Prism Prize Video: Drake -Nice For What

By External Source

On May 13, the biggest prize for Canadian music videos will be handed out in Toronto. We are profiling some of the Top 20 nominees before that, including this clip from Toronto's reigning superstar, directed by a trailblazing female video maker. Slaight Music is Patron Sponsor for the Prism Prize.

Drake -  “Nice For What”

Leave it to director Karena Evans to take a hit song by one of the most powerful men in music and create a visual narrative that aims to celebrate and empower women. Packed with cameos from some of the industry’s most admired women, including Olivia Wilde, Issa Rae, Rashida Jones, Yara Shahidi, and Misty Copeland, the video features these smart, successful women in situations where their strengths are best displayed - mothering their children, commanding the room over a group of white men, and pursuing higher education at Ivy League schools. It celebrates the huge roles women play, focusing on their strengths and it reinforces their unique personalities.

The mere fact that a young woman directs the video is a victory in and of itself - women directors are highly underrepresented in the field - and Evans has become a celebratory beacon of hope that the tide may officially be turning on that front. Her career has been nothing short of history-making - she’s the first female to win the Prism Prize Lipsett Award. Now that’s something to celebrate.

Credits:

Director: Karena Evans

Producer: Javier Alejandro

Producer: Fuliane Petikyan

Production Company: Popp Rokk

Executive Producer: Taj Critchlow

Director of Photography: Berenice Eveno

Producer: Stefano Moses

Executive Producer: Luti Fagbenle

UK Production Company: Luti Media

Cast: Yara Shahidi, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth Lejonhjarta, Victoria Lejonhjarta, Letitia Wright, Bria Vinaite, Emma Roberts, Syd, Olivia Wilde, Misty Copeland, Issa Rae, Rashida Jones, Jourdan Dunn, Tracee Ellis Ross, Tiffany Haddish, Michelle Rodriguez