Drake Brings Son Adonis to Accept Billboard Music Awards Artist of the Decade

Drake brought a special guest on stage with him at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards Sunday night. Shortly after Pink was joined by her 9-year-old daughter, Willow Sage Hart, for an impressive acrobatic performance, the rapper accepted the award for Billboard’s Artist of the Decade with his 3-year-old son Adonis adorably at his side.

The father-son duo took to the outdoor stage at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater to a roaring crowd, with Adonis sporting a red flannel shirt as his father was decked out in a suit fit for the occasion. The “Nice for What” rapper was awarded the high honor for being the best-performing artist on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, the Billboard 200 albums chart, and more throughout the 2010s. He didn’t hesitate to hand off the trophy to his toddler son, though, who remained close to Drake‘s side as the musician delivered his acceptance speech.

“I’m really self-conscious about my music,” Drake began his speech. “I rarely celebrate anything, and just for anyone watching this that’s wondering how this happened, that’s really the answer. It’s being so unsure how you’re getting it done, that you just keep going in the hopes of figuring out the formula. Feeling so lucky and blessed that the fear of losing it keeps you up at night.”

The musician went on to admit that he “didn’t write a grandiose speech about how to make it work or what it took,” because he doesn’t “really understand it myself. I just know that I’ve spent an incalculable amount of hours trying to analyze all the things I did wrong, but tonight, for once, I’m sure as hell we did something right.” Drake concluded his speech by dedicating the award to his friends, collaborators and “beautiful family.” Before walking off stage, Drake picked up his son. However, Adonis seemed to be more than just a little ready to exit the spotlight, and, overwhelmed by the cheering crowd, began to cry before he and his father walked off stage hand-in-hand.

The big outing marked a rare appearance for the toddler, whom Drake welcomed with ex Sophie Brussaux in October 2017. The rapper did not confirm he had a son until he released “Emotionless,” a track on his Scorpion album, and he did not share the first photos of Adonis until March 2020. In the months since then, the proud dad has shared only a handful of images and videos of his youngster.