Drake dropped the music video for his Honestly, Nevermind track Sticky. This is Drake’s seventh studio album, surprise-released on June 17, 2022, through his label OVO Sound and Republic Records.
The video follows Drake outside a concert, in the woods with the late Virgil Abloh-designed off-road Maybach. Drake emerges at an opulent boat after-party post-concert. Fans were surprised with the Project Maybach, an electric old-school coupe that sits high off the ground and rolls on small wheels with chunky tires.
Some argued that the whole album is a tribute to Virgil, as he was reportedly a big House fan. He also requested Drake to make Signs.
At one point during the video, the phrase “FREE YSL” flashes across the screen in bold, animated green text to reference American rapper Young Thug and Gunna’s arrest on gang-related charges. In the second verse, Drake also mentions their struggle through a rap lyric: “Bring them girls to the stage / ‘Cause somebody’s getting paid / Free Big Slime out the cage.”
Other fans are disappointed with the album, saying it has some of Drake’s worst songs besides Sticky and Jimmy Cooks.
YSL Records is Chris Brown’s label, which is heavily implicated in the legal concerns the artists are participating in.
Big Slime is one of Thug’s other nicknames, referencing his joint with Chris Brown. Supposedly, there are other hidden messages hinting at Drake’s support for fellow rappers throughout the video, with some fans going as far as to photoshop every combination of hidden letters shown in the video.
Honestly, Nevermind took beats from house and Baltimore club, debuting atop the US Billboard 200, broke several streaming records for a dance album, and became another star in Drake’s wall of successes as Drake’s eleventh US number-one album.
In particular, Sticky and Massive debuted within the top 20 in the US Billboard Hot 100.
The video was directed by Theo Skudra and produced by Colossale. The album itself included production from a wide array of producers: Gordo, Black Coffee, and 40.
Critics have called the album an upbeat, all vibes album, and Drake returns to rapping on Sticky. He speaks French and mentions his ditching the Met Gala because he couldn’t bring D-Block. Drake’s music had become impersonal in the past few years, but Sticky’s song and video bring him back, if slightly, to his over-the-top narcissistic roots.
Watch Sticky’s video here.
