{"id":34784,"date":"2026-08-09T17:00:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T12:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34784"},"modified":"2026-08-09T17:00:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T12:00:52","slug":"drakes-viral-dinner-was-inspired-by-a-black-woman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34784","title":{"rendered":"Drake&#8217;s Viral Dinner Was Inspired By A Black Woman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<section class=\"ione-key-points\">\n<ul>\n<li>Drake was inspired by a Black woman&#8217;s networking event he attended in 2007.<\/li>\n<li>The event brings together diverse changemakers to network, share ideas, and build connections.<\/li>\n<li>Drake&#8217;s generosity at the event includes $50,000 cash prizes and luxury car giveaways.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/hellobeautiful.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2026\/08\/17861134310631.jpg?w=1024&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Cleveland Cavaliers v Houston Rockets\" class=\"wp-image-4599676\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: Carmen Mandato \/ Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drake hosted his third annual \u201cStrong Women, Stronger Drinks\u201d dinner this week and the video from the girlies in attendance have been doing numbers. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, his inspiration for starting this event was a Black woman. That Black woman is <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/hellobeautiful.com\/4355787\/black-nyfw-events\/\">Shannae Ingleton<\/a>, boss babe extraordinaire and founder of leading agency, Kensington Grey. Ingleton created \u201cWhat Women Want,\u201d a networking event where women gathered to connect and celebrate the beauty of being bosses. Drake attended in 2007, and it left a lasting impression.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-black-women-are-always-the-blueprint\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Black Women Are Always The Blueprint<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Addressing the guests, Drake shared that the experience stuck with him for nearly twenty years, ultimately inspiring him to bring a version of it to Toronto. He addressed the crowd, saying, \u201cIt was essentially women gathering to network, to socialize and to be a man at the event, you had to work. I always loved that aspect of it. We would show up and work the event because that\u2019s what the event was about.\u201d The rapper explained that the evening was designed to bring together changemakers from different industries. He said the goal was to create a space where ambitious people at every stage of their journey could network, inspire one another, share ideas, and build genuine connections over dinner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Essentially, Strong Women, Stronger Drinks is far more than just another star-studded party\u2014it has transformed into a gathering that honors phenomenal women, bringing entrepreneurs, creators, executives, founders, and community leaders all under one roof.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\"\/>\n<h3 id=\"h-one-for-the-books\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">One For The Books<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Social media was flooded with clips of the OVO rapper hanging out with everyone and giving out some pretty wild gifts. Even though it\u2019s still invite-only, it\u2019s definitely becoming one of the biggest highlights on his calendar every year. And with it taking place in Toronto at Casa Loma, a castle-like venue, it\u2019s absolutely giving Hometown Hero energy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every touchpoint was intentionally curated thanks to event producer Shantel Clarke of Reserved X Events, who brought Drake\u2019s vision for the evening to life inside the dreamy castle. Behind the scenes, That Good, led by founder Catriona \u201cCoco\u201d Smart, played a key role in supporting the experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-the-oprah-like-giveaways\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Oprah-Like Giveaways<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The evening\u2019s generosity was legendary, with guests reportedly receiving $1,000 just for attending. As the night unfolded, Drake began drawing winners for even more extravagant prizes, awarding ten women $50,000 each and gifting others luxury items ranging from crocodile Birkin bags to G-Wagons. Among the night\u2019s biggest winners was TSN reporter Kayla Grey, who took home both a $50,000 cash prize and a limited-edition Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63 SUV, valued at over $200,000. Not to mention, his Degrassi castmate Andrea Lewis, who played Hazel Aden\u2014his on-screen girlfriend\u2014took to Instagram to share,\u00a0 \u201cMy TV boyfriend stays blessing me!\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\"\/>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/hiphopwired.com\/?s=drake\">HipHopWired<\/a>, Drake has been highly active in Toronto, and this event serves as another prime example. Rather than restricting his presence to typical concerts or promotional tours, he has focused on crafting unforgettable experiences that honor his hometown. Over the last few months alone, the artist has made appearances at multiple community-focused events across the city, hosted the OVO Golf Classic charity tournament, and kept up his well-known Janice \u201cSTFU\u201d apology brunches, ultimately leaving fans and attendees with lasting memories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ione-crossposting-source\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<em><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/hellobeautiful.com\/4599650\/drakes-stong-woman-dinner\/\">Drake\u2019s Viral Dinner Was Inspired By A Black Woman\u2014Here\u2019s the Story<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\twas originally published on<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/hellobeautiful.com\">hellobeautiful.com<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/em>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ione-ve-expanded\" class=\"ione-ve\">\n<\/aside><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Drake was inspired by a Black woman&#8217;s networking event he attended in 2007. The event brings together diverse changemakers to network, share ideas, and build connections. Drake&#8217;s generosity at the event includes $50,000 cash prizes and luxury car giveaways. Source: Carmen Mandato \/ Getty Drake hosted his third annual \u201cStrong Women, Stronger Drinks\u201d dinner this&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/hellobeautiful.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/50\/2026\/08\/17861134310631.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&crop=0px%2C0px%2C1024px%2C585px&resize=1680%2C960","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}