Drake Recruits Goddesses; Gives "Nice For What" The OWA Treatment

Hip-hop hitmaker Drake always seems to have his fingers on the pulse of what's hot in pop culture. From his days rising to fame on the near-iconic teen soap opera Degrassi to a multi-platinum music career almost anyone would be jealous of, he's found himself as one of the foremost celebrities in the world for nearly a decade now. He's continuing to make waves in 2018, with his highly-anticipated fifth studio effort, Scorpion, on the horizon. "God's Plan" dropped earlier this year, and the accompanying video went viral in no time, with the lyrics still spawning an ever-growing -- and hilarious -- field of memes. The song also shot to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It seems, however, when you've got as many hits to your name as one Aubrey Graham, it's not enough to secure that top spot on the charts.

Enter Drake's latest hit, "Nice For What", already the perennial banger of the spring of 2018. The song makes heavy use of the chorus of Lauryn Hill's 1998 hit "Ex-Factor", and its early 2000s R&B and New Orleans bounce music-inspired production ties in perfectly with ad-libs from Crescent City native Big Freedia. Not only did "Nice For What" usurp "God's Plan" from its number one position, the music video has been highly praised as well. Drake takes a back seat in the video, appearing somewhat sporadically while a myriad of beautiful, powerful Hollywood power players -- ranging from Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Tiffany Haddish, and Yara Shahidi to Emma Roberts, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, and Jourdan Dunn -- dominate the production, and the public's been thrilled about it. After all, like many of Drake's recordings, "Nice For What" is something of a narrative detailing the life of a woman living in this day and age. The girl in question might not be "wearing less and going out more", but Drake is still telling her that it's okay to cut loose, that he's proud of her for being an independent woman, and to never, ever stop flexing on her haters.

From one collection of lovely, confident women, Drake moves onto another. The Goddesses of OWA were recruited to star in an alternate version of the "Nice For What" video -- proving once again that Drake always knows what's hot. Based on how swimmingly things went, it's safe to say this isn't the last time we'll see The 6ix God climbing up to the summit of Mount Olympus to spend a little time with OWA's best and brightest.

[Intro: Big Freedia] "I wanna know who mothafuckin' representin' in here tonight"

(The opening shot is of Aria Jaxon, donning a big, poofy all-black strapless ball gown and all-black matte Nike hightop Vandals dancing at the top of a grand-looking staircase in a high-end hotel.) "Hold on, hold on"

(Quick shots of her dancing down the staircase are interspersed with each other.) [Pre-Chorus: Lauryn Hill] "I keep lettin' you back in (you back in)"

(Candice Blair is the middle of a photo shoot, camera flashes going off rapidly while she wears a figure-hugging red spaghetti-strap dress.) "How can I, explain myself?"

(Her back is facing the camera, and she flips her hair over her shoulder and turns to look directly at it as the chorus hits.) [Chorus: Lauryn Hill & Drake] "Care for me, care for me, you said you'd care for me"

(It’s nighttime in Philadelphia, and Drake stands on a rooftop downtown. He wears a black hoodie with the mint green OWA logo on the front and dark jeans. A massive OWA billboard looms prominently behind him.) "There for me, there for me, said you'd be there for me (Lil Weezyana shit)"

(The video’s title card is shown in green type over another shot of Drake on the rooftop: “DRAKE -- NICE FOR WHAT: GODDESS EDITION”.) "Cry for me, cry for me, you said you'd die for me (Murda on the beat)"

(The second title card is shown: “A FILM BY KARENA EVANS”.) "Give to me, give to me, why won't you live for me?"

(He continues to vibe to the chorus while throwing in ad-libs.) "Care for me, care for me, I know you care for me"

(Candice is shown posing in front of the camera again, a big fan having now been brought in to blow frosty white hair behind her.) "(A song for y'all to cut up to, you know?) There for me, there for me, said you'd be there for me (yeah)"

(Hair stylists and makeup artists with tools in hand frantically and almost hilariously rush in and out of frame in between shots to touch up Candice, who smiles and seems unfazed.) "Cry for me, cry for me, you said you'd die for me Give to me, give to me, why won't you live for me?"

[Verse 1: Drake] "Everybody get your mothafuckin' roll on"

(Aria blows a kiss to the camera as she gets to the bottom of the staircase, looking curiously out of place among the other hotel patrons.) "I know shorty and she doesn't want no slow song Had a man last year, life goes on"

(She twirls around the lobby, again looking like she’s “disturbing” everyone else around her. Aria smiles, looking carefree.) "Haven't let that thing loose, girl, in so long You've been inside, know you like to lay low I've been peepin' what you bringin' to the table"

(Megan Harper sits in a chair on a movie set, plopping down in front of a lit vanity table with a massive mirror.) "Workin' hard, girl, everything paid for First-last, phone bill, car note, cable"

(She motions for a nervous-looking production assistant to come over and he does, handing her a script. Megan looks it over briefly, seeming unimpressed before tossing it aside. She goes back to looking over her appearance in the mirror.) "With your phone out, gotta hit them angles With your phone out, snappin' like you Fabo And you showin' off, but it's alright"

(Megan grins at her reflection as she takes selfies in the mirror.) "And you showin' off, but it's alright (alright!) It's a short life, yeah" [Chorus: Lauryn Hill] "Care for me, care for me, you said you'd care for me There for me, there for me, said you'd be there for me"

(Donning matching tie-dye v-neck shirts, Savannah Sunshine and Jessica Rose are all smiles as they burst through the front doors of a candy store.) "Cry for me, cry for me, you said you'd die for me Give to me, give to me, why won't you live for me?"

(They start dancing in between all the displays and containers, filling their bags.) [Refrain: Drake] "That's a real one in your reflection"

(Drake raps the lyrics.) "Without a follow, without a mention You really pipin' up on these niggas"

(Ashley Walker kicks her stiletto-clad feet up onto a boardroom table, much to the chagrin of all the stuffy old dudes seated along the table.) "You gotta be nice for what to these niggas?" [Verse 2: Drake] "I understand, you got a hunnid bands You got a baby Benz, you got some bad friends"

(Gia Cervantes is shown smiling brightly as she plays with her two-year-old daughter Brianna backstage in the OWA Arena.) "High school pics, you was even bad then You ain't stressin' off no lover in the past tense You already had them Work at 8 A.M., finish 'round five"

(Brianna toddles into Gia’s arms, who laughs and scoops the little girl up into a hug before kissing her on the forehead.) "Hoes talk down, you don't see 'em outside Yeah, they don't really be the same offline You know dark days, you know hard times"

(Shots of Mia Marie Vega jumping around an otherwise-empty indoor trampoline park are shown.) "Doin' overtime for the last month Saturday, call the girls, get 'em gassed up Gotta hit the club, gotta make that ass jump"

(She smiles as she lands in front of the camera, adjusting her backwards snapback on her head.) "Gotta hit the club like you hit them mothafuckin' angles With your phone out, snappin' like you Fabo"

(Julianna DeMarco pushes her sunglasses up on the bridge of her nose as she steps out onto the sidewalk in a sunny locale, arms weighted down in shopping bags from expensive stores.) "And you showin' off, but it's alright And you showin' off, but it's alright It's a short life" [Bridge: Big Freedia & Letitia Wright] "Uh-huh! (Oh yeah!)"

(Drake lip syncs the ad-libs in the bridge while dancing on the roof.) "These hoes! (They mad!)"

(London Morris smiles down from a hotel balcony overlooking Philadelphia.) "Your boy! (I had!)" I made! (Watch the breakdown) [Chorus: Lauryn Hill] "Care for me, care for me, you said you'd care for me There for me, there for me, said you'd be there for me"

(At the starting line of a huge glow in the dark indoor go kart racing track, several helmet-clad drivers rev their engines. One driver, obviously a woman whose dark hair streams underneath her helmet, shoots right up to the front.) "Cry for me, cry for me, you said you'd die for me Give to me, give to me, why won't you live for me?" [Breakdown: Drake] "Gotta make that jump, gotta make that, gotta, gotta make that Gotta make that jump, gotta make that, gotta, gotta make that"

(Quick shots of the duration of the race cut in and out and the female driver finishes in first place. She removes her helmet to reveal herself as a smirking Tarah Nova.) "Gotta, gotta, gotta g-g-gotta, g-g-gotta, gotta Gotta, g-g-gotta, gotta, gotta make that jump, jump (let's go)"

(HENDRIX, dressed to the nines, stretches out across the backseat of a chauffeur-driven Bentley, examining her appearance in a compact mirror.) "Bend it over, lift it up, bend it over, lift it up Make that jump, jump"

(Fast frames of all the women up to this point are shown. Aria sweeps everything off the concierge desk of the hotel, before hopping up onto it and taking a seat. Candice runs both hands through her wind-blown hair as the photographer’s camera flashes.) "Bend it over, lift it up, bend it over, lift it up Make that jump, jump"

(Megan rolls her eyes at the stack of scripts that have piled up on her vanity, and simply resumes fixing her makeup in the mirror. Savannah and Jessica are tossing Skittles and M&Ms into each other’s mouths from opposite sides of the candy store aisle they’re on.) "Bend it over, over, over, over, over, lift it up Make that jump, jump"

(To horrified expressions from all else in attendance, a laughing Ashley stands right up on the boardroom table. Gia cradles Brianna, pressing a kiss to the little girl’s nose. Julianna holds her shopping bag-laden arms up high and twirls around as she walks down the street.) "Bend it over, lift it up (make that jump, jump) Bend it over, lift it up (make that jump, jump)"

(Mia takes off her snapback and flops back onto one of the trampolines, smiling contently as she crosses her arms behind her head. London waves and winks to the camera. Tarah hops out of her go kart and hoists her helmet over her head triumphantly.) [Refrain: Drake] "That's a real one in your reflection Without a follow, without a mention"

(As a pool party goes on in the background, Rebecca Sawyer cannonballs into a pool. An underwater camera captures her as she swims back up to the surface before she spits water at the camera above the surface.) "You really pipin' up on these niggas You gotta be nice for what to these niggas?"

(A big smile crosses her face as she sits poolside, using both hands to wring out her long red hair.) "I understand" [Chorus: Lauryn Hill] "Care for me, care for me, you said you'd care for me There for me, there for me, said you'd be there for me"

(Drake nods his head to the music as he pulls his hood up onto his head.) "Give to me, give to me, why won't you live for me? Cry for me, cry for me, you said you'd cry for me" [Outro: Drake & Lauryn Hill] "Gotta hit the club like you hit them, hit them, hit them angles It's a short life, yeah"

(The shot cuts back to the rooftop, and for the first time, Drake isn’t alone. All of the Goddesses are on either side of him, and they’re all wearing black jeans and different variations of OWA logo shirts -- cropped, long-sleeved, short-sleeved, layered, underneath jackets, whatever.) "Cry for me, cry for me, you said you'd die for me Give to me, give to me, why won't you live for me?"

(As the outro fades out, the closing shot focuses on the Goddesses before the shot fades to black.)