Drake’s much anticipated mystery project, known until now as only “The Ballet,” is actually a new strip club.
“Treat yourself don’t cheat yourself. Where the women are on a pedestal and the surroundings are unforgettable.”
That is the motto of Drake’s latest venture, the “new dance experience” set to open in Houston, Texas, in early 2017, according to Complex .
. @Drake ‘s next business venture is a strip club like no other. https://t.co/SntJBtiKqL pic.twitter.com/UmJgybAM7Y
— HYPEBEAST (@HYPEBEAST) September 6, 2016
This strip club seems to be Drake’s ode to the city of Houston, which, although is not his hometown, has had a great influence on his work.
“Drake has long credited Houston as being instrumental in the early stages of his career. He namechecks the city in his 2009 song ‘Houstatlantavegas,’” reports NME.
The rapper announced that the mysterious The Ballet that he has been teasing on Instagram is actually a strip club in honor of the city during a pop-up event at his second annual Houston Appreciation Weekend or HAW.
Yes, Drake is so appreciative of Houston that he has a weekend-long festival celebrating the city.
The “6 God” explained to the crowds at The Ballet pop-up event that his strip club would be an ode to Houston culture , according to Complex .
“There’s a culture out there of dancing […]. It’s about these amazing women that we’ve got in one spot, the music that we’ve got, and the Houston culture that we got. I just wanna let you know that I’m going to bring it to you in the most honest and genuine way possible.”
Reluctant to call it a strip club, Drake insisted that ‘The Ballet would be a classy experience , “a different take on how it [i.e. the typical strip club] should be done,” according to Highsnobiety.
This would be “no [ordinary] strip club s**t,” Drake told his audience at the pop-up event, hoping to convey that The Ballet would be the “most honest and genuine” representation of Houston dancing culture, while he himself was surrounded by “scantily-clad dancers, occasionally raining down bills,” according to Pitchfork.
Watch Drake’s full announcement of his new The Ballet strip club below:
Drake explaining what The Ballet is. #Houston pic.twitter.com/7IycEi2OEK
— Word On Road (@WordOnRd) September 6, 2016
While other rappers have expanded their careers through luxury clothing and sneaker lines, Drake has always been slightly unorthodox.
Prior to the newest “classy” strip club/”dance experience,” Drizzy came out with his own brand of whiskey called Virginia Black , as reported by Complex .
“GLAMOUR. SWAGGER. SOUL. DECADENCE. REDEFINED. THIS IS VIRGINIA BLACK,” reads the liquor’s official website .
Whiskey aside, Drake’s newest venture with a strip club has had mixed reactions online, with many users simply not knowing how to respond.
Sooo drake opening a strip club????????????????
— Honey????? (@Just_brereal) September 6, 2016
so..drake opens a stripclub..like we needed another one of those… #Drake Just observation. No judgement. #inner #reflection
— Kevin Prince (@storiesbyprince) September 6, 2016
But most of the online community saw the humor in the situation,
drake opening up a “classy” strip club in houston and calling it the ballet has to be the most drake move ever
— ian jackson (@enbusik) September 6, 2016
Drake is opening a classy strip club in Houston called the Ballet hahahaha I’m dead
— Tam Henry Le Nguyen (@tamhenryle) September 6, 2016
drake’s strip club where dancers are required to provide emotional labor, available to discuss why their girl hit them with a read receipt
— darcie (@333333333433333) September 6, 2016
Gives new meaning to “Started From the Bottom” https://t.co/NZhMZTs7S2
— Ottawa Citizen (@OttawaCitizen) September 6, 2016
All in all, Drake’s newest strip club venture has created its share of confusion online, and we can only wait until the grand opening in 2017 to see how it will all turn out.
[Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images]