Drake Holds a Jewish Wedding
(to 23 Brides) in His Latest Music Video
A s part of the surprise drop for his new album
“Honestly, Nevermind,” Canadian Jewish
musician Drake released a music video for his new
song, “Falling Back,” that features him as the groom
in a wedding offi ciated by an Orthodox rabbi in a
black hat.

There’s nothing orthodox (or safe for work)
about the wedding itself, though, which features
23 brides.

That punchline isn’t revealed until a few min-
utes into the video, when the rabbi offi ciating
the wedding ceremony, which takes place under
a white fl oral chuppah, asks the bride, “Do you
commit yourself to being a good wife, according
to our values and traditions?”
To which she answers, “I do,” and is then
echoed by 22 other women in white behind her.

After each bride receives her ring and gives
the yarmulke-less Drake some form of a secret
handshake or high fi ve, the camera pans to a per-
son who appears to be Drake’s Jewish mother,
Sandi Graham, a blonde woman dressed in black
(and who bears a striking resemblance to Barbra
4 JUNE 30, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Streisand). “I think he’s
really taking this one
seriously,” she remarks.

(Drake has never been
married, but does have
a son, whose existence
was brought to the pub-
Drake poses for a photo with his many brides.

lic eye during a feud
between him and rival
rapper Pusha T.)
bedeken ceremony, where the groom veils his bride
What ensues after the ceremony is a raucous and families wish blessings upon the happy couple.

celebration full of mixed dancing and strobe
This isn’t the fi rst time the multiplatinum-selling
lights. artist has invoked his Jewish background in his
At one point, one of the brides is lifted in a musical career. Drake posed with a Kiddush cup
chair for the hora as she waves a napkin in the air. and Sabbath candles for the cover of his 2012
(Traditionally, as the bride and groom are hoisted album “Take Care,” and he staged a diff erent
on chairs during the hora, they hold onto a napkin Jewish tradition — his own “re-bar mitzvah” — in
to symbolize their unity.)
the music video for his single “HYFR.” (He also
A few moments later, Drake is also seen danc- re-staged his bar mitzvah in a “Saturday Night
ing with a napkin in hand and later in his mouth.

Live” sketch.) Last year, on a mixtape, he rapped,
Toward the end of the video, Drake and his 23 “I should probably go to a yeshiva.”
brides pose for pictures in what loosely resembles
the photo shoots that sometimes accompany the
— Jackie Hajdenberg and Andrew Lapin
Drake: Screenshot via YouTube via JTA
Weekly Kibbitz