On Sunday night, Canadian rapper Drake had to stop his concert for several minutes after an audience member fell from the second-floor balcony into the pit at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.
Insider reported that the incident happened right after the “Hotline Bling” lyricist brought out fellow rapper 21 Savage to perform their duets, especially their 2022 collab, “Her Loss.” Before they could perform anything, a man dropped from the mezzanine into the crowd below, dislodging a light fixture that had to be removed.
A staff member from the venue informed the rappers that they had to stop the show, causing the two to exit the stage.
“Just to make sure somebody’s OK,” Drake informed his fans.
The Apollo lights were turned up to allow security guards to find where the man fell and tend to him. A staff member came to the loudspeakers 15 minutes after the incident to announce no one was harmed.
“Everybody is absolutely OK,” the staff member said. “They are being checked on. Nobody’s hurt. But I got even better news for you: We’re at the Apollo, so the show must go on.”
Drake and 21 Savage returned to the stage to continue their performance.
At some point, Drake began talking to the crowd in between songs, instructing them to “make some noise that everybody’s OK,” adding, “I feel like they had to wait like 10 minutes. We should go up a little more.”
Before performing “Legend,” his last song, Drake apologized to the crowd for the delays and thanked them for their energy. The concert was sponsored by SiriusXM and was the second of his two intimate shows (the first one happened the day before, Saturday, Jan. 21).
The Apollo released a statement about the incident on social media, writing, “Unfortunately, last evening, an incident occurred with an audience member who landed in the orchestra from the lower mezzanine. Drake, Apollo and SiriusXM halted the show immediately when learning of a potential fan injury, and standard protocols were taken. They were seen immediately by EMS on site. The fan and other audience members reported that they were OK. No major injuries have been reported. The Apollo is investigating the situation further.”
View this post on Instagram
