In My Feelings: How Drake Summoned the BTS Army

Who didn’t love the days when artists would put their actor friends, athletes and other musicians in their music videos. If you’re a millennial like me (and religiously watched MTV Base), you will not convince me that you didn’t get some kind of joy watching Ludacris, Eve, and LLcoolJ in Missy Elliots’ Get Your Freak On. Chris Tucker in Michael Jackson’s You Rock My World or Kobe Bryant in Destiny’s Child’s Buga Boo video. Suddenly that type of music video disappeared and artists don’t do it as much. I guess its been replaced by posting pictures with other celebrities on instagram.

Well it seems like Drake is bringing this era of music video back and I’m here for it. In the Nice For What video, he graced our screens with the likes of Issa Rae, Letita Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jourdan Dunn and other amazing women in Hollywood. That song is good but we have to address In My Feelings. With globalisation and social media working hand in hand, the In My Feelings challenge has been an international sensation. Seriously, I don’t think anyone with access to the internet has been able to escape the phrase “Keke, do you love me?”

I bet some of you didn’t even know that there are other girls named on that song.

However, I believe that Drake’s marketing checkmate was putting J-Hope from BTS in that video.

Allow me to school you on something. BTS (who I have already stanned for on a previous post) are probably the biggest boy band in the world. Their fans (who are called Army), have power that should frighten you. BTS have music videos on YouTube that have 400/500 million views. On the 20th June 2018, they organised a streaming party with the Beyhive so both Love Yourself: Tear and Everything Is Love could reach number 1. This is a fandom that is not to be ignored. If other artists were smart, they would tap into their power. Therefore, I have no doubt that Drake was intentional about putting BTS’s lead dancer in his already popular song.

I am going to confess right here on this blog that J-Hope is the ONLY reason I sat through all 8 minutes of that video because I didn’t do it for Drake.