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Roc Nation’s Rita Ora Debuts Drake-Penned ‘R.I.P.’ Video

Rita Ora

Just your typical video for a Kosovo-born British chart-topper performing a song written by Drake with a guest verse from another proud owner of a U.K. No. 1 single. Rita Ora scored her chart victory in late February with DJ Fresh’s “Hot Right Now,” an over-the-top hi-NRG dance single centered around frenzied drum-and-bass breakbeats and “throw your hands up” robot choruses. Ora’s first solo video selection, Drake-penned “R.I.P.” (via Rap-Up), declares the old her dead and starts intriguingly anew.

As the England-based, Albanian-descended singer preps for her May-June opening slot on Coldplay’s European tour, “R.I.P.” makes it amply clear why she would be a good match for the Rihanna-collaborating British softies. The patiently spaced, simple yet distinctive seduction lyrics and lilting, RiRi-like melody have songwriter Aubrey Drake Graham’s signature all over them. But the brash, brightly colored Eurodance pulse here could hardly be further from Noah “40” Shebib’s hermetic after-hours darkness on Take Care. A verse from Tinie Tempah, the British rapper behind last year’s summer hit “Written in the Stars,” only adds to the celebratory energy, but his “yeahs” stay just on the right side of “Hot Right Now” goofiness.

“Tonight is your night,” Ora sings, which should make an auspicious kickoff to European fans’ Coldplay concert experiences. The relatively unexceptional video shows Ora donning various beanies, cavorting against walls and sports cars in hip-hop glamorous attire. For his part, Tempah gets to keep his leather jacket and shades on indoors. Ora’s debut for Jay-Z’s Roc Nation is expected this summer, with a list of collaborators said to include Stargate, The-Dream, will.i.am., and J. Cole; a suitable title for her next single, then, might be “OMG.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=L1l9WST5lXM%3Ffeature%3Dplayer_embedded