By: Julianna Perkins
Drake’s new song is an undeniable, absolute banger.
Emerging from the ashes of 2016’s gloomy Views, Drizzy went all-out on “Nice For What?” and its accompanying music video, unleashing an instant, feel-good power anthem.
The song, which dropped April 6, is Drake’s second number-one song of 2018 on the UK Singles Chart, following January’s “God’s Plan.”
The hit, however, has been gaining major accolades for being more than just a club banger. In a rare move for the hip-hop world, Nice For What? focuses on strong women, their grind and the fact that they don’t owe men shit.
Lyrics include lines like “Workin’ hard, girl, everything paid for – First-last, phone bill, car note, cable” and a sample from Lauryn Hill, while the music video features a powerhouse lineup of incredible women: Olivia Wilde, Misty Copeland, Issa Rae, Rashida Jones, Jourdan Dunn, Tracee Ellis Ross, Tiffany Haddish, Yara Shahidi and Zoe Saldana are just a few.
“Nice For What?” definitely breaks barriers by putting women in a positive spotlight and by having great representation, but is the woke tone really a natural evolution of Drake’s nice-guy-next-door brand?
In a #MeToo society, respecting women is cool. In a capitalist society, what’s cool sells. While it would be great if songs like this just happened, we can’t ignore the context in which they’re made and the fact that giving people what they want makes money.
Being woke is brand you can sell and Drake wouldn’t be the first to use it to his advantage. Actor Aziz Ansari was Hollywood’s favourite “woke bae” before the babe.net scandal earlier this year tarnished his image.
It’s not to say that “Nice For What?” shouldn’t have been made; we definitely need more feminism and positive female representation in the music industry. But if we’re going to celebrate these types of songs, we might as well give credit where it’s actually due.
Though Drake might have written the lyrics, the sample from Lauryn Hill’s 1998 song Ex-Factor makes up the majority of the “Nice For What?” repeating chorus and sets the tone for the entire piece. Big Freedia, an long-time star and drag icon who popularized bounce music (of which “Nice For What?” is an example of), also appears in the track.
The music video, which to many is the most empowering aspect of the work, was directed by 22-year-old, Toronto-based Karena Evans. At the end of the day, with Drake’s approval, she controlled what or who went on the screen when, and how. The stunning artistry of Nice For What’s music video and the piece’s overtly non-sexual, non-coveting view of women are unarguably a product of Evans’ direction.
“Nice For What?” is a great song with great vibes created by a great team of people who obviously put in the effort to make sure it would succeed. Drake deserves a major nod for putting this kind of content forward, regardless of how genuine his dedication to feminism and wokeness might be. With her talent, Evans is set to blow up and hopefully we see more incredible content like this from her soon.
With luck, the rest of the music industry will take notes from Drake’s power move and deliver more undeniable, female-positive bangers in the future. For now, keep “Nice For What?” on repeat.