Prism Prize Eligible Video - Drake: Toosie Slide

By External Source

The 2020 Prism Prize for Best Canadian Music Video was awarded to Peter Huang, for his clip for Jessie Reyez's Far Away. We will continue to profile noteworthy Canadian videos that were eligible for the Prize, including this smash hit clip that sparked an online dance craze.

Drake - Toosie Slide 

Drake is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is also known widely as a prominent figure in popular culture and founder of the hit record label, OVO Sound. 

With his viral release of Toosie Slide, many dancers on TikTok and various platforms reshared the dance, as Drake simply instructs “Left Foot, Up, Right Foot, Slide” in his repetitive chorus, for dancers alike to follow along with the tune. 

In the music video, Theo Skudra, known as Drakes lead creative director/cinematographer, establishes the scene by overlooking the city of Toronto in a quiet state. The city shops are closed, highways are empty, and Drake is prominently recorded at his Toronto mansion with a Nike head mask on, due to the novel coronavirus.

In each scene, leading back up to Drake’s catchy chorus, the rapper is seen wandering from different areas of his home, as he hits the dance each time, to make it stick with viewers. He also throws in a few verses, before bringing the song right back around to its theme, which essentially is just to hit the Toosie Slide.  

Prior to releasing Toosie Slide” Drake reached out to Instagram dancer Toosie for his creative inspiration on a dance. Drake needed help choreographing a piece, which he left to Toosie and his peers. Prominent artists/producers like Hiii Key along with Ayo & Teo contributed to Toosie’s development, which is how the viral dance came to be known. The video has 277 million YouTube views.

Video Director: Theo Skudra

Video Producer: Christian Taylor

Director of Photography: Theo Skudra

Video Editor: Theo Skudra

for Colossale