Say what you will about Drake, but the guy sure knows how to stir a crowd into a frenzy. Friday afternoon, fans walking around in “Champagne Mami” shirts and countdown notifications from the Gov Ball app let me know that he was one of the more anticipated acts of the day. At 9:30 PM on the dot, Drake reported for headliner duty and led the raucous, mostly Caucasian crowd through his catalog. The audience squealed, shimmied and gleefully chanted the lyrics to “Enemy,” “No Tellin,” “Started From the Bottom” and more. He steered clear of any surprise special guests, which was too bad; The Weeknd would have been fun or dare to dream – Rihanna/Madonna. It was an enjoyable and solid set, he knows what he’s doing and did it pretty well. He managed to hit all points: serenading some, amping up others and lest we forget, Drake took great care to mention again and again that he loves NYC, Governor’s Ball, the people in the back, everything, really.
The official after party in Chelsea was an appropriately exclusive event with humorless security men attempting to appear stoic and a frantic crowd spilling into the street. There was the usual mix of Instagram beauties, buzzy hip hop heads and bottle service devotees with a few die hard fans thrown in for good measure. It was clear that Drake and the OVO crew’s evening was a success and that NYC definitely loves him, too.
Article: Stephanie Moise
