Comedy comes in many shapes and forms, and Billboard Artist of the Decade Aubrey “Drake” Graham, “Pound Town” hit maker Sexyy Red, and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter SZA have put their funny bones together to show it on the music video for “Rich Baby Daddy” off Drake’s For All the Dogs album. Adopting the style of found footage photography, the visuals begin with Drake documenting the chronicles leading up to his baby’s arrival with his onscreen baby mama (portrayed by Sexyy Red).
Grainy and fuzzy, the footage starts at the drive way, with the Canadian rapper peppering quaint remarks about the neighbourhood before introducing a neighbour named “Mike”, who, at that very moment, can be spotted taking out the trash. The recording switches to Drizzy, who records himself with flowing silky hair and a well-kept beard, making faces at the camera.
A snapshot from the music video
The former half of the music video, in which SZA makes short but smart-mouthed comments, is littered with humorous and light-hearted scenes, from Drake and Red partaking in endearing activities like unwrapping gifts and Drake showering his baby mama with pleasantries of the kind of shape she is in. For the most part, what imparts a comical texture to the spectacle is its short film structure, in which the trio all have roles: Drake being the comical lead, Sexyy providing the anchor with her support, whilst SZA chimes in as a refreshing ball of energy.
The jocular narrative shifts, however, once Red’s water breaks and is transported to the labour ward, where the plot suddenly changes – for the worst.
Thematically, the visuals take a U-turn, with the intimacy establised in the build up evaporating in the senseless face of dirty dancers twerking in the waiting hall as Drake sits in the corner, munching on a burger. In a way, the latter half does little to retain the unity and spirit of the music video leading up to that point, which presents more questions than answers as the video progresses. Why is such ratchet behaviour permitted at the hospital corridors? Why would Sexyy, after going straight into labour and childbirth be in fit enough condition to shake her goods while cradling her newborn?
As cartoon-esque as the early stages of “Rich Baby Daddy” are, the difference between the start and the ending at the hospital is so wide a chasm that it ruins what would’ve been a solid sitcom. Drake, Sexyy, and SZA are all about fun and games in this video; however, the lack of proper transitioning and factoring of common sense is what strips the work of the respect it had in the beginning.
