Key Takeaways
- Drake thanked Bow Wow for performing at his 40th birthday party and declared, “It wouldn’t be no Drake without Bow Wow.”
- He credited Bow Wow’s music, videos, and ‘106 & Park’ run with teaching him how to become a superstar, while Bow Wow returned the love and performed “Like You.”
- The tribute came during a lavish New York birthday weekend featuring luxury giveaways, major cash prizes, Popcaan, and a Backstreet Boys performance of “I Want It That Way.”
Drake spent part of his second 40th birthday weekend giving Bow Wow his flowers.
In footage from Drake’s lavish birthday party on Saturday (Oct. 24) in New York, the rapper can be seen thanking Bow Wow for performing at his party and inspiring him when he was a young artist.
“If it wasn’t for these two right here, popping it when I was in my mom’s basement, watching 106 & Park, teaching me how to make songs for the tings, teaching me how to do videos, how to be a superstar, this guy right here I have a lot of love for,” Drake said on stage. “It wouldn’t be no Drake without [Bow Wow].”
Bow Wow returned the love, revealing that Drizzy is the only person he’s perform for last-minutewith no questions asked. He can be seen performing “Like You” afterward.
Check out the clip, posted on social media by DJ Akademiks, below.
Bow Wow’s performance was part of a birthday weekend that included two New York celebrations. Drake kicked things off Friday at Manhattan’s Casa Cipriani, where approximately 400 guests gathered ahead of Drizzy’s 40th birthday.
According to People, attendees received Chanel and Hermès handbags, while cash prizes ranged from $10,000 to a reported $1 million.
The Backstreet Boys also performed, with Drake joining them onstage for “I Want It That Way.”
The festivities continued Saturday, and Drake traded his black-tie look for a cheetah-print Chrome Hearts jacket and red leather pants. Beyond the moment with Bow Wow, Drake also performed alongside Popcaan.
It’s not the first time Drake has credited Bow Wow as an inspiration. At a 2021 dinner at Mastro's Steakhouse in Houston celebrating his Hot 100 sweep, Drake told Bow Wow, "If it wasn't for you, there wouldn't be no me."
He went further in 2023, when Bow Wow walked with him onstage at Atlanta's State Farm Arena, and Drake called him "somebody who I wanted to be like growing up."
