Entertainment

Drake Appreciates Houston, and We Appreciate That

by Kenya Foy

We appreciate Drake for his hilarious, spot-on impressions of Alex Rodriguez and Katt Williams on SNL, his annual OVO Fest and his unique ability to successfully feature songs like "Hold On, We're Going Home" and "Started From the Bottom" on the same album. Apparently, the rapper has decided to publicly show appreciation for something other than Rihanna. Yesterday, Drake announced Houston Appreciation Weekend on Instagram with the caption "Houston Texas! Dates Coming Soon..." Look out Houston — whatever problem you have, Drake and his appreciation are here to solve it, at least where music is concerned and that 's alright by us.

There's real potential for this concert series to reinvigorate Houston's music scene. Many of the city's premiere artists have seen mainstream music success, but we haven't heard from them in a while, at least not in the way we would like to. Sure there's the ever-present Beyoncé and UGK's Bun B, who Drake has collaborated with and considers family. But I'm really hopeful that Drake's "Weekend" will help bring the spotlight back to some of the other Houston faves like Slim Thug, Scarface and Paul Wall, who's not only known for his music, but has designed grills for multiple celebrities, including Hulk Hogan, Venus Williams and Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte. Wall is reportedly set to release a new album in June, and it would be awesome to see him perform a few of his new tracks.

Another reason we have nothing but love for Drake's love affair with Houston is because that's where he met Lil' Wayne. So, it's only right that he pay homage to the birthplace of his relationship with Weezy, the man who literally breathed life into his music career. If not for that fateful H-Town union, Drake might very well be roaming a darkened Degrassi set in his wheelchair, pretending to be Jimmy for old times' sake and mulling over what could've been.