Drake and His Mysterious Brampton Lover

3701

The City of Brampton has been a topic of discussion in hip hop recently, from Tory Lanez to Roy Wood$ to Derin Falana, but Brampton has another feature that has become something of a fascination for rappers coming out of the GTA: Brampton girls.

Drake is not only the biggest artist out of Toronto, but perhaps the biggest rapper in the game right now. His mysterious relationship with Brampton girls goes back to 2008 in his remix of ‘Still Fly’. In one of his most famous classic tracks, he raps

‘Ex-girls bickerin’,

Got these women jockin’ me from Heart Lake Road to Pickerin’

Aside from Drizzy’s declaration that he’s the most popular sweeterman with girls all over the GTA, Drake gives us a bit of a peek into his romantic life. He refers specifically to Heart Lake Road in Brampton, speaking of ex-girlfriends who appear to still be bothering him. Okay, so Drake dated a girl or two from Brampton, most likely Heart Lake. So what>

In 2015, Drake and Future released a mixtape called ‘What A Time To Be Alive’ where the rapper speaks about ‘Brampton girls’ yet again. In Drake’s solo track, 30 for 30, he raps:

‘And women that you seen on TV look better in person

And either they wanna fuck you or convince you

That they care to see where it goes from there

But these ain’t the girls from Brampton

This ain’t that local action.’

Let’s unpack this for a second. 2015 Drake is perhaps one of the biggest hip hop superstars that the genre has ever known. Superstar Drizzy remembers the old days. He’s in Hollywood now, surrounded by the fakes, and misses the sincerity of relationships back home – something he doesn’t seem to be getting anymore. He specifically remembers, rather reminisces, about his relationships in Brampton. This is a very different tone than 2008 Drake, the one complaining about his ex-girlfriend’s bickering. Did he go through some kind of epiphany? And if so, what makes his Brampton relationships so special?

Lastly, earlier in the same year that Drake released his mixtape with Future, he released a mixtape of his own called ‘If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late’. In a very personal hand written letter, Drake thanks everyone in his life that made the project possible. Drake mentions a list of people from his past, to which the tape is dedicated. It’s a very long list, but it’s worth noting one line in particular that reads:

‘[This tape is for] … Linda and Amanda Noro that took me to that poetry reading in

Baltimore where Malcolm Jamal Warner performed, Whitney from Brampton, Nadia…

But this tape is for you when you worked at La Vie en Rose.’

Wait, who’s Whitney from Brampton? Did she live near Heart Lake? Is this the girl that Drake misses so much now? The girl that reminded Drake about the things he misses most about relationships? Did she work at the La Vie en Rose at Trinity Common (near Heart Lake)?

There are a lot of unanswered questions about this mysterious Brampton girl. Whoever she is, she has a very real effect on Drake’s heart.

For Drake, Brampton is a place of love. Whether or not Whitney is the girl he’s talking about in 30 for 30 is unclear, but Drizzy is certainly thankful for what the city has taught him about life and love.

Oh, and he can also thank another Brampton girl, WondaGurl, for producing a monstrous beat on ‘Company’.