Drake just kicked off his It’s All A Blur Tour with 21 Savage, and already he’s having to run audibles as part of his performance.
On Wednesday (July 5), a video surfaced on TikTok, showing a cell phone being hurled at Champagne Papi as he performed a rendition of Ginuwine‘s “So Anxious,” on the tour’s opening night at Chicago’s United Center.
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In the clip, Drizzy, who dodged the toss, looked perplexed as he continued on with his set, unfazed. “What was that?” yelled a bystander off-stage. While another confirmed it was “a cell phone.”
Check out the video clip below:
@jordyntaylor28 He was like wtf lol #drake#chicago#itsallablurtour#unitedcenter#champagnepapi#fyp♬ original sound – Jordyn
Drake is just one of many artists who have recently fallen victim to being struck by a projectile cell phone mid-performance.
Last month, singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha was hit by a phone as she performed at New York City’s The Rooftop at Pier 17. Videos circulating across social media showed Rexha falling to her knees after being hit in the face by the device.
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The culprit, Nicolas Malvagna, has been charged with two counts of assault in the third degree, one count of aggravated harassment in the second degree, one count of attempted assault in the third degree and one count of harassment in the second degree.
During a show in Latvia last July, A$AP Rocky was struck in the face by a flying cell phone, causing him to stop the show.
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As fans waited to see how he’d react, the A$AP Mob member surprised everyone when he beckoned the man who threw the phone to come on stage and gave him a hug.
“You almost hit me with that phone and caught my face. You gotta be careful baby,” Rocky is seen saying to the fan with his hand on his shoulder. “I love you too. So you ready to go crazy?…look no more throwing phones man.”
Lil Uzi Vert decided to throw a phone back into the crowd during their rowdy performance at Wireless Festival in London last summer.
The Philadelphia rapper hurled the phone into the air and allegedly struck a fan in the process, who was filmed on TikTok being escorted away by security with a bloodied head.
“During Uzi’s set at Wireless Fest, fans threw multiple cellphones onto the stage and inadvertently struck [them],” a source close to Uzi told The Shade Room. “[They] merely attempted to clear the phones from the stage, avoid slipping and safely continue his performance — [they] never intentionally directed it at a specific individual.”
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Meanwhile, DaBaby recently offered fans an alternative to chucking their phones onstage during concerts.
Last month, TMZ caught up with the Charlotte rapper while shopping in Beverly Hills, where he suggested fans use their phones to stream his music rather than channel their inner Brett Favre.
“Throwing phones? That’s terrible. You about to throw your phone? That’s terrible. I don’t think phones should be thrown. I think phones should be used to CALL DA FIREMAN,” he said in reference to his three-track EP. “She a hot girl, come and shake something.”
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Elsewhere during the first night of Drake’s new tour, he paid tribute to Virgil Abloh in a big way, when he introduced a giant statue of him on stage, which was fitting as Illinois was the late fashion designer’s home state.
“Please make some noise for one of the most important people I’ve met in this industry,” he said on stage. “Make some noise for one of the greatest minds that we’ve ever seen.”
He added: “Our brother, our family, he goes by the name of Virgil Abloh. Let’s pay some respect.”
