Drake has a lot of "love and respect" for Rihanna.

Rihanna and Drake

Rihanna and Drake

The 30-year-old rapper split up with the 'S&M' hitmaker in October last year after having gone public with their relationship in the summer, but it seems the star hasn't quite left the beauty behind him as he heaped the praise on her during a live show in Dublin, Ireland, on Monday (20.02.17), which also happened to be Rihanna's 29th birthday.

He said on stage: "It's somebody's birthday today -- somebody I have a lot of love for and a lot of respect for.

"So, instead of singing 'Happy Birthday,' though, we just going to do this in Dublin. Instead of singing 'Happy Birthday,' we're going to set it off just like this..."

The Grammy award-winning rapper then launched into a performance of Rihanna's hit single 'Work', which the pair collaborated on.

It isn't the first time the 'Hotline Bling' hitmaker has praised the 'Love on the Brain' singer - whom he has enjoyed an on/off relationship with in he past - on his current 'Boy Meets World Tour', as during a show in London he dubbed his former flame as the "queen of everything".

He said: "She's like the queen of everything.

"If you want your woman to feel sexy and s**t you play the Riri records."

Meanwhile, the 'One Dance' musician revealed at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) back in August that he had been "in love" with Rihanna for years.

Presenting the 'Diamonds' singer with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, he said of the brunette beauty: "She's someone I've been in love with since I was 22 years old. She's one of my best friends in the world. All my adult life, I've looked up to her, even though she's younger than me. She's a living, breathing legend in our industry, ladies and gentleman, the recipient of the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award for 2016, Rihanna."


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