poppin' for papi

Drake dazzles Houston with Johnny Manziel cameo and H-Town shout-outs at Toyota Center opening night 'homecoming'

Drake dropped some major H-Town love opening night

Prince Williams/WireImage

Hard to imagine any Canadian-born global superstar calling a Houston tour stop a “homecoming,” but it’s also hard to imagine another global superstar who loves Houston more than Drake.

That love was on full display at Toyota Center on Sunday, September 17 as the rapper-singer-Toronto native made his way down the stands to open his wildly anticipated, two-show Houston stop. “What are we gonna do when he comes out, scream or cry,” a young fan directly behind us asked her friend. Both, actually, nearly the entire night.

Decked out in neon yellow-green, Drake fist-bumped and high-fived shrieking fans walking alongside Johnny Manziel, his longtime buddy and subject of the track “Draft Day.”

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A young actor portraying a young Drake waited for him onstage, chilling on a sofa. Real Drake kicked into “Look What You’ve Done” to start his new 50-song setlist. (As Houston Chronicle entertainment writer Joey Guerra reminds, fans can follow the official tour playlist on Spotify.)

The theme of Young Drake — back then he was still Aubrey Graham Drake — played above the stage, as clips of opening intros to his ’90s sitcom faves Family Matters and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air flashed on the giant screens — followed with the show that first introduced him to the world, and Degrassi: The Next Generation. A giant Peter Pan flying overhead played up the childhood theme.

A Drake homecoming

“Houston, Texas,” he bellowed to the crowd, to the city where he said “where everything started for me.” Drake shared so much passionate love for H-Town that he threw off his neon-yellow jacket, revealing his gym-crafted biceps (and more screams). “I’m just as proud to be from Houston, Texas as you are,” he declared, “even though I’m not from here.” he said. He gave heartfelt shout-outs to Lil’ Wayne, who he met in Houston through Jas Prince, the son of Rap-a-Lot Records founder James Prince. Lil’ Wayne would become an early Drake mentor; Drake signed to Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment label, released his debut album Thank Me Later, and scored a Grammy nomination.

Houston rap icon Bun B also got some big Drake love (Drake recently called Trill Burgers his favorite), as did Warehouse Live. Calling out a now-legendary gig on May 8, 2009, Drake said he “vividly” remembered it as “the first time anyone had bought tix to see me.” (The show was a sellout.)

No word if Drake knew that Houston Astros ace Lance McCullers, Jr. and his lovely wife Kara were in the audience — we bumped into them on the way in — or LMJ might've gotten a “Bury Me in the H” shout out, too.

“My first homecoming show is right here tonight in Houston, Texas. You know that already,” he told the city where he said “where everything started for me.”

Shout outs to H-Town legends

During an interlude, the 36-year-old performer got so passionate with his love of H-Town that he threw off his neon-yellow jacket, revealing his gym-crafted biceps (and more screams).

“I wanna y’all to sing this next one so loud Lil Wayne can hear it,” he said, kicking into “The Motto.” A massive flying saucer hovered over his head for “HYFR,” and the stage turned bright red for “Energy” while an “Opps Cam” capturing crowd reactions. Things almost got quiet for “Know Yourself” before bursting into the chorus; he hopped up and down during the groove-heavy “Nonstop.”

The stadium then went black, as audio from late fashion designer Virgil Abloh speaking pumped through the speakers. Drake’s respect for “his brother” Abloh was so massive, a massive statue paying tribute to Abloh anchored his stage the whole night.

A Chanel bag for a lucky fan

Drake Houston Toyota Center 2023 opening night

Photo by Steven Devadanam

Drake called out Bun B, Warehouse Live, the Prince family, and more.

Never one to stay melancholy, Drake — aka Champagne Papi — got things poppin' with his standup comic laughs when he pointed out one fan, whose sign revealed she had waxed 50 women’s private parts to afford the show. For her manual labor, Drake told his team to give her a Chanel bag — the crowd cheered her on with laughs and applause. More laughs came as giant sperm swam overhead for “Child’s Play.”

A giant woman floated overhead for “Way 2 Sexy” then landed on the stage. Drake went from rapper to director as he urged each side of the stadium to sing “God’s Plan” to each other.

Sipping on tequila, he walked over to the elevated DJ booth with DJ French Montana and going from performer to comedian to director, he settled into life coach, telling the crowd to take a few minutes for themselves. “Forget about the little things,” he counseled while downing a tequila shot. “Arguing with your parents? Forget about it…your girlfriend went through your phone? That’s f*cked up, but forget about it.”

Back onstage, Drake was joined by four AI collapsible robots for “Calling My Name.” He dropped a shout out to Houston billionaire and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, adding, “I know the big dogs out here,” before going into “Massive,” “Sticky,” and “Search and Rescue.”

A Savage set

A long set with rapper 21 Savage, whom Drake dropped the album Her Loss with last year, included bangers like “Red Opps,” the yacht party jam “10 Freaky Girls,” “rockstar,” and crowd favorite, “Bank Account.”

Back onstage, Drake was decked out in a red leather butcher apron for “Knife Talk,” slicing through lyrics and bouncing back and forth with nonstop, rapid-fire lines on “Spin Bout U.”

“I hate to mention the D word,” he teased, “but Dallas Texas was turned up.” Not backing down, the crowd erupted as Drake kicked into the “Throw a Party for My Day Ones” and an H-Town tribute to DJ Screw — even sipping on something purple (see what he did there?) — on “November 18th.”

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Screwed up and Legend status achieved

“Listen, listen — I’m a be honest with y’all,” Drake told the audience. “I get the most nervous for Toronto of course, and the second most nervous for y’all.”

A fitting closer, “Legend,” got the crowd more frenzied than before, as the cocky, swag-dripping showman spread more love to tease a following Monday night show.

“I’m so grateful for this relationship we have,” he professed.

And so is Houston, Drake.

Movie Review

The Social Reckoning takes a swipe at Facebook in the modern era

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment

Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White in The Social Reckoning.

The 2010 film The Social Network — about the early years of Facebook after Mark Zuckerberg created the social media site — was a landmark movie in many ways. But given the time it was made — just four years after it went public beyond colleges — the impact Facebook had on society was minimal compared to what it is today (the film’s tagline references 500 million users on Facebook; there are now over 3 billion).

All of which is to say that there's plenty of fertile material for a follow-up film to explore, which writer/director Aaron Sorkin does quite well in The Social Reckoning. Zuckerberg (played this time by Jeremy Strong) is an important but supporting character in this story, which focuses on Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White). Horwitz is in pursuit of anyone willing to spill dirt on the inner workings of Facebook, which leads him to Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), who works on the Civic Integrity team at the now-giant company.

While at first reluctant to disclose much, Haugen gradually gives Horwitz access to internal files that show that Facebook engaged in behind-the-scenes work to boost engagement on the site with little regard for how it would affect the well-being of its users. Their story, which takes place over the course of two years between 2019 and 2021, is intercut with scenes in which Zuckerberg is being prepped for testimony before Congress by Raya (Wunmi Mosaku), Charlie (Bill Burr), and others.

The key to Sorkin’s success in Hollywood has always been his fast-paced, overlapping dialogue, and there’s much of it to enjoy in this film. Most of the film is just people talking in rooms, so the script needs to have Sorkin’s signature style to keep the story compelling. He achieves that goal through lines that indicate the righteous indignation, quirks, and sense of humor of the characters, feelings that easily translate over to the audience.

Sorkin is clearly on one side in his storytelling, and it’s not the side that doesn’t seem to care that its users are being harmed by its product. Sorkin gilds the lily multiple times throughout the film in big and small ways, and your enjoyment of the movie may lie in your ability to roll with his choices instead of nitpicking details (like the fact that Zuckerberg didn’t testify before Congress in the crucial year depicted in the film).

Still, there’s the unshakeable feeling that the movie is too little, too late. Even though it’s set just five to seven years ago, the advances in technology and the division of the country in the years since make it feel like a completely different world. The Social Network had the advantage of showing things that most viewers didn’t know well. The basics of this film played out in headlines around the world, and the issues the characters debate in it seem positively quaint compared to what’s happening now.

White has been hit-and-miss as a movie actor, but he’s in his sweet spot in this film, rattling off lines with ease and making Horwitz alternately cocky and empathetic. Madison does well in her first film since winning an Oscar for Anora, playing on Haugen’s passion and eccentricities effectively. Strong plays Zuckerberg as literally stiff — his neck and body movements are almost mechanical — a choice that works for the most part.

The Social Reckoning is not as good as The Social Network, but it manages to be gripping in its own way. Through Sorkin’s writing, better directing than he has delivered in other films, and committed performances by all of the actors, it becomes a story worth telling, even if its ideas have become antiquated.

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The Social Reckoning opens in theaters on October 9.

film mark zuckerberg movies the social network the social reckoning