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In a world where social media can make dreams come true, Cole Bennett, the founder of Lyrical Lemonade, is a testament to this fact. His journey from tweeting about his dream of directing a Drake video to actually achieving it is nothing short of inspiring. With a series of near-misses and last-minute changes, the story behind the creation of the “Another Late Night” video is as compelling as the video itself.
It all began in 2020 when Bennett put out into the universe his desire to direct a music video for Drake, the renowned rapper known across the globe.
“The Drake thing was intriguing as there were numerous instances where we were on the brink,” Bennett reminisced.
To his surprise, Drake responded to his tweet shortly after, marking the first step towards the fulfillment of his aspiration. They discussed the possibility of working together, an exciting prospect for the young director.
The path to achieving his dream was not a smooth one. Despite Drake mentioning he had a song for Bennett, the song never materialized. The director was even set to shoot for Drake’s track “Search & Rescue,” but for undisclosed reasons, the plan fell through.
However, destiny had other plans. The opportunity to collaborate finally arrived with the song “Another Late Night” from the album For All the Dogs. The track featuring Bennett’s regular collaborator Lil Yachty proved to be the turning point.
Working with Drake was an experience that Bennett cherishes. He describes the rapper as one of the most personable artists he has worked with.
“He’s a joy to work with. He feels like he’s your friend. I think everyone feels like that. Even on the internet, they feel like they can relate to Drake in some sense—like, he just feels like that guy they can hang out with. And that’s how he is. He’s super personable and it was an honor to work with him. I hope that we can do more,” he said.
The creation of the video was a whirlwind of last-minute decisions. With Drake’s packed schedule, deciding on the song and shooting location were done just hours before the actual shoot in his hotel room.
The presence of Lil Yachty in the city on the day of the shoot was serendipitous. The decision to shoot for “Another Late Night” was almost a no-brainer given the mutual friendship with Yachty.
“We were just going through songs, but a lot of them were like, ‘OK, let’s shoot half of this and then finish it here.'”
One of the most captivating elements of the video was the car featured, adorned with Christmas lights. The car was specifically requested by Drake and was flown out in a cargo plane to Vancouver for the shoot.
Another highlight was the animation of Yachty’s chain, which Bennett decided to incorporate on the spot.
“As soon as I saw the chain on set, I knew we needed to turn it into something.”
Despite the challenges, Bennett looks back at the experience with fondness and hopes for more collaborations with Drake in the future. The journey from a tweet to directing a video for one of the world’s biggest artists is a testament to the power of dreams and the possibilities that social media can unlock.
In a Complex interview, Bennett shared this incredible journey, providing a glimpse into the hectic and unpredictable world of music video production.
“It was a crazy feeling. I mean, he’s the biggest artist in the world, and he is also an incredible human being,” said Bennett.
With this experience under his belt, there’s no telling where Cole Bennett will go next in his journey as a music video director. His story serves as an inspiration for young creatives to dream big and never hesitate to put their aspirations out into the universe.
