After announcing the project in a now-deleted Instagram post, Drake‘s new short film, Please Forgive Me, has finally arrived. The action-packed film, said to be inspired by Drake’s chart-topping 2016 album, Views, was initially scheduled to debut on Sept. 30, but became available at 1 a.m. EST Monday morning as an Apple Music exclusive.
Starring Drake in the lead role, the 23-minute Please Forgive Me also co-stars Popcaan, Fanny Neguesha, Soni Chidiebere and Kyla Reid. A mix of Indecent Proposal, The Bourne Identity and Taken, as one person close to the situation put it, the film includes seven songs from Views with original music from Noah “40” Shebib. It will remain an Apple exclusive for 30 days, a source confirms. (Update: A previous version of this story said the exclusive would be in effect in perpetuity. The film will be an Apple streaming exclusive for 30 days.)
The film was directed by Anthony Mandler, the music video director behind Drake’s “Over,” “Miss Me” and “Fancy” videos — as well as videos from Jay Z (“Holy Grail,” “Run This Town,” “Death of Autotune”), Nicki Minaj (“Starships”) and Rihanna (“Disturbia,” “Only Girl in the World,” “Diamonds”), among others — who was behind the camera for Apple Music’s Taylor Swift and DJ Khaled television ads. Mandler co-wrote the script with Apple Music Head of Content Larry Jackson, who also produced the film and has been involved in many of Apple Music’s exclusive releases this year.
Please Forgive Me was filmed in a single week in Soweto township in Johannesburg, South Africa, this July before the start of Drake and Future‘s Summer Sixteen Tour. It also serves as only the second visual to emerge from the release of Views: Outside of the music video for “Child’s Play,” Drake hasn’t put out videos for any of the other singles from the album, such as “Pop Style,” “Controlla,” “Too Good” or the Billboard Hot 100-topping “One Dance.” (“Hotline Bling,” a bonus track included on the album, also had a video, produced by Apple Music and released last October.)
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Check out Please Forgive Me on Apple Music, and see the preview here:
The explosive visual companion to #VIEWS. @drake’s Please Forgive Me.
Only on #AppleMusic:https://t.co/86DnYZFruv pic.twitter.com/ANlLgr2imC— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) September 26, 2016