Small town Binbrook welcomes big star Drake

If you’re an international pop star hoping to find some privacy to film a video, don’t do it in a small town like Binbrook.
Word travels fast.
Toronto-born hip-hop star Drake was looking for a location to shoot a video for one of his new songs. It had to be in a drugstore, a Shoppers Drug Mart, one out of the way where a pop superstar wouldn’t draw too much attention.
The head office recommended the Shoppers Drug Mart in Binbrook, a country hamlet on the southeast outskirts of Hamilton. It made sense, especially since one of Drake’s best friends lives in Hamilton. Matthew “OB” Brien is a Hamilton rapper who is a regular collaborator with Drake. He’s got a part in the new Drake video.

It didn’t take long, however, for word to leak out in Binbrook.               Click here to watch Video

“I’m playing a Hamilton employee of a Shoppers Drug Mart,” Brien said Thursday morning after word leaked out about the Binbrook shoot. “We just did a shoot for the first scenes in Toronto (on Tuesday). And they said, ‘Yo come to Hamilton.’ I just learned about it last night.”
By Wednesday night, Binbrook Facebookers were abuzz with the news that Drake was coming to town.
By Thursday at 9 p.m., several hundred Drake fans were huddled together under the falling snow at the entrance of the Binbrook Shoppers Drug Mart, hoping to get a glimpse of the pop star. There were more than a half dozen production trucks in the lot.
“Whoops” were raised every time an Escalade entered the parking lot, but Drake was not expected to enter until late, after The Spectator’ publication deadline.
Ivan Bujan, who lives within walking distance of the Binbrook drugstore, said he came when his two granddaughters, Ashley, 16, and Erica, 14, called him to let him know they were in town. Ashley and Erica live in east Hamilton.
“Drake is awesome,” said Ashley, as she waited at the front doors of the store. “He’s Canadian and I always support Canadian artists.”
Across the street at The Bin pub and restaurant, business was brisk. You could see the entrance of the drugstore through the pub’s windows. Young girls stood inside the front doors monitoring the action across the street. Others ordered wings.
“We got a booking (Wednesday) for 40 people,” said Karen Roache, manager of The Bin. “It was the production crew. They were going to do the catering themselves. But they cancelled when word leaked out that Drake might be here.”