At the beginning of the summer, Drake began his “It’s All a Blur Tour” (IAAB) with 21 Savage. Towards the beginning of his tour run, Drake announced that his eighth studio album, “For All the Dogs,” would be released midway through the tour. The album’s single “Slime You Out” debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts and the album is projected to earn a similar ranking.
Despite the many delays, “For All the Dogs” was released at 6:00 a.m. on Oct. 6, featuring 23 songs and is about 90 minutes long. Standouts on the album include “First Person Shooter” featuring J. Cole, “Rich Baby Daddy” featuring SexxyRed and SZA, and “8am in Charlotte.”
Critics of the album believe that Drake is simply too old to be producing in the new generation of rap music and that Drake was outshined by the feature artists on his tracks who are fresh faces in the music industry. Listeners expect that as Drake nears 40 years old, the lyrics and the messages of his songs should become more mature, yet he continues to take petty digs at people in his songs.
“‘For All the Dogs’ feels like it signals an end of some sort, the work of an artist with little left to say and little reason to say it,” Variety Magazine Writer Alex Swhear said.
A recent trend with Drake’s albums has been general hate from listeners for the first month or so after release, but as time goes on, the album gains major support from the audience who at first hated it. The truth of the matter is that Drake makes songs for young people. When Drake was young he made songs for young people. As he gets older he will continue to connect to his younger audience.
“I’m tired of everybody coming up to me, [saying] ‘man…we miss that old Drake man.’ [and] ‘We need that old Drake,'” Drake said during a concert in Detroit. “Imma give it to you then.”
“For All the Dogs” did exactly that. The more melodic songs like “Tried Our Best” and “Bahamas Paradise” remind one of his R&B tracks like “IDGAF” and “First Person Shooter” on his second studio album “Take Care” and “Calling For You” brings nostalgia from Drake’s “Nothing Was the Same” album.
“For All the Dogs” is projected to be Drake’s most successful album since “Certified Lover Boy” in 2021. This is the artist’s 13th Billboard No. 1 album and with its release, Drake also tied Michael Jackson’s record of 13 No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 singles for a male solo artist.
