Drake, the renowned rap artist, faced a significant setback recently as his lavish Toronto mansion, known as The Embassy, was flooded following unprecedented storms that struck the city. The mansion, sprawling over 50,000 square feet in the prestigious Bridle Path area, experienced ankle-deep muddy water rushing into its premises.
The city of Toronto endured nearly 100mm (four inches) of rainfall in a single day, breaking a daily record dating back to 1941. The torrential rains resulted in widespread power outages affecting approximately 167,000 customers, according to Toronto Hydro. Emergency services were inundated with calls, rescuing people trapped in elevators and flooded roadways.
David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, described the storms as multiple events lined up “like jumbo jets on the airport tarmac,” emphasizing the increasing frequency of urban flooding over traditional river flooding.
The flooding of Drake’s mansion adds to a series of recent security incidents. Earlier this year, a security guard was shot and seriously injured near the property, followed by attempted break-ins and trespassing incidents. These events occurred amidst a public feud between Drake and rapper Kendrick Lamar, which intensified after Lamar used an aerial image of Drake’s mansion for the artwork of his track “Not Like Us.”
In a 2020 interview with Architectural Digest, Drake spoke proudly of The Embassy, emphasizing its grandeur and durability as a testament to his hometown pride in Toronto. He envisioned the mansion as a lasting legacy, built with “overwhelming high luxury” and designed to stand for a century.
The flooding of Drake’s Toronto mansion serves as a poignant reminder of the vulnerability of even the most fortified structures in the face of increasingly severe weather patterns. As climate change continues to influence global weather systems, urban areas like Toronto are likely to face more frequent and intense storms, challenging residents and celebrities alike to adapt and fortify against future climate-related risks.
