Drake opened his first tour in five years with a blockbuster show at Chicago’s United Centre.
The tour, which the Canadian has dubbed “It’s All a Blur”, is supported by frequent collaborator 21 Savage.
Drake opened the show by performing “Take Care,” a fan favourite, “Look What You’ve Done”, alongside a hologram of himself as a boy.
His opening night set-list included more than 50 songs in total.
Notably, he performed several lesser known fan favourites throughout, including “Marvin’s Room,” “Jaded” and “Feel No Ways”.
Drake opening the show tonight in Chicago with “Look What You’ve Done”. #IAABtour pic.twitter.com/EiQQqER561
— Word On Road (@WordOnRd) July 6, 2023
Drake’s most prominent fan page, Word on Rd, shared an image of him and 21 Savage’s tracklists.
“ITS ALL A BLUR SETLIST. Drake & 21 Savage. NIGHT 1 — Chicago. #IAABtour,” they shared.
ITS ALL A BLUR SETLIST
— Word On Road (@WordOnRd) July 6, 2023
Drake & 21 Savage
NIGHT 1 — Chicago #IAABtour pic.twitter.com/zH15CDUztJ
Drake also announced that he has a new album on the way. “I have an album coming out soon for y’all,” he said halfway through the show.
The rapper also took a dig at Childish Gambino. “The overrated and over-awarded hit song ‘This Is America’ was originally a Drake diss record,” read a tour visual.
After the opening night, Drake announced that the music on the tour was co-produced by local amapiano star Kabza De Small. “Show is executively produced by @Ovo40 and @bnyx with additional production by @KabeloMotha,” he shared on his Instagram stories on Thursday.
Drake has shown an affinity for amapiano over the years through his constant punting of the genre on his OVO Sound Radio playlists.
He’s also previously shown support for Uncle Waffles and, earlier in the year, he followed Kelvin Momo on Instagram and sent him a direct message on the app.
“You my friend are from another planet. Listening to you is like a religious experience,” he said.