‘I saw Drake at Wireless – here’s how it went down from Kendrick diss to ‘unmatched’ energy’

Drake made his highly anticipated return to London last week with a monumental three-night headline set at the 20th anniversary of Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park. The Nokia rapper has always made his love for the UK very clear, and night two of his performances was a huge love letter to the UK’s incredible music scene.

While many fans were worried with this year’s Wireless line-up being released so last minute, Drake proved yet again he is that guy when he made up for it by bringing out iconic artists after iconic artists as he performed with ‘the mandem’ on Saturday. Before October’s Very Own Aubrey Graham even stepped on stage, the ocean of sweaty and excited attendees were already hyped up thanks to Boy Better Know’s unforgettable set.

The energy from the crowd was almost enough to make you forget about the blistering heat. Almost. And in what was arguably the best of the three nights, Drake finally arrived on stage after 8pm to tell the crowd that “tonight would be different” following Friday’s nostalgic appearances from icon Lauryn Hill, Giveon, Bryson Tiller and noughties star Mario.

He said: “London, tonight is different. All that, sweetheart, singing s***? That s*** is over tonight. This is for my motherf***ing dogs. I see my dogs came out tonight.”

The 38-year-old Little Bit singer wasted no time as he kickstarted his set with IDGAF as the crowd roared when Yeat appeared on stage, poncho and all. The negative echo chamber of the internet proved his rap beef with Kendrick Lamar didn’t really affect his career as the 50,000-strong crowd easily belted out his new Iceman single, What Did I Miss?, despite it only recently being released.

But did that stop him from joking he’d “drink to that” after the crowd chanted, ‘F**k Kendrick!’ Of course not. Drake treated Saturday’s set like an old pals’ reunion as a house party, as he brought out the likes of Skepta, Fakemink, K-Trap and more.

“Nobody can out-rap London — nobody. No disrespect to America. No disrespect to my country. But, nobody can out-rap London rappers. This is the best, this is the highest level. This is what I aspire to be,” he said as the crowd yelled out Drake’s famous line, “Mans never been to marquee when it’s shutdown, ey? Trust me, daddy,” before Skepta performed Shutdown.

Fans lost their collective minds as Drake introduced Dave, who was rocking a casual polo t-shirt and denim shorts, for Wanna Know before Central Cee came, well, sprinting out for Sprinter.

Drake had endless tricks up his sleeves as he reminded the crowd that he had made endless phone calls to his famous friends to join him on stage that weekend.

J Hus got the crowd, with some travelling from as far as Brazil for the festival, moving when he made a quick appearance for Who Told You. The Hotline Bling rapper famously brought J Hus out on stage at the O2 Arena back in 2019 when the British star was released from prison. Drake even called the night “one of my greatest moments as a performer”.

The surprise guests didn’t stop at UK artists as Drake scrambled to prove himself after a difficult few months as he made sure to bring out all his recent collaborators, including Sexxy Red (as she takes a break from making America Sexxy again), Latto, PARTYNEXTDOOR and 21 Savage, who is technically a British citizen.

In a move that only a rapper like Drake could get away with, the crowd went feral as they heard the iconic melody of Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles as she took to the stage to perform the track to a crowd filled with people rushing to get their phones out to film the unsuspecting moment.

And what better way to make an extremely Drake exit than to get on a platform floating above the crowd using a giant crane as Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You echoed through the speakers as he raised his arms up to the sky and put a sweet end to the musician’s UK return.

Meanwhile, Sunday brought an entirely different (albeit just as energetic) vibe with special performances from Vybz Kartel, Burna Boy, Popcaan and Rema.

Source: Mirror