A Guide to Drake's Relationship with Toronto

Rap music is bound to region and place in a way that is paralleled only by the blues and country. Heads who have never set foot in New York—let alone Brooklyn—can rattle off the names of streets and housing projects in neighborhoods they've visited only through Hov's lyrics. Drake is hip-hop, and he has a city he claims: Toronto.

From the start of his career, he's grounded his work in this place (see "City Is Mine" from Room for Improvement). Of course, Drake's childhood was bifurcated as a result of his parents' divorce, meaning the South—Houston, in particular—accounts for a large part of his aesthetic. Make no mistake, though—when he tells you, "All I care about is money and the city that I'm from" he means Toronto.

Here are the places that hold the most significance; here is our Guide to Drake's Relationship with Toronto.

Address: n/a

After his parents' divorce, Drake lived with his mother, Sandi Graham, in Forest Hill, a wealthy, predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Toronto. His mother shows up in Drake's verses frequently, but most memorably on So Far Gone's "Successful" and Take Care's "Look What You've Done."

Address: 730 Eglinton Ave. W.

Drake dropped out of this public high school, located in Forest Hill, against his mother's best advice. Bolstered by his success as part of the cast of Degrassi: The Next Generation, which he joined while still in the eighth grade, Drizzy made the decision to pursue a creative career full-time (he discusses the move on "Under Ground Kings"). He has since cautioned others against following in his tracks. Oftentimes he slept on the set of the show, his home life having become increasingly strained. Drake's mother is a retired teacher; he describes the tension between the two of them vividly on "Look What You've Done." Stay in school, kids.

Address: 1 St. Thomas St.

Drake raps, "These are my One St. Thomas flows," on his "9AM in Dallas" freestyle, a song he recorded as Thank Me Later was being mastered. The song was included as a digital-only bonus track, as it was completed too late to include on physical copies. One St. Thomas is a luxury high-rise in Toronto where Drake keeps a condo. Standing 29 storeys and designed by New York architect Robert A.M. Stern, One St. Thomas is far from cheap; though it's sold-out now, digs in this tower went for a cool million for 1,200 square feet.

Address: 15 Fort York

From Damien Scott's "The Long Way Home," the Complex feature on Drake: Apartment 1503, 40's crib, at 15 Fort York is an important place in Toronto, as Drake will explain. “40's room also doubled as the studio,” Drake recalls. “This is where we recorded most of So Far Gone.” Noah “40” Shebib says “Me and Drake created a niche where we create music in a certain way and people can recognize it pretty quickly. But there is another sound that came out of this city. That sound is from Saukrates and Choclair. Boi Wonder has a pretty specific sound with his beats, which T-Minus also borrows. T-Minus learned from Boi Wonder. He did a lot on Take Care as did Boi Wonder, who also did work on Thank Me Later."

Address: 431 Richmond St. W.

Drake was known to get his fresh on at the Toronto's menswear clothing boutique Ransom, when it still had a physical location. Originally located next door to Stussy Canada, this is where Drizzy first met his brand manager and stylist Oliver El-Khatib; he even appeared Fall/Winter 2009 lookbook, sporting the brand. But the store shuttered in 2010. You can still grab clothes from the label at the Stussy store next door, which was also the spot that sold tickets for the first, highly-exclusive live performance from the Weeknd earlier this year.

Address: 909 Lakeshore Blvd. W

One of the biggest events in all of hip-hop is Drake's annual OVO Fest. The yearly show, which began back in 2010 after the release of his debut LP Thank Me Later, is hosted at Toronto's semi-enclosed outdoor concert venue the Molson Canadian Ampitheatre located at the grounds of the Ontario Place. This is always a summer event hip-hop heads alike do not want to miss.

Address: 3611 Mavis Rd., Mississauga, Ontario

Drake recorded a portion of his debut LP Thank Me Later and some of his newly released Take Care at Metalworks Studios, located just outside of Toronto. From first recording at 40's downtown apartment to an actual full-service recording facility, his catalogue's sonic quality has only grown in stature.

Address: 116 Avenue Rd.

One of Drake's primary hot spots for getting his grub on is Sotto Sotto. Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, this Italian spot has been the backdrop for Drake sightings and interviews. He allegedly dined with RiRi there recently.

Address: Rogers Centre - 1 Blue Jays Way; The Guild - 201 Guildwood Parkway; CN Tower - 301 Front St. W.

Drake's "Headlines" music video saw Toronto's very own capturing the essence of his hometown with shots of numerous landmarks, including him rapping center field at the Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays; Toronto's historic Guild Park; and riding up-and-down the elevator of one of the world's tallest free-standing towers, the CN Tower. Aubrey really cares about the city where he's from (though you'll notice that he seldom calls Toronto by it's full name—he repeatedly refers to it as "my city," allowing for a variety of listeners to easily slip into his perspective). He just can't say it enough

Address: 1313 Bloor St. W.

Strip clubs are a popular motif in hip-hop, but in Drake's hands they function a little differently. They're seldom a source of pleasure. There's as much sadness as there is sex in the air when he describes the scene—think of "Houstatlantavegas." It's a perspective that André 3000 adopts for his guest verse on "The Real Her."

The strip club in question is Club Paradise, a neon-lit joint in his hometown, a place where he "knows them strippers by their real names." That's the only explicit mention of shaking ass for cash in "Club Paradise," one of the many excellent free tracks released in the months before Take Care dropped. The atmosphere of the song—melancholy, lost, introspective—provides a strong counterpoint to what the title suggests. However, listeners familiar with Drake's steez, the ones that remember how vividly he painted the Houstatlantavegas mind state, won't feel like the title is a curveball. In fact, it's just the opposite; it's rather plain.

Address: 95 Dundas St. W.

From Damien Scott's "The Long Way Home," the Complex feature on Drake: Drizzy heads to Hong Shing restaurant for dinner with his October's Very Own family. “This was the after-the-club spot,” Drake says. “I met one of my girlfriends here.” Seated to his left is Niko, Drizzy's right-hand man and confidant. Neeks says Drake changed the sound of Toronto rap. “Drake came and flipped it and said everything that a hood guy can't say,” he explains. To Neeks's left is Future, Drake's DJ. “Everybody in our circle is extremely grateful,” says Future. “We are the first ones to ever do this in our city.”

Address: 19 Mercer St.

From Damien Scott's "The Long Way Home,": Drake and his OVO fam make it light up inside Toronto's AME nightclub. “I'm about this young, energetic, hungry movement,” Drake says. “That's what I stand for now. That's why we put all this time and attention to detail into everything we do. It's coming... and it's better this way. Because if I was over-exposed, like in-your-face, that's also when that light flickers out and you're gone. I'm on my second album. I want to do this right for at least another 10 years. I'm not trying to rap when I'm much older than that. So I'm just taking my time.... I'm not Jay, I'm not 50 Cent—not yet. And even if someone would tell me I am there, I'm going to keep telling myself I'm not so I can work harder and keep building. It's the same reason I don't want to start a label and sign artists. I'm working on myself. I'm 25. I just want to be young and do this shit for us.”

Address: 431 Richmond St. W.

Formerly the space for Toronto's deadpooled high-end sneaker boutique Goodfoot, Goodnight Bar, located in the heart of Toronto's downtown, is a frequent hangout for Drake and the OVO fam. Exclusive is the operative word at this club, a plain site with only a sign outside indicating reservations are necessary. When celebs roll through the city, they often lamp here. The inside of the bar can be seen in the video for "Marvin's Room."

Address: Dufferin St. and Springhurst Ave.

If you're driving east along the Gardiner Expressway, you'll spot the billboard on your upper left as you're passing the Dufferin Street bridge. Drake commissioned the billboard to promote his sophomore album. The billboard fused the "Welcome to Toronto" sign, which shows the city's metro-area population, and the OVO owl.