The long-awaited is finally here. Drake started teasing his album in January when on tour with 21 Savage. He officially announced releasing it on September 22 but had to postpone it. I was so excited about this album that I listened to it right when it dropped in the middle of class.
Album Overview
Drake’s 8th studio album, For All the Dogs, dropped on October 6 and consists of 23 songs, in total, lasting 1 hour and 24 minutes.
This is the Canadian rapper’s first solo rap album since Certified Lover Boy in 2021 (not counting Honestly, Nevermind).
Featured Artists
The album has many significant features and samples, including Frank Ocean, J. Cole, 21 Savage, Bad Bunny, SZA, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Teezo Touchdown, and his 6-year-old son Adonis. Despite being one of his most anticipated albums, the reviews are mixed.
As soon as I heard Frank Ocean’s voice on ‘Virginia Beach’ I freaked. The last time Frank released music was in 2016, and he hasn’t performed since 2017, other than last year’s Coachella Festival.
Tracklist Review and Ranking
Throughout the album, we can see Drake’s versatility, which makes him who he is. This album showed that it is aimed at different audiences because of the many styles, melodies, beat switches, and good vocals. However, this made the songs feel somewhat out of place and non-cohesive. It was also a very long album with 23 songs.
Here is my ranking of the whole album:
- Virginia Beach
- First Person Shooter ft JCole
- Bahamas Promises
- IDGAF ft Yeat
- 8am in Charlotte
- Gently ft Bad Bunny
- Daylight
- Fear of Heights
- Calling for You ft 21 Savage
- BBL Love Interlude
- Rich Baby Daddy ft SZA and Sexyy Red
- 7969 Santa
- All the Parties ft Chief Keef
- Away From Home
- Members Only ft PND
- Tried Your Best
- Slime You Out ft SZA
- What Would Pluto Do
- Polar Opposites
- Drew a Picasso
- Amen ft Teezo Touchdown
- Screw The World Interlude
- Another Late Night ft Lil Yachty
I ranked these songs based on likeability. My favorite song was definitely ‘Virginia Beach,’ the intro was just perfect. My least favorite song was ‘Another Late Night’ featuring Lil Yachty because of the repetitive lyrics and beat. However, I loved that the album was similar to his older work, but he also gave some of his new sides.
The features and samples were decent, the most notable being J. Cole and Frank Ocean.
Music Diversity and Versatility
Because this album had so much hype, fans would inevitably be “disappointed.” Many have said they want the “old” Drake back, but when he makes the same music, people get upset and say he produces the same beats and lyrics.
Public Expectations and Personal Appreciation
I am a big Drake fan; there is no doubt of that! So, this review could be very biased. I like all of his work because he has a very versatile style. However, I can say that For All the Dogs is not ‘Album of the Year’ worthy (hot-take, but Utopia, Travis Scott’s most recent student album, could be). It may as well become a forgettable album and won’t reach the level of Scorpion (2018) or even Certified Lover Boy (2021).
Though All the Dogs was an overall good album, I enjoyed it, but I can understand why others did not. However, everyone needs to give this album more time because this tends to be fans’ and non-fans’ reactions whenever Drake drops a new studio album. So, I encourage everyone to try and listen to this album with a fresh perspective, appreciating Drake’s impressive versatility and talent.
Cover image courtesy of The Ringers.
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