Drake’s 40th birthday party was a night to remember.
The Canadian rapper, who turned 40 on Saturday, Oct. 24, celebrated the milestone birthday with a bash in New York City complete with luxury giveaways and a boy band performance, according to an exclusive source who attended the festivities.
The “Best I Ever Had” musician rang in his birthday with a bash at Casa Cipriani in Manhattan on the evening of Friday, Oct. 23, with the source describing it to PEOPLE as “so elegant, over the top and expensive.”
“The whole place was decorated very lavish, but tasteful,” the insider tells PEOPLE of the event. And though it was his birthday, it seems that Drake was the one doling out gifts.
At the bash, the rapper gave out Chanel and Hermès bags, as well as cash prizes of varying sums, the source adds. The prizes started at $10,000 cash, with the biggest prize totaling $1 million, the insider says.
Drake’s birthday gift to himself, meanwhile, appeared to be a special onstage moment with the Backstreet Boys. The “Larger Than Life” singers were the performers for the musician’s birthday bash, and Drake even joined them at one point.
The Certified Lover Boy rapper joined the group — made up of members Nick Carter, AJ McLean, Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell and Howie Dorough — onstage to sing their 1999 hit song “I Want It That Way,”. It wasn’t the first time, either, as Drake previously performed the song with the band during a 2022 Toronto concert.
“There were lots of different beautiful women Drake was chatting with all night,” the insider added. “He always had a huge smile on his face.”
Drake’s birthday N.Y.C. celebration also coincided with a career milestone, per Billboard, as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded the rapper with 30 new certifications on Friday, making him the first-ever artist to surpass 350 million RIAA-certified units.
It also came toward the end of what has shaped up to be a historic year for the rapper, who broke Michael Jackson’s long-standing record for the most No. 1 songs by a solo male artist in May.
He broke the record with the release of his song “Janice STFU,” which debuted at the top of the Billboard 100. The chart takeover came just a couple of weeks after he shocked fans with a massive triple-album release on May 15 with three records: ICEMAN, HABIBTI and MAID OF HONOUR.
