By Sanjum Sandhu

“I bet your mother would be proud of you, ooh,” opens Drake’s new album For All the Dogs, with the song “Virginia Beach.” The long-awaited album was released at 6 a.m., Friday, October 6, and fans have long awaited this addition to Drake’s diverse discography. Drake’s single “Slime You Out” featuring SZA was released on September 15, a week before the album’s initially announced release date of Sept. 22. The response to this song was mixed; some focused more on how Drake and Sza’s voices blended, and some concentrated on the controversial lyrics. 

As fans patiently awaited the album’s release, they were disappointed with the lack of change in his Spotify page, refreshing and praying their phones were lagging. However, the artist acknowledged the delay with the following statement: “Okay my dilemma I am faced with is either cancel shows to finish the album or I complete the mission and drop the album before the last show,” as said on his Instagram story. As reported in a Billboard article, the end of his tour, “It’s All a Blur,” was October 9, so he achieved his goals by avoiding canceling shows but still releasing the album before the last tour date. 

The album consists of 23 songs and different featured artists. Drake, Lil Yachty, and Teezo Touchdown were all named producers on this album. He had ten various featured artists on ten of the 23 songs. Still, he included samples from other songs, especially a Frank Ocean sample at the beginning of “Virginia Beach.” 

Album cover for Drake’s newest album For All the Dogs. Photo credit: Adonis Graham.

After listening to the beats and rhythms and reading over the lyrics, I enjoyed Drake’s new album. Especially lyrically, I feel Drake created a designed album that is still impressive, even though it is not my favorite. When I first listened to “First Person Shooter” featuring J. Cole, I instantly fell in love with how their verses interacted and the beats behind their melodies. Drake’s production and effort behind this album are heard through his songs. He sends messages using catchy lyrics like “She want to grab on the throttle, I wanna get back in the driver’s seat” from “Virginia Beach” and “Not the three, not the two, I’m the U-N-O” from “First Person Shooter.” He also involves strategically picked featured artists, complimenting his chosen style for a piece. 

After scrolling through social media, I saw that many people reacted positively to “IDGAF” featuring Yeat. Yeat has recently grown more popular, with songs such as “Flawlëss” and “Monëy so Big.” His beats are known to be experimental, and his flow is rigid yet catchy. Drake powerfully followed Yeat’s flow and created a harmonic song that caught many fans’ attention. Rightfully so. 

Ashwin Aggarwal (‘24) says, “Some of the songs reminded me of old Drake, and it also had Drake trying new things, like rapping to a Yeat beat.” Yeat sings my favorite lyric from the song, “I say whatever I want, yeah, I do whatever I want, huh. I’m countin’ up money for fun,” with that last phrase featuring both Drake and Yeat. I loved how playfully Drake interjects into Yeats’s verse, and their voices contrast hypnotically.  

I was not fond of Drake’s previous album, 2021’s Certified Lover Boy, because I felt it was nowhere near on par with his artistic capabilities. However, like Aggarwal, I was pleased when Drake incorporated his old style with new experimental collaborations. While Drake’s music can be categorized as rap, his older albums and many of his singles fall more into the R&B genre. I enjoy songs like “Search and Rescue,” which falls into the R&B genre and aligns with his older style. Some of Drake’s best-executed music, whether lyrically or sonically, are his R&B songs because of the duration of the song and the way he uses his voice to supplement the smooth rhythms he chooses, which are exceptionally thoroughly and thoughtfully executed. 

Album cover for Certified Lover Boy. Photo credit: Damien Hirst.

Sophie Sands (‘24) has a different perspective on this album. Sands says, “I think he’s really trying to appeal to his audience … trying to go back to his old music and old sound.” While Sands is an avid Drake fan, she thinks he should “take some time off … and just sit down and find a new sound for him.” Sands is not alone; many on Instagram agree that this album was not what they wanted from their idol. While she enjoys songs like “IDGAF,” Sands claims that even though this album was not what she expected it to be, there are “too many songs to choose from” when deciding her favorite. 

Drake’s popularity has grown with each album, and the internet loves his personality. His new album is 84 minutes and 50 seconds of well-curated music to many older fans. Though I was initially upset over the two-week delay, I am more content that Drake values the quality of the music he releases over the attempt to create trendy songs that hit the top of the charts but become painfully overplayed and distasteful over time. I can state that I like all of the songs on the album, except Sexy Redd’s verse in “Rich Baby Daddy,” which completely ruined the music and was a little annoying. SZA’s and Drake’s verses, however, paired angelically. Drake’s new album has the perfect balance between experimenting and renewing his old style, and it’s in my top five albums released this year.

Featured photo credit: Anton Mark.