It’s well established by now that hip-hop’s new class sees Kanye West, and not Jay-Z, as its patron saint. It also illuminates why Drake, that new class’s most prominent representative, would make a video for his first proper single that skips all traditional rap bromides — there is a girl shaking her butt in the clip for “Over,” actually, but she’s doing it sadly and with an implicit purpose — in favor of tricky lighting and a shot at palpable introspection. Drake explained the song to MTV as “a great alter-ego moment,” a nod to the possibility of success turning him into a jerk, and it’s certainly an interesting tack for a lead-off single: He’s breaking down the strange, unsavory aspects of his fame and success in a release whose purpose it is to make him more famous and successful. The video for the song, though? Not quite as subtle. All you really need to know is “Drake, sitting on a hotel room bed alone, while shots of crowded street scenes and clouds are projected onto him.” That said, we’re pretty sure Kanye* is going to love this.
*Speaking of Kanye: D.J. Premier says “his new album is strictly hard beats and rhymes. He’s totally done with electro.” If Kanye goes retrograde, that’ll really mess with his minions’ heads.
