S. Samuel
Young Money's Drake is really going to put on for his city after officially landing an executive position with the Toronto Raptors heading into the 2013-2014 NBA season.
According to reports, Drizzy appeared with the team’s high-ranking management to make an expected announcement on Monday (September 30).
The hip-hop star will also launch a clothing line in conjunction with the team. Most intriguingly, he is being asked to consult on a complete redesign of the club’s image to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the franchise in the 2014-15 season. According to sources at MLSE, everything about the team is on the table . . . aside from the name. Give up your Huskies dreams. MLSE and Drake are sticking with dinosaurs. Going forward, this will be more than a business arrangement. It would be wrong to call what comes next a renaissance. That would imply that the Raptors have a legacy to build on. After 18 years, all they have is one playoff series win and Vinsanity to draw from. That’s it. It’s within Drake’s power to change that. (The Toronto Star)
Since the speculation developed over the weekend, immediate comparisons to former Brooklyn Nets minority owner/rap star Jay Z have been made.
While the partnership is already garnering a lot of comparisons to what Jay-Z did for the Brooklyn Nets over the past few years, the idea of celebrities working to help a brand revamp its image is nothing new. And many haven’t been nearly as successful as Jay-Z and Brooklyn were — take, for example, Alicia Keys and BlackBerry (though the Raptors, to be fair, probably won’t end up laying off a large amount of its workforce anytime soon). But at the very least, a partnership with Drake can at least help some of the Raptors’ players save some money on his new album. (USA Today)
Over the weekend, buzz about Drizzy Drake likely announcing his hometown as the location for 2016’s NBA All-Star Game surfaced.
We’ve seen the reports saying that Toronto will host the 2016 NBA All-Star Game. It’s not official until Drake announces it though. The Toronto rapper [will] be at the press conference tomorrow to formally announce the city as the 2016 hosts. This is part of a rebranding effort the unpopular Toronto Raptors are undergoing. The franchise is taking a page out of the Brooklyn Nets/Jay Z book and is using Drake–a lifelong Raptors fan–to help the effort, according to the Toronto Star. Drake will also launch a clothing line associated with the team and oversee a redesign of the franchise’s brand image for its 2014-15 20th anniversary. Drake’s quest for ubiquity isn’t ending anytime soon. (Complex)
Back in February, Drizzy took to Twitter and told his 10 million-plus followers “Started From The Bottom” was the Raptors and Toronto’s motivational song.
“New Single “Started From The Bottom” http://tinyurl.com/byqa7c8 OVO SOUND”
“Raptors playing like they knew the song was dropping. OUR TIME!#SFTB #TORONTO,” Drake tweeted February 1st. (Drake’s Twitter)
