It was about transforming and becoming something beyond myself as an artist. This was me embracing my neurodiversity and embracing all that my autism equips me with. Did you feel nervous about being in so much make-up? I prepared her movements meticulously each day, from the way she enters the scene and beckons the audience to come closer, to her bashfully applying her makeup and her fan dance. The same actor also plays in Orochi and his graceful, delicate movements helped shape my own character for the video. I watched Amaterasu, a 2006 performance featuring BandЕЌ TamasaburЕЌ V, a Kabuki actor, and the most popular and celebrated onnagata (an actor specializing in female roles). I spent around 6 weeks watching a lot of traditional kabuki performances, making notes and practicing my own movements and preparing my costumes. How did you prepare for transforming into these kabuki characters? There would be a lot of red and blue, against stark backgrounds and a slew of cherry blossoms. I thought it would be interesting to depict them in Heaven and Hell, but their worlds would merge for the climax. There would be an angry royal figure whose temperamental personality would be characterised by the red lines across his face. IвЂ™ve studied it quite extensively over the years. IвЂ™ve always been fascinated by Kabuki, a form of classical Japanese dance-drama thatвЂ™s been around since the 16th century, and I saw this as an opportunity to create my own Kabuki stage with my own characters. But rather than scary, I wanted it to be beautiful and bold, subverting expectations.

When you listen to the song, everything you hear is exaggerated, from the lyrics to the music, right down to the phrasing of every word. I knew from the start that this had to be my most over-the-top video. ItвЂ™s a shame because it was quite beautiful, but the song was going in a different direction already, away from the eastern influences of the opening track for the EP.ДЄt the same time, Stairway to Hell would feature some of my most intense guitar work IвЂ™ve ever recorded as the song gradually grows into a frenzy. Originally the intro featured an excerpt from the adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, but once I started writing the lyrics, I realised how problematic that might be. It needed to be something completely insane that would knock listeners back. I was working on an EP that reflected on the zeitgeist of the time and I needed one final song to finish it off. It was during the height of the first lockdown in 2020. How did a song like Stairway to Hell come into existence? Time's gotta pass somehow.Read the latest post from our Digital Resident for May, Patrick Samuel, all about making a video with a little budget and a lot of imagination. The 'Toosie Slide' continues to spark viral creativity, and don't be surprised if this only opens the door for more outlandish versions of the challenge. Seeing as it is the Torontonian rapper acting as puppet-master, here we stand. It's a bit of low-stakes fun, the likes of which would probably go unnoticed were it not Drake himself partaking in the antics. What it does appear to be is Drake's hand engaging in a surprisingly elaborate display of choreography, one that also happens to double as a 'Toosie Slide' tutorial of sorts. Look, this isn't exactly rocket science here.

Taking to Instagram, Drake proved that boredom and superstardom are not mutually exclusive, sharing a clip of his own clever rendition of his rapidly-spreading single. While countless fans do their best to learn and perfect the titular dance, Drake has decided to get hands-on in facilitating the process - literally.

Drake own it choreography