Is Drake Okay? Inside the Rapper’s String of Viral Livestreams and Public PR Moves

Since losing his rap feud against Kendrick Lamar in 2024, Drake has lost some serious street cred. The dismissal of his defamation suit against Universal Music Group and terrible reviews for his May three-album drop — “ICEMAN,” “Maid of Honour,” and “Habibti” — haven’t helped the Canadian artist rebuild his image, either. Now, his most recent viral antics have left folks wondering: Is Drake okay?

If you haven’t already seen it, over the weekend, Drizzy had all eyes on him when he appeared on a “20-v-1” dating show livestream, hosted by the rapper in collaboration with the gambling company Stake. The three-hour stream featured him speed-dating with internet-famous women — including adult stars — as he chose which woman he wanted as a wife, which star he wanted to “pipe,” and which lucky lady would remain his “bestie.”

The broadcast had multiple viral moments, including the “God’s Plan” rapper barking on command for a “Goth Baddie” streamer, Pinkchyu, when she asked him to. At one point, Drake promised to buy Pinkchyu’s mother a house.

Once social media caught wind of his speed-dating antics, many folks shook their heads, calling it “embarrassing” for an artist of his stature. Others said Drake could be “crashing out,” and one fan said the rapper is “starting to look more and more like the old dude at the club trying to see if he still got it.”

Maybe the rapper does want to see “if he still got it.” After K-Dot’s diss track “Not Like Us” went so viral that it had crowds singing along to lyrics accusing Drizzy of pedophilia and even won a Grammy, the rapper — despite continuing to have hits on the Billboard Hot 100 — has had to polish his reputation. This month, he seems to be focused on exactly that.

As we reported, in the first week of August, Drake hosted a “Strong Women, Stronger Drinks” event in his hometown of Toronto. He invited more than 100 women from business and creative industries, and gifted each attendee $1,000. But he didn’t stop there: He gave an additional $50,000 check to 10 special guests, including his on-screen girlfriend, Andrea Lewis, from the high school drama “Degrassi.”

The moment drew a lot of praise for the Canadian hitmaker, but others pointed out that Drizzy could be trying to appeal to his female fan base because “women are the tastemakers of society” and he’d be able to count on them to keep his music relevant.

But beyond celebrating women (and speed-dating many of them), the rapper still seems to have a chip on his shoulder from his beef with Lamar and the rap industry. At the start of his stream last weekend, the “Best I Ever Had” rapper bragged that he released three albums while his peers are dropping albums that aren’t making any impact on music today, and also warned rappers about dissing him because he’ll respond.

“These guys are dropping albums, like hello and goodbye, and careful with that reply cuz the pen isn’t dry, I’m just letting you know,” he said, before mimicking gun sounds.

After threatening any future dissers with his pen game, Drizzy flexed all his jewelry on his stream, mentioning that he “doesn’t want to say the price tag,” but he made sure to drop name brands like Cartier and Chrome Hearts.

But if that weren’t enough of a hint that Drake might still be salty over his beef, the rapper posted behind-the-scenes images of his 20-v-1 stream on Instagram with a caption stating it “was almost as lit as the first…”

Whether these latest moves from Drizzy are just a rapper having fun with music marketing or a way to spite those who mocked him during his beef, it’s clear Drake has no plans to relinquish his hip-hop throne. However, his recent antics have raised eyebrows, and folks aren’t sure whether to be concerned or enjoy the show.