Inside Drake's lavish mansion, complete with NBA-size basketball court and black granite pool

Drake's Toronto mansion is featured in this month's 'Architectural Digest'. AFP / Instagram

Seeing the inside of a celebrity’s home is a universally fascinating pastime. The more outrageously lavish, the longer we stare, mentally comparing whether our own imaginary mansions would be the same level of extra if we, too, had all those millions.

“No, I wouldn’t have my grand piano in that corner." “And no, my infinity pool would be at least twice that length." Ah, it’s fun to dream.

This week, the world was blessed with a look inside Drake’s Toronto home. With an Instagram handle like ‘Champagne Papi’, the man is hardly subtle, often rapping about his extravagant lifestyle and endless wealth. But even so, Drake Manor exceeded all expectations of lavish.

Is there a NBA regulation-size indoor basketball court covered by a 21-square-foot pyramid skylight? Of course there is. And the pool? Encased in black granite, to match the 1,814-kilogram bath tub.

Then there's the two-storey wardrobe, featuring diamond-tufted shearling seating and amethyst hardware. It's where he houses his extensive collection of Hermes Birkin bags – featuring some of the rarest in the world – a gift, he says, for the woman he ends up with.

"It's overwhelming high luxury," Drake said, describing the feel of his 50,000-square-foot home, known as 'The Embassy', to Architectural Digest. "That message is delivered through the size of the rooms and the materials and details of the floors and the ceilings."

The size really is astonishing. Upon seeing the pictures on the rapper’s Instagram feed, I assumed Drake had collaborated with a luxury hotel chain. Or posed for a photo shoot in the mall. But no, that regal hall really is where he sits to while away an evening with Netflix.

The 33-year-old reveals his 3,200-square-foot master-bedroom (with an added 1,100 square feet of terrace space) is his favourite spot in the house.

"The bedroom is where I come to decompress from the world at the end of the night and where I open my eyes to seize the day," he told Architectural Digest. "The bed lets you float, the shower lets you escape and gather your thoughts, and the closet makes you want to talk to yourself while you're getting dressed."

Drake revealed he invested in the property when he was just 27, building it in his hometown of Toronto, Canada. He wants it to “stand strong” for 100 years, acting as a monument he can leave behind. “I think the house says that I will forever remain solid in the place I was born.”

In the words of the man himself, “Started from the bottom now we're here".