If you, like the rest of the world, are feeling the walls closing in as yet another week of self-isolation takes effect, perhaps you can take comfort knowing that Drake is in isolation too… just in a much, much bigger house. The Canadian crooner just dropped a new song accompanied by a music video that is essentially a tour of his palatial estate—and gives a glimpse of his pricey art collection.
The video opens with panoramic views of an eerily quiet downtown Toronto with shops and restaurants shuttered, as in most cities around the world. It then transitions to follow the rapper, face-masked, and presumably on lockdown at home (stars, they’re just like us).
Screenshot of Drake’s video Toosie Slide (2020). Courtesy of YouTube.
As Drizzy walks through rows of his Grammy and MTV awards encased in glass vitrines, eagle-eyed viewers can spot an Andy Warhol Mao painting on the back wall, one of the few spots of bold color among the chromatically subdued decor. With ample space, Drake performs the “Toosie Slide,” named for the 23-year-old dancer from Atlanta who invented the dance, which has already prompted various TikTok challenges.
Continuing throughout the house, more art is on display in an oval-shaped foyer that’s flanked by two KAWS companions, one of whom actually winks his “x” eye at around 1:07.
Screenshot of Drake’s 2017 video Hotline Bling, seemingly inspired by James Turrell, courtesy of Vimeo.
For such a public figure, Drake has been less flashy about publicizing his art-collecting habits, though it may come as no surprise that his taste falls in line with fellow musicians Jay Z and Justin Bieber, who all favor blue-chip artists such as KAWS. Beyond Drake’s viral video “Hotline Bling,” which seemed to mimic a James Turrell light installation, the singer has posted a few images of other treasures, including a smiling sculpture created by Takashi Murakami and Virgil Abloh that was on view at Gagosian’s Beverly Hills gallery in 2018.
Earlier this week, the 33-year-old revealed a portrait of himself holding his son Adonis, which was taken by artist Catherine Opie. It was the first time the public glimpsed Drake’s progeny, whose delightful blonde corkscrew curls are captured in Opie’s dramatically lit tableau. The photographer reposted the intimate photograph on her social media account with the caption reading “It was so nice to see this post while I’m staying in isolation/staying home. Photographs of Drake and his son Adonis.”