How 'Views' Is Connected To 'Please Forgive Me'

I think we've all always held high hopes that Drake would get back into acting (that no-show at the Degrassi reunion broke my heart) and now, our wishes our granted with Drake's short film Please Forgive Me . What's especially interesting is that Drake connected both of his worlds (acting and music) all at once. Hearsay is that Drake and director Anthony Mandler drew direct inspiration from Drake's last album Views, as several of the tracks make an appearance throughout the short film... but how?

The plot of Please Forgive Me (or the vague, spoiler-free summation of the plot) is about how Drake's girlfriend (played by model Fanny Neguesha) accepts a familiar indecent proposal from a wealthy businessman: one million dollars for a night together. But Drake and Popcaan decide to intercept the deal and pocket the money... which leads to a whole lot of trouble for Drake and his pals. And somehow this is tied back to Views, although a deep-dive into the lyrics has me scrambling to make those ties.

Honestly, the most unfortunate piece of Views inspiration comes in how the short film is distributed. Like Views, Please Forgive Me is available exclusively on Apple Music for the time being, and, if you got a free trial subscription back when Drake's last album was released, it's probably long expired by now. However, we can just put two and two together and assume that the following lyrics off Views inspired the plot...

1. "That's Why I Need A One Dance/Got A Hennessy In My hand/One More Time 'Fore I Go/Higher Powers Taking Over Me"

Higher powers are taking over Drake, and he can't stay dancing in the club forever

2. "I Think I'd Lie For You/I Think I'd Die For You"

Lots of deception going on in this video, beginning with Drake being allegedly cool about his girlfriend accepting that Indecent Proposal. He is not cool with it. So, lying + possibly dying. It's all in there

3. "Them Girls, They Just Wanna Take My Money/They Don't Want Me To Give You Nothing/They Don't Want You To Have Nothing/They Don't Wanna See Me Find Your Lovin'"

Girl taking money = Neguesha. It's important to note that "Controlla" plays while we focus on her dancing in the deserts.

4. "Then He Would Leave Us At The House And Go Out On A Mission/We Probably Would've Got In Less Trouble Just Goin' With Him"

Drake's definitely on a mission, embarking on lots of gun-shooting and tomfoolery.

5. "But Money Can't Buy Happiness, Jellee Talkin' Truthful/But I'm Happiest When I Can Buy What I Want/Get High When I Want"

Money seems to be at the center of this mess, and also most messes.

6. "Summer Is Over, Simple And Plain/Found Me Some Fun That's Good For The Pain"

This was released three days into Autumn, guys. There is no subtext here, plz.

7. "Man When Sh*t Gets Like This, In The Whole City/This Sh*t Ain't Gonna Stop/It's Gonna Get A Lot Worse Before It Gets Any Better"

Things gets way too intense after Drake pockets the cash, to say the least.

8. "Keeping People Fed Is My Only Peace Of Mind Now/And I Turn The Six Upside Down, It's A Nine Now/I Made A Decision Last Night That I Would Die For It"

Drake may literally die as a result of taking this money.

9. "Cause I'm Searchin' For These Words To Say To You Right Now/Redemption's On Your Mind When You Think About Me"

The entire subtext of "Redemption" is "Please Forgive Me," and that's obviously how this film got it's title. Obviously.

10. "Tell My Mom I Love Her If I Do Not Make It, Do Not Make It"

Fact: Drake mentions several times on Views that he loves and respects his mom more than anything in the world, which is respectable since he needs to keep up a rep in the rap universe. In the context of the song, "do not make it" may just mean Drake doesn't make it in music. In Please Forgive Me, who knows if Drake will make it out alive. So tying the two together, Drake with actual street credibility would still probably love his mom a lot, and would still want to make it.

11. "You Just Like My Sidekick/I Just Wanna Wife"

You can sense the subtle resentment towards Drake's girlfriend here (again: he is not cool about her accepting the proposal, despite what he says).

OK, it's a little hard to make proper, literal connections between Views and Please Forgive Me. Hopefully Drake pushes out a wider release of the video and you can make those ties on your own.

Images: Giphy (12)