Quick links
The 6ix
Hiphop, Urban culture
DCHP-3 (Apr 2023)
Spelling variants:The Six, the 6ix
As the 2025 quotations shows, the Toronto tourism industry has embraced this term which originated in less affluent settings.
n. — Hiphop, Urban culture, informal
a nickname for Toronto, Ontario.
Type: 1. Origin — The nickname The 6ix entered the mainstream global Anglo lexicon (see Chart 1) thanks to the efforts of Toronto-born rap superstar Drake (see the 2015 and the 2016 quotations), although he neither owns nor coined the term (see the 2019 quotation). As Drake himself explains, The 6ix refers to both the digit 6 that is contained within all Toronto telephone area codes (i.e., 416, 647) as well as the six subregions into which the city was once divided (see the 2016 quotation).
Like T-dot, an alternative nickname for the city of Toronto, The 6ix was first created and embraced by members of Canada's hiphop community (see the 2018 and the 2022 quotations), and then spread outwards to a wider speakership via adjacent communities similarly associated with Canada's younger, urban cultures, such as those of basketball (see the 2019 quotations), fashion and social media (see the 2023 quotation).
See Chart 1 for international frequency distributions.
Like T-dot, an alternative nickname for the city of Toronto, The 6ix was first created and embraced by members of Canada's hiphop community (see the 2018 and the 2022 quotations), and then spread outwards to a wider speakership via adjacent communities similarly associated with Canada's younger, urban cultures, such as those of basketball (see the 2019 quotations), fashion and social media (see the 2023 quotation).
See Chart 1 for international frequency distributions.
Quotations
2015
Hi, I'm Alex, the new kid on the block here at the Source. I'm here in Lloydminster by way of Thornhill, Ontario (shoutout T-Hill), but for those less familiar with the Greater Toronto Area, you can call it Toronto, or as Drake says, "The 6ix," or according to Kardinall Offishall, "T-Dot!" That's about as far as my pop culture knowledge extends.
2016
Fallon then asked Drizzy about The Six – “It’s a Canada thing, right? It’s a Toronto thing?”
“Yes, our area code is 416,” Drake said, laughing. “We were debating on The Four, but I went tail-end on them and went 6. And at one point Toronto was broken up into six areas (Old Toronto, Scarborough, East York, North York, Etobicoke and York), so it’s all clicking man.”
Fallon added another way “The Six” is a fitting term for Drizzy: “Girls think you’re six-y.”
2018
6ix Up is a monthly column penned by HipHopCanada writer Cut, that showcases Toronto hip-hop artists under an overarching narrative that is relevant to the culture.
2019
Whether Leonard is concerned with leaving a legacy or maximizing his take-home pay, playing in the 6ix is his most profitable option.
2019
Drake doesn't own the 6ix — at least, he doesn't own that trademark after a decision from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).
The 6ix is, of course, one of the star rapper's favourite nicknames for Toronto, and his company, October's Very Own, applied for the trademark in the late summer of 2015.
But, the CIPO found 6ix actually belongs to Michael Di Cosmo, a local electronic dance music DJ and producer, who applied for the trademark way back in 2000. Drake was a teenager at the time.
2020
There are plenty of good reasons to visit Canada's biggest city: the theatre, the sports, the shopping, the museums, the galleries. But the best reason of all to hit the 6ix is its dynamic food scene.
2022
The snapshots are part of “Project T Dot,” a love letter and celebration of The 6ix’s once simmering and now explosive hip-hop scene by Toronto photographer Ajani Charles.
2023
Say cheese, Toronto! The 6ix has not one but two of the most Instagram-able stadiums in the country.
Images
