Drake was in H-Town this past weekend celebrating the fourth annual Houston Appreciation Week—a multiple-day event he kicked off in 2014 that celebrates the music, culture, and influence of the Texas city. A well-known stripper appreciator, Drake dedicated Friday to commissioning a jersey retirement ceremony for three of his favorite ladies in the profession: Lira Galore, Miracle Watts, and Maliah Michel. While Galore took the time to document the event on her social media with many thank yous directed toward Drake, Michel used her Instagram to set the record straight about her past, present, and future in the exotic dancing game.
"Contrary to 'social media news' no man can retire me," Michel wrote. "I'm shaking this azz into a wheel chair. Maliah will retire Maliah."
Following her initial Instagram post, Michel addressed the jersey ceremony in a series of tweets:
In addition to the ladies' jerseys being raised to the rafters, the well-intentioned ceremony featured other sports-themed elements, including a replica of the NBA Larry O'Brien Trophy, awarded to the NBA Finals champion each year.
Michel and Drake have a storied history. On "Miss Me," from his debut studio album Thank Me Later, Drake name-dropped Michel: "I'm in the city of the purple Sprite/Someone tell Maliah I'm on fire, she should work tonight." She later starred as the love interest in his "Find Your Love" video, also from Thank Me Later, and was romantically linked to Drake in 2010.
Something tells me Drake will fall through the H again soon with a couple of money phones to make up for his premature assumptions.
