Politics makes strange bedfellows as the saying goes, and nowhere was that truer than on Friday night when Canadian rapper Drake made a surprise appearance at a Ryerson frosh week concert.
“It was phenomenal. We were all screaming, it was crazy,” said Quinten Virginillo, a University of Toronto kinesiology major who heard about the concert and decided to attend.
“It was pretty spaced out when it started and then as soon as Drake hit everyone just pushed up and clumped together,” he said.
But what the Canadian rapper did next had social media really buzzing.
Councillor Norm Kelly was invited on stage, donning a Ryerson Rams Jersey and posed back-to-back with the Canadian, and internationally-acclaimed, hip hop artist.
“He just started chanting, ‘are you guys turned up?’ And everyone was like, ‘yeah!’”
The Toronto city councillor and former deputy mayor built a relationship with the Canadian rapper in July after sparking a Twitter feud with American hip hop artist Meek Mill.
Mill tweeted a negative comment about the Canadian rapper.
Kelly shot back with a terse and direct reply.
Since then he’s amassed over 139,000 Twitter followers.
“All of his Twitter posts, he’s just really active with the Twitter community, he really represents Toronto well. He’s a funny guy,” said Virginillo.
“He has the political side, Drake has the rapper side, it’s an amazing mix and chemistry they have,” said Hussein Baloch, a second year Ryerson student who also attended the concert.
Whether sincere or politically savvy, Kelly’s foray into popular culture is boosting his personal brand among youth.
“I think it gives him more credibility that he wants to approach the younger voters”
Kelly is quickly catching up to Rob Ford as the councillor with the most social media clout.
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