Rap fan spots Jagmeet Singh at Kendrick Lamar concert: 'He's bobbing his head singing along'
Barely a month out of the political spotlight, former New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh has entered a potentially more fraught arena — that of the ongoing feud between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
On Sunday night, Singh posted a message to his Instagram account after attending one of the two Toronto shows on the Grand National Tour, headlined by Lamar and fellow rapper SZA, at the city's Rogers Centre.
Stefany Geertsma had travelled to Toronto from Bruce County for the Thursday-night show and told National Post she had a good view from her seat in Section A4, both of the concert and of Singh.
He may have been directly in front of her and her brother, she said. 'It was hard to tell because everybody was up and jumping around, but it seemed like it.'
Singh was widely noticed at the event, with Drake himself posting a screenshot of an Instagram message and referring to the politician as a 'goof' for his patronage of the concert.
Singh then took to Instagram himself to apologize.
'I shouldn't have gone at all,' he wrote in his post.
He explained, 'I went for SZA, not Kendrick,' adding: 'I was born in this city. I love this city.' Drake is a native Torontonian, while his rival Lamar hails from Compton, California.
Singh then went on to say: 'But real talk, I get it. I shouldn't have gone at all.'
Geertsma said Singh seemed to enjoy both headliners. 'Yeah, he's bobbing his head singing along, and not just to SZA's music, to Kendrick's too.'
As to whether he was joining in on Not Like Us, Kendrick's diss track of his rival: 'I can't say for sure … but I would say the whole concert venue was singing so it was hard not to.'
She added that Singh was probably going to get hate from one side or the other no matter what he did.
'I feel like he'd be in a bad situation if he said something or didn't. But then again, he did choose to be in a political position, so I guess he kind of knows going into something like this that he's going to get backlash for what he does.'
She added: 'It's hard because he is still a human and we like to have fun.'
For herself: 'I think about the music, not the person so much. I like both of (Drake's and Lamar's) music, and that doesn't mean that I love both of them as a person, and I think a lot of people feel the same way.'
Singh concluded his post with a reference to OVO Sound, a record label Drake founded in 2012: 'OVO and Drake have lifted up this city and (Canadian flag emoji). For me it'll always be Drake over Kendrick.'
He signed off with a peace sign emoji. Coincidentally, Geertsma managed to snap a photo of Singh throwing up the same sign at the concert. 'I don't know if it's to somebody or to Kendrick,' she said.
The Canadian Press reported that Not Like Us received a standing ovation from the crowd, along with chants of 'one more time.'
The song is the subject of a lawsuit by Drake against Universal Music Group, which was filed in a New York court. It alleges that the label falsely pumped up the popularity of Not Like Us on Spotify and other streaming services.
Universal has called the suit a baseless 'attack on the commercial and creative success of the rap artist who defeated him.'
'Kanye West Is Not Picasso': 10 rules for diss tracks, from Cohen to Drake vs. Lamar
Drake lawsuit reveals new details about shooting outside his Toronto mansion
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
28 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Trump Calls for Tehran Evacuation; Oil Rises on Israel-Iran Tensions
Bloomberg Daybreak Europe is your essential morning viewing to stay ahead. Live from London, we set the agenda for your day, catching you up with overnight markets news from the US and Asia. And we'll tell you what matters for investors in Europe, giving you insight before trading begins. US President Donald Trump says his early departure from the G-7 leaders meeting in Canada has 'nothing to do' with working on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The President says his reason is 'much bigger than that.' Oil surges and gold steady after Trump's Tehran warnings sparks haven buying. Today's guest: Ricardo Mendes, Tekever CEO (Source: Bloomberg)
Wall Street Journal
31 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Stock Market Today: Dow Futures Fall; Israel-Iran Conflict in Spotlight — Live Updates
U.S. stock futures fell after President Trump left the G-7 summit a day early without new trade deals, and the Iran-Israel conflict stretched into a fifth day. Oil futures rose around 1%. In leaving the summit in Canada early, Trump abandoned several conversations on trade, aimed at easing tensions over tariffs and other issues.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau shares sweet Father's Day tribute to former PM Justin Trudeau: 'Taught me so much'
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may be separated, but the pair are still friendly co-parents. On Sunday, Grégoire Trudeau shared a video to Instagram that featured personal photos of Trudeau as well as her late father, Jean Grégoire, to celebrate Father's Day, with the message, "To my favourite dads in this world. You both taught me so much in different ways, Happy Father's Day!" The video included photos of the former couple's three children, 17-year-old Xavier, 16-year-old Ella-Grace and 11-year-old Hadrien, and a lengthy caption about the emotional legacy of fatherhood. "What does it mean to 'father'? To help others to adapt to the world, how to 'be' in the world. It means to love, to listen, to to care and protect," the 50-year-old author wrote. "But fathers were boys first and they learned how to know themselves, live their emotions and define who they are through the eyes of their fathers." Grégoire Trudeau, who released her first book Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other in 2024, added that there's still plenty of healing for men that needs to take place on a societal and personal level. "We are still living and experiencing the wounded generations of men who weren't loved fully and with consistency," she continued. "But we are breaking cycles and there are many conscious boys and men out there doing their 'work' so we can leave an unhealthy patriarchy behind and build on more evolved, emotionally literate and well-regulated beings who can be father figures to us all!" is getting candid about relationships, sharing more insight about how she learned to "cut ties" after her split with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The 49-year-old author spoke to The Telegraph recently, noting mental health techniques helped with her break up last year. The former television host and Trudeau announced in August 2023 they "made the decision to separate," according to a post the Liberal Party leader made on Instagram. Since then, Grégoire Trudeau has been open about her relationship, speaking on everything from its post-split parenting mechanics to her struggles. Below, read everything she's said about relationships since becoming estranged from Canada's former leader. In August 2023, the couple made separate social media posts that included identical words, asking for people to respect the family's privacy amid the break up. While Trudeau's post is still viewable on Instagram, Grégoire Trudeau has since deleted hers. "As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build," they both wrote in their messages, according to CBC News. "For the well-being of our children, we ask that you respect our and their privacy." Elle Canada published a feature on Grégoire Trudeau earlier in March, where she spoke candidly about the decision to publicly announce their separation. She noted making the decision to split up was "hard" and made her think a lot about relationships and being vulnerable. "I imagined the worst-case scenario, I'll tell you that," she said. "I had to. I didn't want to be naive. But I also had to protect myself. ... Let's just say that we [all] stayed away from our phones. We were together as a family, [and] we held each other." She further explained she's a "family woman" and didn't want to break the "mould" she had. "Even the words we use to describe relationships — it's either success [and you] stay together or failure [and you] go on different path. We really need to develop a new vocabulary for human beings as we transform on our own paths." The Montreal-native added navigating her public break-up has been confusing and filled with conflicting emotions: "Are there days when I ask myself, 'What have I done?' Yes. Deep inside, do I feel integrity and congruence? Yes. So I sit with all of it. And it's chaotic, and it's a mess, but it's also loving, compassionate and tender. "That doesn't mean it hurts less, but you take things less personally because you understand human functioning better," she said, adding that she and Justin Trudeau still share laughs together. "And we will for a very long time." Months after her split, Grégoire Trudeau made a comment that some media outlets saw as a "veiled swipe" at the Canadian prime minister. "Your needs, you shouldn't expect the minimum," she told the Know Your Value podcast in March. "You should expect a maximum of nourishment, presence and help in your life with the people around you. And we shouldn't have to hold it all together as women." During her appearance on the podcast, she also opened up about romance: "Human wounds, pain, suffering, is universal. The language of love is slow, and love not just in the romantic sense of the word." Later that same month speaking to Vogue, Grégoire Trudeau opened up about how she co-parents with her estranged husband. "We don't even have a parental sharing plan. We go along with the kids' schedules, and we keep each other posted." The interview painted Grégoire Trudeau as warm, fun-loving and emotional, and while she puts on a brave face publicly, she noted there are still struggles: "I think it hurts me for the kids," she said, adding she had worried about the "emotional heritage" she might be passing down to them. But moving forward, she noted her mission was to help the children transition to their new family structure: "You can heal without hatred, without division, without blame. I'm not perfect. It takes two to tango, and I think we both acknowledge that." Ahead of the April 23 release of her book, Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other, Grégoire Trudeau sat down with Yahoo Canada for an emotional conversation. She spoke about mental health, her upbringing and her hunger for perfection — and reflected on healing from her break up. "I have never been more attuned and caring of my mental health than through this whole process," she explained. "I have been pushed to dig into my authenticity and to put my attachment issues aside. But just because you restructure a relationship, it doesn't mean you have to kill it. We are still bound by love." Still, she admitted during the interview — with tears welling in her eyes — that her break up with Trudeau "hurts" — but that she's OK with the uncertainty of a new decade of her life: "When you have love and respect for real, you learn that at some point, you have to set them free. But it's hard. It's hard. But still full of love." Speaking to CBC's The Current, Grégoire Trudeau noted family life after a split isn't, of course, always perfect. The mom-of-three also noted that although there are bound to be people trying to "sniff out the gossip" there's "not much to sniff out" about her split with the Canadian prime minister. "I'm in a family and I'm raising my kids, and I've had, you know, a partner where sincerity, open conversations, difficult conversations, are at the core of who we are as a family," she explained. "I feel that this space of calm inside me, most people sense it. And the ones who don't, well, it's OK. I can't control that." While the separation had proven to be a learning curve for the family, Grégoire Trudeau shared they were bound by "respect and love," and they still were there for one another: "Sometimes it gets messy, you know, in all family life. And it should be, because it kind of makes us appreciate the better times." In multiple interviews, Grégoire Trudeau noted people often dramatize the end of relationships — but that shouldn't always be the case. Speaking to outlets like Chatelaine and the Next Question with Katie Couric podcast, she said marriage and divorce aren't as black and white as success and failure. "We dramatize the ending of relationships instead of accepting that we can free the people we love if it becomes necessary," she told Chatelaine. "We can restructure relationships without losing the other, without being abandoned. ... But we were never taught this. We were taught the opposite! So it's time that we wake up and start sharing this knowledge, so we can continue to not be afraid of loving. I want to be part of the solution." She later said on the Next Question podcast people may dramatize the end of relationships because of insecurity: "We are afraid to be abandoned, we are afraid to be alone as human beings. It is not in our nature to be alone and just living alone." Speaking to the Toronto Star while promoting her then-upcoming book, Grégoire Trudeau opened up a bit about emotional attachment in relationships. She also shared how people in relationships can't always expect their significant other to be on the same as them throughout the entirety of their life. "We have to accept that people have growth curves on different paths," she said. "You cannot always expect the person that you're sharing your life with to be at the same point of experience that you are. Sometimes we have this concept of possession of the other when we are in a couple and we become jealous or we become controlling." She added she hopes people entering relationships can feel more secure and work on being more literate both emotionally and relationally. In turn that should help with feeling "much less threatened by the difference of the other." "Sometimes in relationships, when there is love and this spills outside of romantic love, we must set each other free sometimes. ... Compassion and empathy are very difficult when we are fearful and angry," she said. In May, Grégoire Trudeau opened up further about being partnered with a political figure, telling Newsweek she "never perceived her marriage as political." Still, she added it wasn't always easy being one-half of such a public relationship. "Of course, I wish I didn't have to share the state of my relationship with the world," she said. "It is my life, but it is a very small portion of my life. I don't live my life with the cameras on. I'm at home with the kids. We're running around, we're booking appointments. ... I now understand that being on a co-political path, and your partner does that, it implies a lot of changes in one's life that you don't expect. And you have to constantly adapt." Chatting with Lisa LaFlamme at a fundraiser for YW Kitchener-Waterloo in May, Grégoire Trudeau was able to skirt past most of the former CTV National News anchor's questions about her post-split personal life. Still, Grégoire Trudeau reiterated some of her past sentiments, saying that clinging to a belief that your relationship won't change is a "fairy tale." "We've been brought up wanting to attach, and to make everything eternal — our youth, our love, our desire. That is not how life is. It is not," she said, adding she was the one to instigate change in the marriage and that she chose "authenticity over attachments" in that moment. During a virtual wellness summit called "Bouncing Back From a Broken Heart" on Nov. 1, Grégoire Trudeau opened up about how her split from the Canadian prime minister still impacts her more than a year later. She also revealed she experienced chronic stress amid threats to Trudeau and her family. "There's still so much love and relationship and closeness in our family," she said during her panel, according to the National Post. "Even though our relationship is transforming, it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. ... It hurts so much. Why? Because I had to choose my authenticity over my attachment, and that can be called 'heartbreak,' although the heart never breaks." After being asked how she dealt with the breakup, Grégoire Trudeau said her yoga mat has seen it all and the exercise helps her "clear the debris" from her mind: "That mat, let me tell you, has seen tears of sweat, of confusion, of alert, of sadness, of grief, of trying to let go, of not understanding what's going on and of navigating life through a thick fog." In November 2024, Grégoire Trudeau spoke to The Telegraph about the technique's she relied on to help her through her split. "I've trained my brain to deal with uncertainty," she told the British outlet. "I learned to cut ties and not cling too much to life, to others, to relationships." She added that yoga and self-regulation have helped her navigate the life change. "I have to say we are really lucky to be in a respectful open communication which is key," she said.
