“Cake, cake-cake, cake-cake, cake / 500 million, I got a pound cake / Ni**as is fronting, that’s upside-down cake / Get ’em a red nose, they clown cakes / They shoulda never let you ’round cake / Look at my neck, I got a carrot cake / Now here’s the icing on the cake / Cake, cake-cake, cake-cake, uhh” — Jay Z, “Pound Cake“
Jay Z’s verse on Nothing Was the Same has clearly inspired Drake to take his cake game to the next level this year. The rapper, who just turned 27, Instagrammed every moment of his birthday yesterday, including the unveiling of a Toronto cityscape crafted from butter, flour, and sugar, complete with landmarks from his life like Habibiz Café, Starbucks, and the “Started from the Bottom” billboard.
Clearly, this year has been a momentous one for Aubrey, who began to transcend his hot-newcomer status and solidify himself as one of the true titan’s of hip-hop. But while putting out an album was important, what you might not realize is that having a ridiculous birthday cake is crucial to that transformation—the fact is, you’re not really hip-hop unless your birthday cake is totally insane. From Diddy-commissioned desserts that have been carried into clubs like Cleopatra on her throne, to Snoop’s infamous Colt-45 cake, the competition is stiff. Let’s see how Aubrey’s cake stacks up.
Click through the gallery for a countdown of the wildest cakes in rap history.