Drake on mediocre album streak

Posted Feb. 15, 2024

By Katie Liang

Features Editor

Drake's 2023 album "For All The Dogs" attempts to battle the rapper's indefensible loverboy allegations resulting from his recent albums "Certified Lover Boy" and "Her Loss," as well as his lackluster performance that was "Honestly, Nevermind." It provides a breath of fresh air from his latest discography. However, it seems that Aubrey's projects are progressively declining in craftsmanship and lyricism.

Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor Aubrey Drake Graham released "For All The Dogs" on Oct. 6, 2023. He dropped a single from the album about a month before titled "Slime You Out" which featured American R&B singer-songwriter SZA. The intro to this track is Drake scolding women in the corniest manner possible: "I feel like y'all don't need love, you need somebody who could micromanage you, you know what I'm saying? Tell you right from wrong, who's smart from who's a fool, which utensil to use for which food, like." Without SZA's satisfying and memorable verse, "Slime You Out" would blend in with the rest of the album's undercooked tracks. Solana Imani Rowe worked overtime on this album, saving "Rich Baby Daddy" from Drake and Sexyy Red's hands. This notion can be identified again in "IDGA*'' featuring American rapper Noah Oliver Smith, widely known as Yeat. Letting a white rapper who's been in the rap scene for less than five years and made music for the Minion movie outrap you on your own track and album wasn't very "I jump on your song and make a label think they need you" of Drake. I do appreciate the juxtaposition in the beginning of "IDGA*" created by sampling Azimuth's "The Tunnel," its calm, almost sinister tone overtaken immediately by Yeat's robust hype voice a minute into the track. 

Another prop that should be given to Drake is his opening song: "Virginia Beach." The first voice heard in "For All The Dogs" belongs to American singer-songwriter Frank Ocean, and samples his unreleased track titled "Wiseman." Unfortunately, the altered high pitch of the sample takes away from its beauty and depletes the song from its potential to be even more enjoyable. However, Drake's most diabolical choice in this entire album was attempting to sing in Spanish in a track with Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny entitled "Gently." It has a slight resemblance to Kendrick Lamar's Spanish verse in ScHoolboy Q's song "Collard Greens," but infinitely less catchy and is an extremely hard listen. Drake's dry excuse for an attempt at rapping in Spanish is almost offensive, and he should've left it to Bad Bunny. If "For All The Dogs" was a group project by Drake and all his features, he deserved the lowest grade.

The record has a total of a whopping 23 tracks. If it were condensed down to only the tolerable songs, it would be a much more pleasant album. 

Prior to "Certified Lover Boy" released in 2021, Drake was producing music that engulfed the same themes of narcissism, heartbreak, and vulnerability we hear in his recent work. The difference between his older and newer records is the genuineness and likeability. In albums "Take Care (Deluxe)," "Views," and "More Life" all launched in the 2010s showcase his natural gift for songwriting as a producer. Songs like "Shot For Me," "Passionfruit," "Feel No Ways," "Jorja Interlude," and plenty more are model examples of his undeniable aptitude as an R&B artist. His sound as a musician has indubitably changed, and not for the better.