Drake Stopped Concert After Fan Fell From 2nd

A Drake concert was halted Sunday when a fan fell over the mezzanine into the crowd below.

He was performing at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. It was the second of two intimate shows sponsored by SiriusXM, which Insider attended.

About 1 ½ hours after Drake took the stage, he welcomed his collaborator 21 Savage for a series of duets. Before they could start, a man dropped from the second floor into the middle of the orchestra pit.

A crew member rushed forward and spoke with the rappers, who then left the stage: "Just have to make sure somebody's OK," Drake told the audience.

The venue's lights were turned on, and security guards could be seen running through the crowd toward the spot where the man landed.

His fall dislodged a light fixture, which was subsequently removed. A crew member secured cords hanging over the side of the balcony.

After about 15 minutes, the venue announced that no one had been injured in the incident.

"Everybody is absolutely OK," a man said over the loudspeaker. "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 then returned to perform songs from their 2022 joint album, "Her Loss."

"Let's just make some noise that everybody's OK," Drake said in between tracks, adding: "I feel like they had to wait like 10 minutes. We should go up a little more."

In an emailed statement, a representative from the Apollo Theater reiterated that no one was seriously injured.

"Unfortunately, last evening an incident occurred with an audience member who landed in the orchestra from the lower mezzanine," the statement reads. "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."

Before his final song of the show, "Legend," Drake thanked his fans for their high energy throughout the night.

"This crowd is an absolute 10 out of 10. I'm so happy with tonight. We apologize for the delays and all that shit, but thank you," he said, calling it "an evening of gratitude."

"I used to come up here, and my heart used to beat out of my chest. I used to be side of stage hoping some bad shit would happen, like a fucking fire alarm would go off," he said. "I used to dread performing because I just never really understood how it was just, like, me on one side and all of you on the other side.

"But it's nights like these that let me know I have the greatest job in the world, and I feel like you, again, give me the confidence to know after all these years, after all the noes that we've heard, after all the doors that slammed in our face, it's this exact group right here that lets me know that I'm exactly where I need to fucking be."

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include a statement from the Apollo Theater.

Read next