Drake announces OVO Fest will return in summer 2025

Drake made a surprise appearance at a Central Cee show to confirm that OVO Fest will be returning in summer 2025.

• READ MORE: Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s feud: the full timeline

Cench was playing at History in Toronto on Saturday (May 24) when Drake popped up on a balcony to perform ‘Nokia’ from February’s ‘$ome $exy $ongs 4 U’, his collaborative album with PartyNextDoor.

Drake also told the crowd: “I’ll see you this summer, by the way. OVO Fest will be back this year.”

The ‘God’s Plan’ star then pointed at Central Cee and said, “We’ll need you there for that,” before adding: “That guy right there, that’s my fucking brother. I’ve seen this guy from day one, a humble spirit, a hard worker. This man observed all he needed to observe. This guy put the work in, made the songs. He’s one of the best people I know. The realest.”

OVO Fest was founded by Drake in 2010 and ran annually in Toronto until 2019, before a forced interruption due to COVID-19. It did return in 2022, including performances from Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj, but it has not returned since then.

In other Drake news, he recently amended his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group, in which he claims they “artificially inflated” streams for Kendrick Lamar’s diss track ‘Not Like Us’, among other allegations.

The amendment drew attention to Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show from earlier this year, alleging that the performance “assassinated” Drake’s character and introduced “millions” more to the song, thus “causing even more people to be duped into believing that Drake was a pedophile”.

UMG had previously filed a motion to dismiss the Canadian rapper’s suit, stating that he had sued the corporation because he “lost a rap battle”. They went on to say that “instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be”, Drake had “sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds”.

In April, meanwhile, Drake confirmed that he is working on a new solo album, which he said is “a slap”. While little else has been revealed about the album – including its release date – it will mark the rapper’s first solo record since 2023’s ‘For All The Dogs’.

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