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Drake And The Key To The City — Toronto Shows Mad Love [Photos]

By Antonio J. Newell
Published on: 06:35 PST, Feb 12, 2016

Drake shows Toronto love more than anyone else. He reps the city in his songs and makes it a key reference point in his background. Now, Toronto returns the favor.

While Drake doesn’t appear to take an active stance in political matters, he’s definitely an affluent person with some of the political heads of his city. For whatever reason, Drake and “Norm” (Norm Kelly) share a close, professional relationship. Maybe Drake is more politically aware than he shows the public?

One thing is for sure: Drake’s city recognizes him for his public influence and “civic engagement,” says Billboard. Via Twitter, Toronto Mayor John Tory announced the city’s intentions for the “Hotline Bling” artist. And those intentions are to give Drake the key to the city of Toronto and publicly honor him for such contributions on February 12.

John Tory took to Twitter on February 11 to express his gratitude for spending time with Drake.

His collective tweet essay reads as follows.

“I was lucky recently to spend time with a man [Drake] who is well known in our city and around the world. I knew his name, I knew his face & I knew his music. And we wanted the chance to get to know one another, and talk about the city we love. In our conversations, he told me how he feels about Toronto. He told me what it means to him to be from here, and the role he wants to play.

“He talked about wanting to contribute & for the city to see him as more than just a name – but a force of good. He talked about his desire to build our music scene, to inspire youth and help address the social issues felt across Toronto. This is a man who has achieved wild success, by any standard. And more than anything, he wants great things for Toronto. This is a man who could live anywhere, but calls Toronto home. He wants us to be proud of him. And we are. I am.”

According to CP-24, this “key to the city” presentation is the first since Tory’s taken office. And Drake is honored to receive such acclamation from his city. Tory states that this honor is the highest the city can give to an individual. He has even called Drake “Toronto’s biggest champion.”

Although various musical artists have come out of the city, Drake, at this point, is a household name. When you think of Toronto, Drake comes to mind. Whether it’s dealing with the Raptors, Blue Jays, or the city itself, Drizzy Drake “puts on for his city.”

Atop his apparent community influence, you can’t forget the funds Drake contributes as city revenue. Interestingly enough, Norm Kelly is the city’s councilor. He knows how much Drake effects and affects the economy — not to say that’s the reason behind his and Drake’s friendship, though.

Nevertheless, as notes CP-24, Norm hit Drizzy Drake with a clever turn of his own lyrics. Once learning of his pending honor, Kelly told Drake, “Drizzy, you deserve it.”

So, all in all, it’s a prestigious award. And it’s not like Drake has illegitimately earned such a recognition. He’s always busy, right? If not with his own projects, OVO Sound has plenty to occupy his day. Also, the world is still awaiting Views From the 6, if not mistaken. So, there’s plenty more to come from this Toronto star.

[Image via Twitter]

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