Drake gifts Toronto fans tuition and pays for concertgoer’s MS treatment at hometown show: ‘I’m taking care of everything’

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All throughout his It’s All a Blur tour, Drake has been surprising lucky fans with a variety of expensive gifts.

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And in Toronto Friday night, after he made his way to the stage with Maple Leafs great Tie Domi at his side for the first of two sold-out shows at Scotiabank Arena (renamed the October’s Very Own Arena to mark his homecoming), the 36-year-old rapper kept his streak of generosity going by offering to pay tuition for seven people in the crowd and pledging to cover one fan’s medical expenses as she battles multiple sclerosis.

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“There’s a couple of things I want to do tonight,” the music superstar told the cheering crowd. “I don’t know if you’ve been watching these shows, but everywhere I go, I try and spread love and I try and help people the way I can. So tonight I want to do a bunch of things. First and foremost, I saw somebody that had a sign that said they paid for their ticket with OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) money. Somebody else had a sign that said, ‘Pay for my tuition’ … This is what I’m going to do. We’re paying for your tuition tonight and we’re paying for your tuition tonight. And we’re going to find five more people who need their tuition paid. I’m taking care of everything.”

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Later, he singled out a fan with a sign that said, “I just found out I have MS.” Drake offered to connect her with his longtime musical collaborator Noah “40” Shebib, who also struggles with the illness, and then said he would help the concertgoer get treatment.

“I’m going to pay whatever it takes to get you the best help in the world, I promise you that. You got my word. And, you can come back tomorrow night.”

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Elsewhere on his tour, the Hotline Bling hitmaker has handed out a Birkin Bag (“Drake ain’t cheap!” he declared, as he scoured the crowd to find one lucky recipient), a Chanel handbag and stacks of cash.

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When he noticed one fan at a show in Las Vegas with a sign saying they had spent their furniture money on tickets to the concert, Drake offered to help get them back on track. “My man, your furniture money, I’m gonna give you 50 bands tonight cause’ I love you,” he said.

“Listen, this is what life is about,” he continued, addressing the crowd. “I’m trying to teach you something tonight. I want you to understand something tonight. You never know what the next person is going through. You never know what the person in front of you, to the left of you, to the right of you, behind you, is going through.”

Meanwhile, a superfan who he noticed at various different concerts got an extra special VIP treatment when he spotted her in Houston’s Toyota Center last month.

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“There’s this girl right here, I swear, I don’t know what kind of effort you put in,” he said. “But I feel like I see you at every show … Brooklyn, Dallas, Dallas, Houston, Houston.” For her loyalty, she got $10,000 and a first-class ticket to see him play in Atlanta. “You been repping real hard this whole tour,” he said. “I f— with you.”

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Back in 2018, while shooting his video for God’s Plan in Florida, the Grammy winner gifted a $50,000 scholarship to then-University of Miami student Destiny James. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in public health, James went on to finish her master’s in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021.

Drake celebrated her achievement by praising her in the comments section of her Instagram post, writing, “LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DES.”

In February 2018, James opened up on how his generous scholarship helped her carve a path for herself.

“Drake told me that he has read great things about me and appreciates how hard I’ve worked through so many trials and decided to give me $50K for my tuition,” she wrote [per PEOPLE]. “@champagnepapi THANK YOU SO MUCH!!’ You don’t understand what this means to me! I would’ve never imagined this happening to me. I’m just a girl from Denmark, SC that wants to MAKE IT and be somebody and for you to see my hard work means the world.”

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Explaining his penchant for being generous with his fans in 2018, Drake said in a now-deleted Instagram post that sharing his wealth was something that brought him immense satisfaction.

“There’s nothing like seeing people experience a joyful moment when you can tell they need it the most,” he said.

mdaniell@postmedia.com

X: @markhdaniell

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