Page 16 - SHARP September 2022

16 SEPTEMBER 2022
SHARPMAGAZINE.COM
LETTER
NORTH STARS
LATE ONE THURSDAY NIGHT EARLIER THIS SUMMER, I
was invited to the Drake-owned History nightclub in Toronto’s East end to attend the All Canadian North Stars concert as part of Drake’s three-night October World Weekend tour.
From a private stage-side booth, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with VIP guests, I watched a cavalcade of Canadian rap luminaries dazzle with their greatest hits, many of them performing in front of a sold-out crowd for the first time since the early 2000s: rappers Choclair and Kardinal Offishall, R & B singers Glenn Lewis and Jully Black, and pop artists Shawn Desman and Nelly Furtado. Drake himself even surprised the audience with an impromptu performance, playing his early single “Headlines” and joining Furtado for a duet.
The show was spectacular — not least because of how much it clearly meant to the performers who lit up the stage, grateful for another opportunity to impress fans new and old and eager to bask in an evening of reverence and adoration. Throughout the night, Drake took to the stage to express his own appreciation, reiterating to the audience that without the boundary-pushing work of these legendary artists, none of us would have been there.
For me, it was a powerful reminder of the abundance of talent we have in Canada, and of how lucky we are as Canadians to enjoy it. When crossover stars like Drake — or this month’s SHARP cover star Ryan Gosling — become household names south of the border, it can be easy to forget that these are homegrown success stories. And like this month’s Man Worth Listening To, the great William Shatner, that Canadian identity can remain an essential part of the star even if they’ve made their career in the United States, and even if they’re in their 90s. (Indeed, in Shatner’s case, he’s Canadian even when he leaves the planet.)
As the All Canadian North Stars show finally came to an end, well past two in the morning, a visibly elated Drake could barely contain his enthusiasm for sharing a stage with some of these elder statesmen. “This is bigger to me than any American act I could ever see,” he said, laughing and smiling. “This is one of the best nights of my life.” Heading out into the night, overcome with nostalgic emotion, it was hard not to agree. It was a homegrown celebration — true north strong and free.
— CALUM MARSH
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LUIS MORA (KZM). SUIT AND SHIRT BY BOSS
Managing Editor