Drake Welcomed to the ‘Jungle’ in Moody New Short Film

Drake ponders the price of fame and the point of life in a brooding new short film, Jungle, posted to the rapper’s website. The 14-minute clip was scored by Drake’s frequent producer Noah “40” Shebib, and features two short snippets of possible new music, the first coming around the six-minute mark, the second playing during the credits.

The film opens with Drake scrambling into a car amidst a flurry of clicking cameras, but once away from the bright lights, he’s left to look longingly out the window. “Shit’s just crazy man, the whole energy out here is just changing, you know. It’s just getting dark, man, quick,” Drake says as the car weaves up into the Hollywood Hills. He adds moments later: “I’m drinking more. I’m smoking more. We’re out here staying up so late that it’s early, like fuck. I’m not losing it though; I’m just venting. I’m not worried. It’s already too late for these guys, trust me. I’m just more worried about myself. You know? I just gotta come home.”

And, like a modern day Odysseus, return home he does. Following a montage of found footage and home movies — including precious clips of a young Drake singing with his father and rapping the Fugees’ “Ready or Not” — Drake posts up at a Toronto cafe and imagines the lives of those walking past him on the street. As the clip continues, Drake reunites with old friends, but not even their company can distract him from the craziness that consumes his life.

During a ride home, he dreams of walking through a party and coming across a woman before he’s suddenly consumed in a physical and emotional whirlwind. His buddy snaps him out of it, rapping his knuckles on the car window, and Drake is left to drive off into the night, alone.

It’s unclear if the bits of new music in Jungle will be on Drake’s next album, tentatively titled Views From the 6. While the rapper has released a few non-album singles, he has yet to officially announce the follow-up to 2013’s Nothing Was the Same. Drake does, however, have a handful of high-profile festival gigs coming up, including headlining sets at Coachella and Governors Ball.