Leave it to the eternally cheerful DRAM to transform what could be a typically spiteful, “steal your girl” anthem into a celebration of alternative lifestyles. In his video for “Best Hugs,” rather than taunting a romantic rival, he positions the proposition as entirely reciprocal with a swinger party set in a suburban house straight out of the 1970s, almost entirely populated by middle-aged folks who appear in on the joke.
Where typically, many rappers would cast a plethora of scantily clad, conventionally sexy models for a house party scene like this one, DRAM opts to pick more “realistic” looking actors. Hairy dad bods in speedos abound, so leave your body shame — and your trousers — at the door. As the video continues, things get spicier with the addition of kinky accoutrements like whips, masks, harnesses, and gags. Director Sam Hibbard has a lot of fun catching the partygoers making their best creep faces, but also makes the party seem entirely normal. These are just grown folks doing what grown folks do.
“Best Hugs” comes from DRAM’s recent, middle-of-night EP, That’s A Girl’s Name, which he dropped without warning a few weeks ago. At three tracks long, it’s a breezy listen that still covers a wide variety of genres, displaying DRAM’s versatility and quirky sense of humor throughout.
That’s A Girl’s Name is out now via Empire/Atlantic. Get it here.
