Posted by Drake may be one of the biggest artists on the planet, but he still has to pinch himself from time to time. The Toronto superstar was named Billboard’s Artist of the Decade on Tuesday (May 11) then topped it off by having dinner with a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.
Drizzy took to his Instagram Stories in the early hours of Wednesday morning (May 12) to share a photo of himself with the legendary Ronald Isley of The Isley Brothers. He followed up the post by recognizing Billboard’s award and crediting Isley as somebody who shaped his formula and musical taste.
“Today was one of those days it doesn’t feel real,” he wrote. “Waking up to artist of the decade then having dinner with my idol @ronaldisley and listening to the stories behind every song that shaped my love for emotional music and created my formula for a lot of my writing… high on life right now my g’z.”
Drake reflecting on winning Artist of the Decade at the #BBMAs
“Today was one of those days it doesn’t feel real, waking up to artist of the decade then having dinner with my idol Ronald Isley” pic.twitter.com/qiYCM3ga23
— Drake Charts ⁶? (@DrakeChart) May 12, 2021
Drake rapped over an Isley Brothers sample for his Lil Wayne collaboration “Ignant Shit” off 2009’s So Far Gone mixtape. The song uses the instrumental for JAY-Z’s “Ignorant Shit,” which Just Blaze produced and sampled The Isley Brothers’ 1983 song “Between the Sheets.”
Not only that, but he also sampled Aaliyah’s 1994 cover of the group’s “At Your Best (You Are Love)” for his Thank Me Later song “Unforgettable.”
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In April, Ronald Isley took part in Timbaland and Swizz Beatz’s Verzuz series, which saw The Isley Brothers go up against Earth, Wind & Fire. Hosted by Steve Harvey, the livestream lasted three and half hours with a peak of 465,000 viewers at the same time.
Before the event took place, Isley linked up with Dr. Dre in the studio and took several photos for Instagram.
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Drake was seen in Los Angeles on Monday (May 10) celebrating UK rapper Giggs’ 38th birthday, who he previously collaborated with on “KMT” and “No Long Talk” from 2017’s More Life project. A bunch of other famous faces were in attendance, including Oscar-winning Judas and the Black Messiah actor Daniel Kaluuya and Snowfall star Damson Idris.
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