Drake doesn’t merely follow trends; he either adds wrinkles to them or sets new trends altogether. The most popular New Year’s Eve trend is to post a highlight reel from the year. Drake participated on Saturday, December 31, by posting a carousel to Instagram. The first photo is of him and 21 Savage, which makes all the sense in the world, given their recent record-setting No. 1 collaborative album, Her Loss. But as soon as you click the right arrow, you’re reminded that it’s Drake we’re talking about.
The second slide of Champagne Papi’s Instagram carousel is a video that many are linking to his reported detainment by Swedish police in July. Drake, in a red sweatsuit, is being led to a “polis” car while someone off-camera asks, “Who’s in charge here?” And then, the rest of the carousel is filled by harmless, star-studded snaps from yet another successful year in Drake’s life.
“The funds are useful / The lyrics are truthful / The suspects are usual / The opps are delusional / The finish line is beautiful / And the disrespect is mutual,” Drake wrote as the caption. “See you in 23.”
In July, rumors swirled that Drake had been arrested by Swedish authorities for possession of marijuana, but Drake’s team quickly shut it down. Philip Lewis of The Huffington Post relayed at the time that Swedish police had told him Drake was “not currently in their custody,” and Drake’s team stated to him, “Drake is at his hotel and has not been arrested.”
From Drake’s team: “Drake is at his hotel and has not been arrested.”
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 15, 2022
Days later, however, Drake cracked the door back open on the possibility that something happened in a since-deleted Instagram post. As captured by Page Six, Drake had shared a paper handout headlined “Information For Those Suspected Of A Crime And Subsequently Detained” that went on to detail a detainees rights.
Even after Drake’s latest video footage, skepticism is understandable. Drake and 21 Savage showed us that they’re capable of clever deception by rolling out Her Loss with a photoshopped Vogue cover, fake Saturday Night Live and NPR Tiny Desk performances, and spoof Howard Stern interviews.