Drake has revealed that he was paid a mere $100 (£89) to open for Ice Cube back in 2006. The rapper took to Instagram earlier in the week to re-share a post by Flyer Vault, an archival account responsible for documenting the concert history of Toronto, Drake’s hometown. The post features an invoice for Ice Cube’s headline concert at Kool Haus in the August of 2006
The document shows Drake was paid $100 for his 30-minute opening performance. According to Flyer Vault, the gig “was likely [Drake’s] first ever concert”, and would have seen the rapper perform cuts from his debut 2006 mixtape Room For Improvement.
Drake later confirmed the sum, reposting the invoice alongside a message of encouragement for ambitious musicians just starting out in the industry. He wrote: “This is for anybody getting 100 a show right now,” before urging them to “keep going”.
Drake’s second mixtape, Comeback Season, was released in 2007. It wasn’t until his breakout EP, So Far Gone, however, that he started receiving critical attention. Indeed, that 2009 effort earned him his first-ever Grammy nomination in 2010.
Drake’s 2021’s album, Certified Lover Boy, was been the subject of much debate at this year’s Grammy Awards. The rapper withdrew his nomination for the controversial album. In the past, the rapper has criticised the awards body for upholding an ethos that he regards as damaging to music. “We should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked,” he wrote of Grammy in 2020.
