Advance reports of Aubrey Drake Graham’s latest jaunt – the so-called Assassination Vacation Tour – to plug his most recent album, Scorpion, have bordered on the apoplectic. By all accounts the man gives value for money: two hours of a mostly intensely performed show in an eye-popping production that looks to have set a target for other mega pop stars to hit even harder.
Expect your eyes to follow drone-controlled LED lights that stalk Drake’s every move. Expect to see a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang moment when a flying Ferrari appears above your head. Expect eye-popping fireworks and raptures of confetti. Expect to see a multimedia visual overload that makes last year’s U2 Experience + Innocence shows look like singer-songwriter nights in Whelan’s. And, lest we forget that Drake is one of the world’s most successful pop/hip-hop songwriters (officially certified by the Recording Industry Association of America as the world’s best-selling digital singles artist), there is the no small matter of a batch of songs that are culled from his five official albums: Thank Me Later (2010), Take Care (2011), Nothing Was the Same (2013), Views (2016), and last year’s Scorpion.
Add a number of mixtapes to the five albums (not forgetting a few name-making mixtapes he released prior to his debut album) and you can rightly surmise that Drake’s strike rate is exceedingly high.
It makes sense that Drake – born in Toronto, Canada, in 1986 – has had music in his life from the very beginning. His African-American Catholic father worked professionally as a drummer for the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, while his paternal uncle, Larry Graham, played bass in Sly and the Family Stone. An early career in acting ran in parallel with his burgeoning music vocation.
By the time he finished with teen drama, Drake was already famous in Canada, his mixtapes attracting the attention of hip-hop stars such as Lil Wayne, who quickly signed the apparent hitmaker to his Young Money Entertainment label. Since the release of his debut album, it has been one hit song after another, with Drake joining Jay-Z and Kanye West as the third part of hip-hop's royal, virtually unstoppable team.
There was a difference, however, in Drake’s approach to songwriting that removed him slightly (but only that) from hip-hop’s more typically boastful and ego-driven stances. While the general tenor of his output was viewed along the lines of “the melancholy hustler with a conscience … drunk-dialling former girlfriends and mourning the ones who got away” (Chicago Tribune), there were other areas that separated Drake from his peers – notably what UK music critic Simon Reynolds described as the performer’s facility to detach hip-hop from the “explosive content once at the core of the genre”.
Some put this down to his moderately comfortable Canadian background and his successful teenage acting years. Whatever way you slice it, Drake is a performer possessed with an unerring ability to deliver. Three nights in Dublin after St Patrick’s Day will surely make the man work even harder to impress.
Are there tickets still avaialabe?
Yup. Head over to ticketmaster.ie
What time does everything kick off?
Doors open each night at 6.30pm. Special guest is Tory Lanez, a Canadian rapper/songwriter who has just unleashed his latest single, Freaky, and Drake security guard turned performer Baka Not Nice. DJ Tiffany will be there to ensure the buzz is just right before Drake makes his entrance
- Baka: 7.30
- Tory Lanez: 7.45
- DJ Tiffany: 8.30
- Drake: 8.45
How do I get there?
Parking is available in the Point Village car park (you can book through Ticketmaster for €12) but better to leave the car at home and use the red-line Luas and get off at Point stop, or take Dublin Bus No. 151 to Castleforbes Road, the closest stop to the venue.
What will Drake play?
Here's the setlist form his gig in Manchester on March 11th
- Mob Ties
- Started from the Bottom
- Jumpman
- Both (Gucci Mane cover)
- Know Yourself
- Emotionless
- Elevate
- Going Bad (Meek Mill cover)
- Energy
- Yes Indeed (Lil Baby cover)
- Gyalchester
- Trophies
- Crew Love
- Over
- Headlines
- HYFR
- All Me
- Blessings (Big Sean cover)
- For Free (DJ Khalid cover)
- The Motto
- Walk it Talk it (Migos cover)
- My Way (Fetty Wap cover)
- That's how you Feel
- Passion Fruit
- Peak
- Jaded
- Sooner than Later
- Controlla
- Work (Rihanna cover)
- One Dance
- Hotline Bling
- MIA (Bad Bunny cover)
- Fake Love
- Nice for What
- In my Feelings
- Look Alive (BlocBoy JB cover)
- Sicko Mode (Travis Scott cover)
- Nonstop
- I'm Upset
- Encore: God's Plan
What about security?
Bags will be searched at the door. Bottles, cans, selfie sticks, large umbrellas, iPads and other tablets, video cameras, professional cameras, audio recorders, GoPros, large posters (A3 or bigger), large flags on poles, belt chains, laser pointers and anything that can be deemed a weapon are prohibited. So pack light to keep the wait in line as short as possible.
Are there any age restrictions?
U16s to be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
Accessible tickets
For special needs, please check the venue information page for details of facilities and companion tickets. Should you require further information please call the Special Needs Hotline: 0818-903001 (Republic of Ireland); 0333-3219996 (Northern Ireland & UK); 00353-818-903001 (International)
Drake plays 3Arena, Dublin, Tuesday-Thursday, March 19th-21st
