So what does one do at 5 a.m. in Toronto? If you're Drake, you take in an all-female indoor beach volleyball game.
On Tuesday morning (April 2), Drizzy dropped the music video for his venomous "5 AM in Toronto" on his October's Very Own blog and gave a very low-key look at the extra-curricular options in his beloved city.
The clip, directed by Ram Accoumen and Andrew Hamilton, starts out in the parking lot of Beach Blast, a T-Dot spot that specializes in indoor sand sports. In the opening scene, Drake, who is holding a clear plastic cup, takes a blunt from one of his crew members and delivers the song's first lines before he takes his initial pull. "You underestimated greatly/ Most number #1s ever, how long did it really take me," he raps while waving his hands.
Drake has given fans quite a few Toronto-based vids, but the low-key production on "5 AM" has him feeling brand new. "That might be like my first viral video. Doing it for the city this time around. Well every time but this time especially," the rapper tweeted about an hour after he dropped the video.
Just as with his "Started From the Bottom" video and 2011's "Headlines," Drake reps for his hometown and close-knit OVO crew in this new clip, still he manages to simultaneously throw a nod to his Cash Money family by wearing a sweatshirt with a picture of the label's first crop of star acts, the Hot Boys (and producer Mannie Fresh).
After a few pulls from his smoke, Drizzy and company make their way inside the sporting venue, where an after-hours party is held. Of course the V.I.P. enters through what looks like a back entrance, but once inside the black-lighted soiree he mingles amongst an intimate group of party-goers. Like with any Drake-related bash there are plenty of women, most of who he play volleyball in bikini tops and twerk for the camera as the star MC delivers his tightly woven rhymes.
The "5 AM in Toronto" video isn't pretty or shiny, but neither are Drake's bars. There's no melodic hook or catchy tune, just Drizzy beating on his chest. "F--- them n---as this year, I made Forbes list (n---a)/ F--- your list, everything's looking gorgeous," he spits, more than likely making a reference to MTV News' "Hottest MCs in the Game VIII" list where Drake placed #5.
The media isn't his only target; throughout the song the battle-tested spitter metions "orphan" rappers and what his mentor Lil Wayne may do to competitors if anything happens to his label star. It's all pretty gritty, with the video to match.
What do you think of Drake's "5 AM in Toronto" video? Let us know in the comments!