
Following their Canadian stint, Kendrick Lamar and SZA's Grand National Tour returns to the US for two more shows in Hershey and Landover in the coming week before kicking off its European leg in Germany on July 2.
