Toronto, to this point, has seldom been described in rap less in the kind of portraiture that defines hubs such as New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles. But even if he did rename it, would that be a bad thing? An album that would deliver what the album title promises would actually be a great thing for the city. all he did was announce his album name (as musicians are wont to do) and try a nickname on for size-take it or leave it. The thing is, Drake didn’t actually rename T.O. The Toronto Star claimed Drake “sent our city of many names tail-spinning into an identity crisis”…which just might be an exaggeration in the extreme, as Torontonians continued to write their mailing addresses with confidence. Trend website BlogTO asks if Drake has “renamed T.O.” and called him “attention-seeking,” ignoring the fact that at one time, someone had to call Toronto “T.O.” for the first time, too. Torontonians, rather than come to their man’s defence in the face of sites such as Buzzfeed (lambasting Drake for “trying to make the 6 happen”), piled on.

What came next was the completely outsized reaction. Likely, this moniker for his city comes from the fact that the number six appears in both of downtown Toronto’s area codes (416 and 647) alternatively, perhaps Drake is an amateur historian, and is paying homage to the fact that in 1998, the megacity we know now as Toronto know was amalgamated from the six municipalities that made up Metropolitan Toronto. But it touched off debate for what “the 6” meant. On its own, this was buzzworthy, but little more Drake has only begun the recording sessions for the album, which follows up on 2013’s Polaris-nominated Nothing Was the Same. In July, Drake’s label announced a slew of release dates for its artists, including the title of the upcoming fourth album from Toronto’s most famous rapper, Views from the 6.

Views from the 6 album wiki