Drake Praises Two Classic Sizzla Songs At Toronto Karaoke Party
Canadian rapper Drake expressed his admiration for two classic Sizzla Kalonji songs at Tyrone “T-rex” Edwards’ ‘Nostalgia’ Karaoke Party in Toronto over the weekend.
The Scary Hours 3 rapper pulled up to the event on Saturday night and serenaded the crowd by singing along to some of the greatest hits from the past, including Sizzla’s 2002 hit Just One Of Those Days , better known as Dry Cry, and his 2007 collaboration with Kim Davis, Hush .
Drake reminisced about his early days promoting at clubs, waiting eagerly for these two particular songs to play.
“These songs were around a long time,” he began in a clip from the show shared by DJ Akademiks. “I used to stand outside Club 2 6. That’s facts. And I used to hand out flyers until I could go inside. We had to get rid of all our flyers … we used to throw our flyers in the garbage, just to get rid of some flyers so that we could inside, cause… those guys used to make us hand out flyers outside.”
“I used to wait for two songs, I used to wait for a song that went “hush hush baby don’t rush…” he said, referring to Hush, which appeared on Davis’ 2009 album Live, Love, Learn.
“Big up to Kim Davis they have a big tune,” Drake added. “And I used to wait every night to hear this tune right here … run the tune,” he yelled as Sizzla’s Dry Cry blared from the speakers.
Just One Of Those Days (Dry Cry) was one standout track from Sizzla’s album Da Real Thing, produced by the late Bobby “Digital B” Dixon and released by VP Records in November 2002.
Bobby Digital’s mentorship proved invaluable to Sizzla, who, up to that point, had built a following mainly through his recordings with Fatis Burrell on the Xterminator label. The 15-track Da Real Thing — notable for having absolutely no skips — included songs like Mash Dem Down, Thank U Mama, Why Should I?, Got It Right Here, Bless Up, Woman I Need You, and Solid As A Rock. It was celebrated in a documentary on Bobby Digital, re-released to mark the album’s 20th anniversary last year.
At one point in the film, Bobby Digital recalled some of his initial impressions of Sizzla. “[Sizzla] come do a ting name, ‘Babylon give dem a ride fi dem money, mek dem funny,’ [ Give Dem Ah Ride ] and mi a seh, ‘Yow! Weh dis yute yah get dem argument from? Dis yute yah deep, man. Him deep, him deep,’” he said.
Sizzla, in the documentary, said, “Bobby Digital is a next gold in the music. We love and respect Bobby Digital. Wi father that. The way you respect your school… studios are like university, so you respect the teachers and those who lay the foundation for you.”
Bobby Digital added, “Me and Sizzla have a chemistry. In anything you’re doing you have to have guidance. When the music go out, when people criticise, it’s going to fall back on me. We have to make sure anything we’re doing, it have to be right.”
Drake has demonstrated his love for Sizzla Kalonji’s music in the past; including one such occasion in 2015, when he performed a rendition of Dry Cry during a live performance.
On Saturday, he also belted out the lyrics to Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You, Donell Jones’ Where I Wanna Be, and Usher’s U Don’t Have To Call to the enjoyment of partygoers.
Host Tyrone “T-rex” Edwards’ and others also danced on stage to the nostalgic Jamaican beat Love Me Haffi Get by Beres Hammond and Cutty Ranks.
The Canadian rapper’s affliction for Dancehall and Reggae has unfortunately dubbed him a “culture vulture” by critics. However, his projects influenced by the genres have earned him great respect among fans.
This was seen with his Find Your Love music video 2010 that was shot in the garrisons of Kingston, Jamaica – where Mavado played the ‘top shotta’ villain in a deadly love triangle.
Drake’s Hotline Bling video in 2015 was another crowd-pleaser when he did the ‘Log On’ and other dance moves with Jamaican-Canadian choreographer Tanisha Scott.
There’s also his many songs with OVO artist Popcaan, including a version of Controlla (2016), My Chargie (2017), Twist & Turn with PartyNextDoor (2020), All I Need (2020), and We Caa Done (2023).
The God’s Plan singer released his latest album, For All The Dogs, last month and followed up with the ‘Scary Hours 3 Edition’ right after. Next year, he is set to embark on the It’s All a Blur Tour: Big as the What? tour with J. Cole.