Drake Dedicates New Toronto Club to Bubbe and Zayde

Drake, everyone’s favorite Jewish rapper, has proven that he might also be the most sentimental—and savvy—hip-hop star. The Toronto native announced via Instagram the opening of his members-only club at the Air Canada Centre (home to the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs), which is dedicated to the memory of his grandparents, Reuben and Evelyn Sher. Sher Club, which is being billed as the “ultimate pre- and post-game destination,” features marble floors and red velvet couches that are more nightclub than bubbe’s basement, but the gesture is as adorably thoughtful as we’ve come to expect from Drizzy.

“Rest in peace to my grandparents Rueben and Evelyn Sher,” Drake captioned his Insta-announcement of the club. “My grandmother was the first person to ever play catch with me and my grandfather was the biggest sports fan in the world. I opened this club in the memory of both of you.”

Drake was particularly close with his maternal grandmother, Evelyn, whom he called Bubbe, who died on Thanksgiving in 2012. That day Drake tweeted, “Rest in peace to my grandmother Evelyn Sher. What a day to go…thankful to have had the times we did.”

Two years earlier, on the 2009 song, “The Winner,” Drake rapped:

Yeah, and in the name of Evelyn Sher
I’ll forever forgive anybody that never was there
For me, no other woman could ever compare
My angel I hope heaven’s prepared for whenever you there

And for his 2011 album Take Care, Drake featured a voicemail from his grandmother, then living in a nursing home, on the song “Look What You’ve Done.“

All I can say, Aubrey, is I remember the good times we had together
And the times I used to look after you
And I still have wonderful feelings about that
So God bless you, and I hope I’ll see you…

Drake’s emotional side, which has spawned the more than occasional meme, has likely only been good for his brand because it has set him apart from rappers who might portray a more tough-guy street cred rather than Drizzy’s “Look, Ma!” optimism. His mother, Sandi Graham, put it best when she described his “sensitive soul” in the video below. (Drake’s Mother’s Day tribute, posted on Instagram Sunday, read, “Happy Mothers Day to my tiny hero. Love you so much.”)

DRAKE!

Sensitive Soul

A video posted by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Dec 25, 2014 at 4:22pm PST

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