Drake, performing in Wick Social Room, April 2009
At midnight last Friday, Drake, one of the most critically and commercially successful musicians of the 21st century, released his highly-anticipated new album “Certified Lover Boy.”
Soon thereafter, in the small hours of the night, Daemen College began receiving a surprising amount of attention from all corners of the world.
What soon became apparent was that the Grammy Award-winning artist had name-dropped Daemen in the album’s finale—on a track called “The Remorse,” where he raps about his early days in music.
The line—”Daemen College booking me to pull up and speak the facts”—was a reference to an April 2009 concert by the artist, then largely unknown, in Wick Social Room during Springfest.
Current students, alums and perfect strangers alike caught the reference and flooded social media with appreciation for Drake’s nod to the college.
Media from each TV news station in Western New York visited campus to talk about the viral phenomenon, interviewing Kate Hammer, director of alumni relations, who attended the 2009 concert; Greg Nayor, vice president of strategic initiatives; and Jevon Jordan ’21, an MBA student, founder of Wildcat Media and Entertainment and a performer who played at this year’s SpringFest with his group, Underrated Evolution.
- Rapper Drake name-drops Daemen College in latest album 11 years after performing on campus—WKBW, ABC
- Drake mentions Daemen College in new song—WIVB, CBS
- In his feelings: Drake drops Daemen College reference on new album, WGRZ, NBC
Even Willie the Wildcat joined the fun
Soon after performing at Daemen, Drake experienced a stratospheric rise in popularity. His fee for the show, a modest $6,500, soon catapulted to over $100,000 and is now north of a million dollars.
His Daemen show was the last the rapper-singer—also known as Drizzy—played at a college. In 2016, during a concert at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, Drake paid tribute to his show at Daemen before launching into “Best I Ever Had,” one of his first hits.
Drake has sold more than 170 million records and won four Grammy Awards, 27 Billboard Awards, and other honors.
What remains to be seen is if Drake, also known as Champagne Papi, will acknowledge the outpouring of appreciation from Daemen. Nayor told the ABC-affiliate in Buffalo that he sent the artist a DM (direct message) on Instagram.
“I thought, what the heck? I’ll reach out, I’ll send him a DM, invite him back here to relive his glory days before he got started,” said Nayor. “We’ll see if there’s anything we can do to have him come back. We would welcome him with open arms.”