Canadian man gets constantly mistaken for Drake

By Michael Lee Simpson

A Canadian man is making headlines for being rapper and singer Drake’s doppelgänger.

Nicholas Ray, 42, a nutrition salesman from Toronto, was living a regular life until a basketball game about ten years ago changed everything.

Sitting courtside with a friend, a young fan tapped him on the shoulder and asked for an autograph.

“My friend looked at me and said, ‘He thinks you’re Drake,’” Nicholas recalled. “That was the first time I actually thought about it and recognized it.”

Since then, being mistaken for the rapper and singer became a recurring theme in Nicholas’s life.

“A family friend in the music industry once mentioned we had a likeness when I was a kid, but it really clicked that day at the game,” he said.

Nicholas embraced his uncanny resemblance to Drake, especially when it came to Halloween.

“Halloween was always fun because whatever Drake did throughout the year, I could just catch up on that and do it,” he shared.

Among his favorite costumes were Drake’s “Hotline Bling” look and the rapper’s style from “8 AM in Charlotte.”

“My very first one was a crossover of Drake and Dracula,” Nicholas said. “It wasn’t the greatest, but the other ones were definitely on point.”

Nicholas’s resemblance didn’t go unnoticed at Raptors games, where Drake was a global ambassador for the team.

“Whenever I went to a Raptors game, people took pictures or made comments. I even made it on the Jumbotron once,” he said.

While some might have tried to capitalize on the resemblance, Nicholas insisted he didn’t style his hair or beard like Drake on a daily basis.

“It was only for Halloween,” he clarified. “Throughout my life, we just happened to match — short hair, a shaved head — it just worked out that way.”

Nicholas’s doppelgänger status hit new heights when TMZ featured him in an article.

“Being in the TMZ article was a little surreal,” he said. “Somebody texted it to me, and I was like, ‘Oh wow, I made the front cover of TMZ. I guess I do look like Drake.’”

With the added exposure, Nicholas considered turning this resemblance into opportunities.

“I always knew I had something, but with the TMZ article, I realized I had something tangible,” he said. “I want to do some modeling or acting. I’m open to opportunities.”

Nicholas even reached out to Drake himself on Instagram, though he was still waiting for a reply.

“It would have been great to meet him,” Nicholas said. “Maybe we could have gotten the moms together, looked through some old photo albums, and had a good laugh.”

For Nicholas, being mistaken for Drake was all about enjoying the ride.

“I just wanted to share it with the world, spread a little joy, and have a good time.”