It appears that the saga of Drake and Top5’s relationship has seemingly fallen apart as the latter declared the former's co-sign as "dead." For over a decade, Top5’s remained a fixture in Toronto’s rap culture, though not necessarily for his music. His trolling ways and brazen attitude have turned him into one of the city’s most volatile yet entertaining figures. His early records, like “Hall Of Fame” and “Shirt Off On Any Block,” became local anthems and helped shape the Somali influence into Toronto’s hip-hop scene more broadly. However, it was an early sign from Drake that turned Top5 into a viral and controversial figure.
The controversial nature of their friendship reached new heights in 2024 when Top5 revealed that Drake paid for his attorney's fees to beat a murder case. The two had already built a solid rapport, but coming off the heels of his feud with Kendrick Lamar, aligning with Top 5 felt like a risky brand move at a time when the industry was seemingly turning against him. Top 5 remained rather loyal throughout, but something happened in recent months that seemingly soured their relationship. Most recently, Top 5 dissed Drake by sharing a photo of Kendrick Lamar and locking with Hitta J3, whom he previously had beef with, in light of his feud with the boy. Below, we’ll be going through the timeline of Drake and Top 5’s relationship over the years.
2013: The Spark at OVO Bounce
Drake’s association with Top5’s neighborhood, referred to as “The Jungle” (sharing the same name as the song from If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late), has been well documented over the years. In 2013, Drake and Top5 linked up for a photo op at OVO Bounce, marking their second time actually crossing paths. But according to Top5, Drake was already familiar with his persona.
“He knew me. He was asking ‘who is that kid with his shirt off?,’” he said, explaining that he had taken his shirt off to pose for a photo with Brandon Jennings. “Then I went to a signing and we got to know each other and the friendship started. From then on we kept hitting each other up. He’s always been supportive of my hood and has friends there. He puts people up on Instagram from my hood and from that day on he’s been into my music. I’m also close with OB O’Brien.”
August–December 2014: The Viral Co-Sign That Launched Top5
Top5 dropped his breakout track "Shirt Off Shawty" on August 12, 2014, a raw and energetic banger that captured life in the Jungle. It quickly turned into a viral song in the city, but a co-sign from Drake transformed it from local buzz to viral glory. Drake shared a photo of the music video to “Shirt Off Shawty” on his Instagram with the caption reading, “Back in the 6ix word to Top Five.” It certainly marked a shift in Top 5’s career, and the subtle nod ultimately generated a surge in YouTube views overnight. It was one of the earliest instances where Drake utilized his global platform to uplift the underground rap scene in Toronto that wasn’t directly signed to OVO.
2015–2021: Quiet Brotherhood & Rising Tensions
Post-co-sign, Top5's career gained steam with tracks like "Hall of Fame" (featuring Robin Banks), outpacing his debut hit. He and Drake maintained a low-profile friendship, occasionally linking at events or via mutual OVO connections. Ultimately, Top5 continued to level up as a viral entity in Toronto’s rap scene. However, it felt like his later music wasn’t really outpacing the success of his early singles without contentious antics. Drake continued his support, even dedicating a string of bars on Views song "Grammys" to Top5.
"Hall of fame, hall of fame
Like I'm shirt off, like I'm shirt off
Like I'm shirt off shorty
Whole city goin' crazy
Whole city goin' crazy
Top five, no debatin'
Top five, top five, top five"
Tragedy struck on January 31, 2021, when 20-year-old Hashim Omar Hashi was fatally shot in a Toronto parking garage. Top5 was arrested weeks later as an accessory after the fact, later upgraded to first-degree murder charges tied to alleged gang orders. His story became international news, as he cut off his ankle bracelet and fled to America with alleged false documents. During that time, Top5 made the rounds across cities like Los Angeles where he connected with other prominent rappers in the scene. In February 2022, he was extradited back to Canada, where he remained in custody as he awaited trial.
Fall 2024: Legal Lifeline & Freedom
In September 2024, Ontario Superior Court Justice stayed the charges, ruling social media posts inadmissible as evidence. Top5 walked free after three years behind bars. Hours later, Top5 posted on Instagram thanking his lawyer Gary Grill and Drake (@champagnepapi) "for the lawyer fees," though he quickly edited out the Drake mention amid backlash. Though it remained unclear why Drake went as far as allegedly funding Top5’s legal fees, the association became the cornerstone of Top5’s comeback in the media, and one that seemed motivated by Drake’s recent loss to Kendrick Lamar.
However, this didn’t come without blowback for Drake. A family member of Hashi called out Drake and OVO for supporting Top5. "Thank you @champagnepapi your version of justice means Hashim’s sister had to watch her brother’s murderer celebrating on TV," they continued against Drake. "He insisted if that tells you anything about the [caliber] of people we’re dealing with here – during her honeymoon. When I came back from Portland, they told me @ovo40 was one of the good guys, he was really tryna find a solution for what’s going on in the city. THIS IS THE SOLUTION?! Any and everything he does hereafter, every mom that has to hear him sing abt murdering their kid — THAT’S ON YALL!! The blood is on your hands.”
However, for the remainder of the year, Top5’s comeback was marked by his undying loyalty to Drake and made that clear as he antagonized Kendrick Lamar on social media, including making threats to Kendrick Lamar over his concerts in Toronto.
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Early 2025: Drake & Top5 Pop Out
Things seemingly began panning out for Top5 at the beginning of the year as his relationship with Akademiks strengthened and he forged a relationship with Pressa and the BFR clique that has since collapsed.
Drake and Top5 made a few public appearances together at the top of the year. First, it was at the Raptors game where the Toronto team faced off against the Golden State Warriors. The moment bred a lot of criticism for both Drake and Top5, though not enough to really impact either of their careers in any capacity. But what happened afterward seemingly suggested that Top5 might have been taking his newfound freedom for granted. Just 10 days later, on January 24, Top5 faced fresh arrest on six weapons charges.
Spring 2025: The Two Reconnect While Tensions Seem To Rise Between Top5 & Pressa
In April, Top5 shared a photo of himself and Drake in an Instagram carousel that continued to suggest that their bond remained strong. However, the image of Drake, which wasn’t necessarily the most flattering, turned the Canadian superstar into a punchline across the timeline. Other videos in the carousel showed the two hanging out in a public setting together and catching a vibe.
However, in the month that followed, Top5 continued to elevate his viral brand and managed to connect with Kanye West and actually link with him in person. Unfortunately, as he managed to salvage one industry relationship, he sabotaged another. Pressa, who was once a close associate, called Top5 a rat on the internet, and the two of them began throwing shots at each other, which clearly caused a rift between mutual friends. We’ll get to that later.
June-July 2025: Kendrick Lamar Concert & Wireless Festival Goes Left
Since his release, Top5 made a concerted effort to try and put people on notice about Kendrick Lamar’s anticipated and contentious concerts in Toronto as part of the Grand National tour. As the days came and went in June–two sold out shows at the Rogers Centre–Top5 shared photos of himself allegedly outside of the hotel where Kendrick Lamar was stayving. And even with all the tough talk leading up to the Kendrick concert, nothing actually happened and the Compton MC made history on enemy turf.
The following month, Drake performed at London’s Wireless Festival for three back-to-back headlining shows. And while it was a success for Drake and all the artists involved, the trip to the UK didn’t end well for Top5. The rapper was mobbed and stabbed in the neck while talking to fans. He eventually received medical help and has recovered.
December 2025: The End Of An Era–Top5 Disses Drake
Remember when Top5 and Pressa fell out earlier? Well, that has turned into the catalyst that made Top5 and Drake drift apart as well. Over the weekend, Drake shared Pressa’s new album on his Instagram Story–a move that led Top5 to switch to team Kendrick. Top5 shared a photo of Kendrick with his Grammys, along with “Not Like Us” playing.
In a conversation with Akademiks, Top5 explained that he felt betrayed that Drake posted his opp’s music, explaining that the OVO boss is completely aware of the friction between the two artists. “Pressa was supposed to perform at Wireless, and I told Drake if he lets this guy perform, it's a problem. So, Drake pulled him out last minute,” he said. Top5 also explained that he expressed his issues with Drake already. “When I said this guy's my opp, he wrote... 'I'm trying to make Toronto look good.' I said, 'I'm gonna make L.A. look good tonight.”
What’s worse is that Top5 seems keen on making amends with everyone that he was beefing with on Drake’s behalf in the past. The chances of us seeing Top5 and Kendrick Lamar ever linking up seem slim to impossible but Top5 has managed to turn up in unexpected places, so it shouldn’t be ruled out.
