It was a happy family reunion north of the border for Drake — decades in the making.
“First time in over 15 years, they let the OG back into Canada,” wrote Drake, 37, on Monday, January 15, while sharing a photo of his father, Dennis Graham, to his Instagram Story. In the pic, Dennis posed beside his ex (and Drake’s mother) Sandi Graham. Dennis, 69, and Sandi, 63, sported OVO merch, with Drake’s father flashing a smile for the camera.
“Thank you to everyone that helped us out,” added Drake while tagging his father’s account.
Drake did not make it clear why his father wasn’t able to visit him in Canada, presumably over a legal matter. Dennis was reportedly in and out of Drake’s life due to run-ins with the law (Drake has a tattoo of Dennis’s mugshot), though the elder Graham has denied the “absentee father” allegations.
“I have always been with Drake,” Dennis said during a 2019 episode of Nick Cannon‘s “Close Conversations” radio show. “I talk to him, if not every day, every other day. And we really got into a deep conversation about that. I said, ‘Drake, why are you saying all this stuff about me, man? Like, this is not cool.’ And he goes, ‘Dad, it sells records.’ I said, ‘OK, cool. Talk about me.'”
Drake later said he was “hurt” by his father claiming he made up his lyrics for clout. “My father will say anything to anyone that’s willing to listen to him. It’s sad when family gets like this but what can we really do? That’s the people we are stuck with,” the rapper wrote on an IG Story. “Every bar I ever spit was the truth and the truth is hard for some people to accept.”
Despite their ups and downs, Drake and his father have a strong relationship. In 2019, Dennis told Us Weekly exclusively how fatherhood had changed his son. Drake and ex-girlfriend Sophie Brussaux welcomed their son, Adonis, in 2017. “This is brand new [for Drake],” said Dennis at the time. “I’ve seen them interact together, and it’s beautiful.”
Drake has dedicated a lot of time to his 5-year-old son. The “First Person Shooter” rapper used his son’s artwork for the cover of his 2023 album, For All the Dogs. Drake even had Adonis rap on the album before letting his son drop a full “My Man Freestyle” song and music video.
Drake will soon have some more time for his family. After Drake completes his 2024 tour, It’s All a Blur Tour – Big As The What?, he says he’s going to take a break from making music. “I need to focus on my health, and I need to get right, and I’m going to that,” he said in October 2023 on an episode of his SiriusXM series, Table For One. “So, I’m going to lock the door [to] the studio for a little bit.”
