Drake paid tribute to his hometown on Tuesday night after angering fans by pulling the plug on a concert in Toronto the night before.
“You made me the man I am today,” the rap superstar told the crowd at the Scotiabank Centre. “You made me the artist I am today.”
On Monday morning, Live Nation announced that the first of three Toronto shows was cancelled due to “circumstances beyond our control.”
Disappointment turned to anger and confusion when Offset and Quavo of opening act Migos showed up at the MTV VMAs in New York City and Drake showed up in the hospital room of a young fan in Chicago.
“I kind of cancelled a concert so I could come see you, to be honest with you,” Drake told 11-year-old Sofia Sanchez, who is awaiting a heart transplant.
MORE: Nicki Minaj, Future Cancel Tour
Drake did not address the cancellation on social media and blocked commenting on at least one Instagram post.
But, on stage Tuesday night, the artist formerly known as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi credited his hometown with giving him a music career.
“I promise you that it never would have lasted this long if it wasn’t for this city and your support and your love for all these years,” said Drake. “I am forever grateful everywhere I go. I carry the values of this city with me … Every night that I go and I do a show in America I tell them that this is how the world is supposed to work.
“You see tonight, we’ve got 17,000 people inside one building from all races, from all places and all we doing is just listening to music and smoking and drinking and enjoying our lives. And I want you to know that’s something I learned right here in Toronto. That’s how we’ve been doing our s**t since day one.”
Drake added: “I love you, I’m proud of you.”
Fans were also treated to a surprise appearance by Travis Scott.
@Drake brought @trvisXX to #thesix tonight and we’re loving it pic.twitter.com/cFk1Sllqg0
— iHeartRadio Canada (@iHeartRadioCA) August 22, 2018
Drake and Migos perform Wednesday night in Toronto. They are scheduled to hit up Montreal and Edmonton in September.