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Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ Memes Have Rapper Shake Hips To Salsa, Merengue, Beyoncé

By Charlotte Sexauer
Published on: 07:56 PST, Oct 22, 2015

Roughly 24 hours after Drake’s highly anticipated video for No. 2 Billboard Hot 100 single “Hotline Bling” had been released, dozens of memes had taken over the internet, having the Canadian rapper groove to popular tunes, playing Wii tennis, and ordering pizza. It wasn’t long until #DrakeAlwaysOnBeat was trending, a bit like Beyoncé did a few months ago with #BeyoncéAlwaysOnBeat — but much more.

Drake’s dance moves have been described as corny and awkward, but the minimalistic video which has him shaking his hips in pastel-coloured light boxes has obviously become a hit online, and the memes have contributed to much of its popularity.

Fellow Canadian and “Hotline Bling” music video director Julien Christian Lutz, also known as Director X, was heavily inspired by the work of American contemporary artist James Turrell, who plays with light, space, and colors. Drake’s always been a big fan of Turrell’s, whose exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art last year answered all his “questions about life,” he joked in an interview with Rolling Stone.

The rapper admitted being a huge admirer, and even declared, “I f**k with Turrell, he was a big influence on the visuals for my last tour.”

Turrell has since issued a statement denying any involvement with Drake’s video.

“While I am truly flattered to learn that Drake f**ks with me, I nevertheless wish to make clear that neither I nor any of my woes was involved in any way in the making of the Hotline Bling video.”

Light and space at Turrell's exhibition
[Photo by Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images]
It’s the not the first time Drake and Director X collaborate, with the latter being behind the rapper’s 2013 “Worst Behavior” and “Started from the Bottom” videos and “HYFR” in 2012.

The artist even re-posted the meme featuring Aventura’s “Obsession” on his Instagram account, embracing the remix wave that took over the internet as soon as the video was released.

http://instagram.com/p/9C16zVjQP4/?taken-by=champagnepapi

He may as well make the most of it, as the animated GIFs and memes haven’t stopped pouring in since the “Hotline Bling” video was released, which turned out to be a great promotional tool for the rapper. Fans were delighted to finally get a glimpse of the video for “Hotline Bling” Monday, two months after the song was released. “Hotline Bling” is Drake’s biggest success and may soon become his first number one Billboard song. After entering the charts in August at No. 66, “Hotline Bling” climbed up to No. 9, becoming his first top 10 in two years. As of October, the song is No. 2, tying as his highest-charting single alongside “Best I Ever Had.”

So dork or genius, it’s undeniable that Drake’s video release has monopolized fans and critics alike, with thousands of shares of the original video and of the hilarious memes that ensued.

Let’s have a look at some of the best ones here.

Elvis Crespo’s “Suavemente”

Merengue:
http://instagram.com/p/9C9aVunCfd/

Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies”

And “7/11”

R. Kelly’s “Ignition”

The Clash’s “Rock the Casbah”

Some have gone even further and given Drake a few things to play around with.

Star Wars

Or playing Pokemon.

Intentional or not, Drake has managed to monopolize a large part of the internet’s attention since Monday night, which makes a nice change from the usual rumors of his feud with his ex Nicki Minaj’s beau, Meek Mills.

[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]

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