Drake and PartyNextdoor Ignite Manchester at Co-op Live Arena on Day One Of A Four-Night Show

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One thing that Drake has been criticised for over the last few years is his quality control over productivity in terms of albums and music releases. His strategy over his career has been to flood the market, pivot to what sounds current and popular, and embrace culture and the younger generation that are coming up to appeal to a wide and ever-growing audience. 

This means, however, that some people believe that this has not allowed him to make relatable music that cross-examines his own life. The other argument over the other side of the fence is that Drake, simply, lives and makes music that feeds his own reality.

And it has never been more undeniable than in the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, that his appeal is in the stratosphere. His apparent weakness is a strength as on the first night of a four-night run in the north, coming off a three-day stint at Wireless that had an all-star line-up, and a mixed response. 

Intimacy is skilfully created in the arena as hundreds, easily thousands of people sit in their seats waiting for the Canadian rapper. Taking selfies, discussing their favourite songs, who‘s rumoured to come out - the list of names is growing more ambitious but not unreasonable. People who are standing down in the stalls twitch in excitement, eager for the night to get started after being warmed up by the DJ.

It's not long before Drake pops up on the giant screen, walking through the crowd. Pearls around his neck and all. Dressed in black, an open shirt, and hair styled in cornrows, he makes his entrance to ‘Give Me A Hug’, a sign of love.

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This is how Drake breaks a six-year absence from Manchester. He apologises earnestly about leaving it so long, promising to make up for it by performing from his whole catalogue, and he does just that.

His second song of the night was ‘Marvin’s Room’, evoking a strong emotional reaction from his fans, before smoothly moving to 2017, when he dropped More Life with ‘Teenage Fever’, ‘Passion Fruit’ and ‘Jungle’.

He curates a fluid show that moves from the first minute to almost two hours in the blink of an eye, venturing from club music, ballads, R&B, drill, dancehall, Afrobeats, rap and trap.

There is something charming and special about Drake. A gravity and aura surround him, which doesn’t take away the feeling that he is someone that we know, having been around for almost two decades now, despite being an out-of-reach celebrity.

Other favourites from other projects, such as ‘Sickomode’, ‘Headlines’, ‘God’s Plan and ‘Jimmy Choos’ were echoed back to him around the arena, coming together to create one voice – hands in the air and dancing as the temperature in the room increased.

Saying it best, “We came here tonight wanting to share our music with you, and we have the privilege to share something special with you”, Drake said.

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The ‘we’ in question came later as he does turn his attention to tracks off of his newest album, a joint project with PartyNextDoor, Some Sexy Songs 4 U. And PND does break up Drake’s set with his own roughly midway through, slowing it back down with passionate and heartfelt R&B sensibilities.

The most surprising was, however, when London rapper Central Cee came out performing his and Drake’s new single for the first time, ‘Which One?’, which was only released the very same day.

“I hope that you achieve everything that you want to achieve. I’m Drake. I’m from Toronto but I feel at home (in Manchester)”, he said as he ended the show, emphasising the point earlier when he played ‘Going Home’, almost two hours later and ignoring the warnings not to go beyond the extended time.

It was a show that nobody wanted to end, and arguably, you could say that Manchester embraced Drake, wishing that they could have held him close for a moment longer. 

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