Young Money Artist Drake Debuts Clip For 'Over'

After a nearly yearlong wait for his fans, Canadian rapper Drake has released his highly anticipated video on Vevo today for his first single "Over" off his upcoming debut album "Thank Me Later," to hit stores on June 15. The song "Over" touches on Drake reaction to fame and stardom. Drake has been one of the most talked about rappers for the last couple years, especially since at the time, he was still on the mixtape circuit and had not signed a deal with any label. He became the subject of a bidding war, but eventually signed with rapper Lil' Wayne's Young Money label nearly a year ago and has already worked with some of rap music's vets and heavyweights, including Lil' Wayne, Eminem, Kanye West and Jay-Z.
The Anthony Mandler-directed video was shot on March 12 in Los Angeles. "I'm shooting with somebody I really look up to and respect...Anthony Mandler", the 23-year-old Toronto native told MTV on the set of the video for "Over," "We talked colors, we talked epic, emotion-evoking visuals". "I've shot a lot of videos before", Drake continued, "but this is my first attempt to establish myself as Drake the artist. Shooting the other videos I've done has been great. I really don't care what other people think about them, they were great experiences for me. I've learned a lot from them". About the concept of the video, Drake said: "It's sort of a love story in the video, it has a lot to do with the album. The album is about finding love, feeling 'Have I sold my soul' as far as 'Will I ever be able to gain the trust of a woman? Will I only be able to be around the dark, evil women? Will I ever find that pure love?' Those elements are in the video". The director Mandler, said about the video: "I can tell you that it's not gonna be what you expect. Drake and I were very conscious about trying to push the limits and trying to push things forward. He came to me because he wanted to throw away the conventions of a medium, and take chances and be daring and take certain themes that are relevant to him and try to visualize them in not the obvious way."
The Canadian rapper has a wild vision in this new video, which starts off with Drake, dressed in white, sitting in a room on a bed, reflecting on his life these days. Images of explosions and time-lapsed cityscapes are projected on him and the wall of the room. From there, he launches into a heavy performance. Toward the end of the video, it looks like Drake has to choose between two beautiful women. One, played by Roc Nation singer Rita Ora, appears to be a more wholesome girl, while the other lady looks more dangerous as she dances provocatively in the background. the Young Money franchise player said of the video last week on the opening night of his Away From Home Tour: "The video really reflects that. It's a struggle between the purities of my past life and what this new life has to offer. Even in the video, you see me looking back and forth between the two and deciding. At the end of the video I don't necessarily make a decision, but when you get the album, you'll see what choice I make."