Five things you're guaranteed to see in Drake's music videos
By Luke Morgan Britton, 29 June 2018
Drake’s new album Scorpion, out today, is sure to secure his place as a modern pop icon, and the Toronto native has been a favourite round these parts since the very beginning.
From his early interviews with 1Xtra's DJ Semtex to his most recent chart-toppers, which are always guaranteed to dominate the Radio 1 playlist. He’s been covered countless times in the Live Lounge too.
A special listening party will be held for Drizzy's whopping 25-track album on Annie Mac's Radio 1 show this coming Monday (2nd July), so don't forget to tune in to that!
Drake covers in the Live Lounge...
Versatility is often cited as Drake’s greatest strength - he can spit bars as well as he holds a tune, and the two-parter Scorpion reflects this, splitting the record between his rap side and the smooth R&B tunes he's also known to master.
What’s often overlooked, though, is how music videos are undoubtedly his secret weapon. We’ve already seen three great ones from this album alone in God’s Plan, Nice For What and I’m Upset.
In fact, each new Drake video is a cultural event, a major talking point and instantly GIF-able - another chance for the star to go viral and conquer the Internet, which he manages each time without fail.
Here’s a closer look at the kind of things you always spot in Drake videos - and here's hoping many more come from Scorpion too!
Dodgy dad dancing
As seen in… Hotline Bling, Worst Behavior, Nice For What, I’m Upset
Without question, Drake’s most iconic video has to be Hotline Bling, which saw Drizzy jiving like nobody was watching but was actually viewed a massive 1.4 billion times (and counting). Spoofed by everyone from Justin Bieber to Donald Trump, the oft-memed clip was so huge that even your dad ended up knowing who Drake is (and probably complained that he stole his dance moves too).
Like a dad with a fool-proof party trick, Drake has pulled the cheese-laced moves out of the bag several times since then too, most recently in Nice For What and I’m Upset - the latter which features the entire cast of Degrassi (like Canada’s version of Hollyoaks) joining in and throwing some loveable-but-corny shapes too.
In his Worst Behavior clip, meanwhile, Drake called on his own father to show everyone where he got his moves from. Do dancing abilities get passed down through the generations? On this evidence, clearly yes. Yes, they do.
WARNING: Third party video may contain adverts.
"Wait, isn’t that…" moments
As seen in… Over, Hold On We’re Going Home, Nice For What, Child’s Play
Drake videos are often filled with blink-and-you’ll-have-to-rewind celeb moments. There was a before-she-was-properly-famous Rita Ora cameo in early career highlight Over, while A$AP Rocky popped up as a mafia member in Hold On We’re Going Home. 2015’s Energy, meanwhile, saw Drake superimposing his face onto the heads of various famous folk - from Miley Cyrus to David Beckham - with a creepy degree of accuracy.
Perhaps the greatest celeb spot, though, comes in Child’s Play, with America's Next Top Model host Tyra Banks starring as the rapper’s disgruntled lover who stumbles upon evidence of infidelity while perusing through his phone. Her revenge? Smushing a piece of cheesecake in the rapper’s face. Sorry Drake, but you know you deserved that one.
Too many feels to deal
As seen in… Marvin’s Room, God’s Plan
There’s a certain public perception of Drake being a bit of a softie - the type of guy who wouldn’t care about his team getting knocked out of the World Cup because it’s "the taking part that counts" - and he's a total sport in letting this side of himself shine through in some of his videos.
From Marvin’s Room in 2011, which birthed 'sad-in-a-club Drake' and saw the rapper basically weeping into shot glasses, to God’s Plan earlier this year - there have been a whole lot of feels in Drake’s videos over the years.
God’s Plan saw Drake giving away almost $1 million to various honourable causes and good deeds - paying medical costs, student tuition fees and buying carts full of shopping for strangers. It was heartwarming stuff. Please hand the tissues and quickly...
More from Radio 1...
Fierce female friends
As seen in… Take Care, Moment 4 Life, Nice For What
It’s not unusual to see Drake pay homage to the women in his life in videos. In Moment 4 Life, he married Nicki Minaj, while most of his clip for Take Care was spent counting his blessings to be anywhere near Rihanna. Drake’s recent video for Nice For What, directed by 22 year-old Karena Evans, took things to a new height, though.
The triumphant clip was noted for shifting its spotlight towards its female stars, featuring a long roll call of female actors, musicians and models - everyone from Letitia Wright to Tiffany Haddish. There was Rashida Jones kicking back in a limo, Jourdan Dunn riding a horse and generally loads of strong, powerful women showing what it looks like to be killing it. Talk about squad goals...
Lots of bucket list ticking
As seen in… Best I Ever Had, Hold On We’re Going Home
Drake’s achieved so much so far, his life nowadays must be like ticking more and more things off an infinitely-filled bucket list. Diamond-encrusted scorpion necklace? He’s got one of those. Drinking beer out of a Grammy award? He’s done that.
So when it comes to music videos, why wouldn’t you want to use them as ways to act out all the things you’ve always wanted to do? Be the coach of a female basketball team? Drake did that in Best I Ever Had. Living out action movie fantasies? That’s what the Scarface-style clip for Hold On We’re Going Home was for.
What’s next, a video where Drake gets his own Fortnite emote and grows up to become an astronaut? Probably.
