Drake received backlash when For All The Dogs dropped in early October. One of his strategies was to rely on the receipts he’s kept of people initially hating his now-beloved 2011 album, Take Care. His For All The Dogs track “First Person Shooter,” featuring J. Cole, gave him a new receipt to deploy upon hates, as it became his 13th-career No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — tying him with Michael Jackson for the most-ever Hot 100 No. 1s by a male solo artist. Drake flexed on that fact in the newly dropped video for “First Person Shooter,” directed by Gibson Hazard.
The last minute of the five-minute masterpiece finds Drake on the roof of what is later revealed to be “October’s Very Own Arena,” which is Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena temporary rebranded name for Drake’s hometown It’s All A Blur Tour shows. He does Jackson’s signature spin move to correspond with his “Beat It” reference as he raps, “N****s talkin’ ’bout when this gon’ be repeated / What the f*ck, bro? I’m one away from Michael / N***a, beat it, n***a, beat it, what?”
Drake does Michael Jackson’s signature dance move in the “First Person Shooter” music video. https://t.co/CmQywZndCG
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 15, 2023
As pointed out by Camilla Ruud on X (formerly known as Twitter), Drake also had the floor light up below him, à la Jackson’s video for “Billie Jean.” After Drake completes his spin, he’s wearing an MJ glove and jacket.
Drake copied Michael Jackson’s HIStory teaser in his latest music video ft J Cole . Plus had the floor light up like in Billie Jean. He is also wearing the glove and the jacket, and tries to dance like MJ. https://t.co/N9UmQ1MUGl
— Camilla Mæle Ruud
(@CamillaMR2) November 15, 2023
As pointed out above, the song in which he rapped about being “one away from Michael” ironically became the one that tied him with Michael. The hook of “First Person Shooter” also spawned the title of Drake and J. Cole’s newly announced joint 2024 tour, It’s All A Blur Tour — Big As The What?
Watch Drake and Cole in their “First Person Shooter” video above, and see their upcoming tour dates below.
01/18/2024 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena +
01/19/2024 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
01/22/2024 — San Antonio, TX @ Frost Bank Center
01/25/2024 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Paycom Center
01/29/2024 — New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center +
01/30/2024 — New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
02/02/2024 — Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
02/07/2024 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena +
02/08/2024 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena +
02/12/2024 — St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
02/16/2024 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
02/20/2024 — Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center +
02/21/2024 — Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
02/24/2024 — Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
02/27/2024 — Buffalo, NY @ KeyBank Center
03/02/2024 — Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center
03/05/2024 — Memphis, TN @ FedExForum
03/10/2024 — Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena
03/14/2024 — Belmont Park, NY @ UBS Arena ~
03/18/2024 — State College, PA @ Bryce Jordan Center ~
03/23/2024 — Sunrise, FL @ Amerant Bank Arena ~
03/27/2024 — Birmingham, AL @ The Legacy Arena at BJCC ~
+ Rescheduled dates
~ Without J. Cole