START AT THE END

In April 2020 Drake slid into the DMs of Toosie

He wanted help on a song

But he didn’t want lyrics or beats

He wanted the dance

Because Drake had realised something

That his fans listened with their eyes before their ears

Discovering new music on Tik Tok

And then going on to stream it elsewhere

So he started with the dance and went backwards

Crafting the song specifically for the medium

This is the smartest thing about Drake

He writes his work for how people listen and discover it

He understands his audience better than anyone

4.5 million TikToks have been made using the Toosie Slide

And these have been viewed almost 7 billion times

That’s marketing

Starting at the beginning always seems like the best place to start

But when you start at the end and work backwards

The start can become a lot more interesting