Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ Lyrics Read By Justin Moore, Hilarity Ensues
By now, most people have heard Drake’s newest single, “Hotline Bling,” and perhaps even the video that shows Drake dancing in what some feel is a strange and comical way, as previously reported by the Inquisitr. Drake has gotten a lot of flack and memes in response to the accompanying video of the song, which appears to begin with a phone call center that features girls who work in the phone sex industry, and then shows Drake slowly gyrating in differently colored boxes, with an occasional appearance of one of the “Hotline Bling” girls dancing and squatting awkwardly at different points of the song.
Justin Moore, a country singer that has been known for his deep country twang and his country hits such as “Small Town USA,” took to the camera to good-naturedly read “Hotline Bling” in an open-prose style, his Arkansas accent making the lyrics to “Hotline Bling” seem even more disjointed, and his serious façade gives way to outright laughter after he pauses during the reading after saying, “getting nasty with someone else?” and temporarily regains composure before a female is heard laughing off-camera. Justin breaks into a wide smile, then laughs and says to the person off camera “I was doing so good!” and the woman is heard saying “sorry.” The humorous reading has resonated with country fans and hip hop fans alike, with the video amassing more than 4 million views thus far, according to Rolling Stone.
If you haven’t seen the video yet, you can watch it here, compliments of YouTube, and credits are given to Knix Country radio station.
Although many find the reading humorous and entertaining, there are quite a few negative comments as well, including people asking “who is Justin Moore?” alluding to the fact that the country singer has not enjoyed near the media frenzy nor public popularity that the singer Drake has. However, Justin Moore himself states this, saying to someone off screen “That is the most – how much more money does this guy make than us?” then laughingly turns off the camera, shaking his head. Drake has no doubt made far more money than Justin Moore so far, who is known for his somewhat deep and nostalgic lyrics and clever wordplay. Moore is perhaps a bit more country than “mainstream country.” While he has a growing number of fans, his popularity has not come close that that of fellow country music singers Jason Aldean or Luke Bryan.
Other comments on the video take a more serious turn, questioning the decay or lyricism and music in general, a general questioning of why certain themes or topics are so popular when they seemingly have little substance and some even make no sense. Others dislike what they feel is misogyny, when Drake says “ever since I left the city you started wearing less and going out more/ glasses of champagne out on the dance floor/ hanging with some girls I never seen before.” Later in the song he admonishes the female in question, “You used to be a good girl” which leads some to question who decides what a good girl is and why Drake feels he can draw that conclusion.
For the most part, however, the video just draws a sharp contrast between the culture of Hip Hop and Country, with many from both parties able to understand the humor. During the reading, a soft classical/violin-based instrumental song is playing, only adding to the contrasting lyrics which ask strangely worded things like “Why you never alone? Why you always touching road?” And then coming to the conclusion, “You should just be yourself.” The final lyric is a strange lament, “Ever since I left the city…” which Justin Moore says with a mock sense of longing. Many people thanked both Drake and Justin Moore for the light-hearted laugh.
[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
