Rapper Drake Pays Tribute to DeMar DeRozan and His Raptors Legacy in Latest Song

One of the harshest trades in recent history has to be the Toronto Raptors trading away DeMar DeRozan. During his nine-year stay, DeRozan did his best for the team. But a lack of postseason success pushed the Raptors to trade him to the Spurs to bring in Kawhi Leonard.

While he may have not brought them a ring, but DeRozan became a Raptors icon for his contributions. He is well-respected and still loved by the fans, including rapper Drake, who shares a close relationship with him as well. He released a song last night, in which he has paid tribute to DeRozan and his Raptors legacy.

In his song titled ‘Lemon Pepper Freestyle,’ Drake has a line that says “And my city love me like DeMar DeRozan.”

That shows how much the fans and the city still love him. And despite it being almost three years since his departure, they still feel the same.

Fans react on Twitter to Drake’s tribute to DeMar DeRozan

Many Raptors fans have got emotional because of the song and they tweeted about it as well. Very few players are able to build such a bond with a city and its fans and DeRozan is an excellent example of it. Despite being pushed out, he never spoke out against the Raptors but understood why the Raptors had to do it.

Drake and DeMar built a relationship during his Raptors days

Over the years, Drake has become the Raptors biggest celebrity fan. One can see him courtside for a lot of their big games. So when DeRozan played for the Raptors, he met Drake often, and that’s how they built a relationship. In 2017, they collaborated on a comedy sketch that also featured actor Will Ferrell.

Drake poses as a handshake coach while DeMar plays himself. It’s a hilarious video where Drake keeps roasting DeMar.

When DeRozan got traded away, Drake took to Instagram to write a long emotional message. “To my brother @demar_derozan I want to say 10 million thank you’s on behalf of YOUR city,” he wrote. 

Similar to Drake, the entire city of Toronto shares the same sentiment about DeRozan, who is one of the best players to play for the team.