Credit: Alamy

Toronto rapper Drake is one of the most decorated artists in hip-hop. With five Grammy awards, 17 BET awards and a whopping 41 Billboard awards, the Young Money artist has broken all kinds of musical records. In fact, for his work in the 2010s, Drake was awarded the accolade of ‘Billboard Artist of the Decade’, beating pop-music powerhouses such as Rihanna and Adele.

During the 2010s, Drake was unstoppable. With four Grammy awards, 13 BET awards and a whopping 34 Billboard awards, the Young Money artist broke all kinds of musical records and was even awarded the accolade ‘Billboard Artist of the Decade’.

Although he has seen himself on a slow but steady decline in hip-hop culture over the past two years, it would be unfair to say that one loss could erase his legacy and what he had built before his Kendrick battle. The ‘In My Feelings’ rhymer has become as famous as is possible in rap music and is an immediately recognisable face. Even his arch nemesis Kendrick can’t compare with regards to fame.

However, before the rapper achieved mega-stardom, he performed shows for minor fees. In 2022, hip-hop historians from The Flyer Vault took to Instagram to post some lost paperwork about the rapper and fans were shocked.

Taking to social media, The Flyer Vault posted old contracts from 2006. The papers revealed a small $100 payment to Drake for his performance as the opening act for an Ice Cube show. Playing at a Toronto venue called Kool Haus, Drake was granted a meagre half-hour set before Ice Cube took the stage. During this period, Drake had not yet signed with Young Money and was no longer acting. However, the rapper was instead building a local Toronto buzz.

The post caption read, “On August 19th, 2006, Ice Cube headlined the Kool Haus with supporting act Drake in what was likely his first-ever concert. The lyricist got paid a handsome sum of $100 and performed cuts from his debut mixtape, Room For Improvement, which was released earlier that year. Classic history!”

Before Room For Improvement, as an actor, Drizzy played the role of Jimmy Brooks in the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi. However, 2006 was a vital year for Drizzy as it was when he finally made his official transition from acting to music. Following his ’06 mixtape, Drake released Comeback Season in 2007. Two years later, he proceeded to drop So Far Gone which secured him his Young Money record deal.

Regarding the paperwork, Drake eventually caught wind of the photo and took to social media, posting, “This is for anybody getting $100 a show right now. Keep going.” Since 2009, it is pretty safe to assume that Drake has never performed for the sum of $100. However, it is evident from his post that he still believes that those who are can achieve what he has.

It would be fair to say that Drake has surpassed Ice Cube concerning accolades. However, regarding cultural capital, many argue that Ice Cube still holds more and is of greater significance to hip-hop due to his important work establishing the gangsta rap genre in the mid-1980s.

Although this may be the case, it is still pretty strange to consider that the multi-millionaire, world-known Drake was once happy to accept a fee of $100. It’s even more bizarre to imagine that he was a mere unknown opening act, considering he recently sold-out arenas in Australia.