Back in February, Canadian rapper Drake gave me one of 2015’s defining phrases: “Runnin’ through the 6 with my woes.” It’s the refrain on a track called Know Yourself, and it sounds like a call to an unknown battle, Henry V to his troops. I have been using it ever since. I didn’t know what it meant, but that’s Drake all over: he’ll have you singing along to anything (he popularised “Yolo”, or You Only Live Once, for God’s sake). I’ve since found out that woes is shorthand for friends and 6 is a reference to his home town, Toronto.

He was born Aubrey Drake Graham 28 years ago, and started off as a child actor on the Canadian TV series Degrassi: The Next Generation. I knew none of this when I first heard him, on MTV Base in 2009. Back then, the hype machine was not yet in gear, but I liked what I saw: a decent voice, a strong hairline. I don’t know when that mild liking became something deeper, but six years later here I am, deep in crush.

I’ve narrowed down the reasons. One: Drake is emo. In a genre that doesn’t wear its hurts too blatantly, he is a walking open heart. Which leads me to two: Drake is flawed, but wants to be better. This compelling mix of vulnerability and swagger is a heady thing. Three: he’s goofy – he laughs at himself, at his suburban Jewish upbringing, at his ambition. Four: Drake is cute – witness the hysterical response to his recent beefed-up appearance at Wireless, and then supporting his friend Serena Williams at Wimbledon. I am not immune.

Is it big? Is it clever? No. But then crushes rarely are. Drake is the emotional rapper I never thought to hope for.