Once again, Drake has dominated the Billboard charts with the release of his highly-anticipated eighth studio album, “For All The Dogs.” Despite a month-long postponement, the album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 402,000 album-equivalent units and resulted in the fourth-largest streaming week ever with over 514 million on-demand streams.
“For All The Dogs” was released on Friday, Oct. 6, at 6 a.m., a time that references one of Drake’s most popular nicknames, “6 God.” “6” refers to his hometown of Toronto, as there were six municipalities in Metro Toronto prior to 1998. The 23-track album is filled with interesting features and hip-hop styles, but also several low points.
The album opens with two R&B tracks, “Virginia Beach” and “Amen,” the latter of which features singer Teezo Touchdown. The opening track “Virginia Beach” begins with a distorted sample from singer Frank Ocean’s unreleased 2012 track “Wiseman,” a song originally intended for the film “Django Unchained.” The production of Frank’s vocals is incredible, but Drake’s boring lyrics left me wanting more from such a strong sample. After reflecting on his musical journey in “Virginia Beach,” Drake and Teezo begin seeking forgiveness and redemption from a former lover in “Amen,” a song largely held up by Teezo’s refreshing style and versatility.
Just as the album begins to look like a completely R&B focused project, the second half of “Calling For You” introduces a grittier theme of rap with 21 Savage’s feature, and this menacing theme continues in the next songs, “Fear of Heights” and “Daylight.” “Daylight sees the album shift to a trap-rap style, narrating a violent crime that occurred “in daylight.” The track also featured Drake’s son, Adonis, making his rap debut. However, his short feature on “Daylight” sparked some controversy regarding the violence of the track Drake chose to add Adonis’ lyrics to.
The next tracks on the album were by far my favorite, beginning with a J. Cole feature on “First Person Shooter.” The song held the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and emphasized the importance of the collaboration as being “big as the Super Bowl.” A month after the release of this track, Drake announced tour dates for 22 U.S. shows featuring J. Cole, under the title “It’s All A Blur Tour – Big As The What?”
“IDGAF” (feat. Yeat) and “7969 Santa” are both unique tracks, but they suffer from the featured artists outperforming Drake. In “IDGAF,” Drake’s vocals just sound goofy, and it’s obvious that he’s trying to copy Yeat’s flow. Despite this, the song has found huge success, reaching the second spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Slime You Out” (feat. SZA), “Bahamas Promises,” “Tried Our Best,” “Drew A Picasso,” and “Members Only” (feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR) return the album to an R&B style and show us Drake’s musical roots. “Slime You Out” demonstrates R&B Drake in his purest form, singing behind-the-beat with strong lyrics. “Bahamas Promises” also satisfies his traditional style of reflecting on a past relationship. On “Members Only,” PARTYNEXTDOOR takes the spotlight and makes Drake feel like the featured artist.
“8am in Charlotte” is one of the most positively received tracks on the album, and Conductor Williams’ phenomenal production greatly contributes to this. Drake’s introspective lines reflect upon a reorientation of his priorities and allude to the pressure he feels as a successful artist.
“Gently” (feat. Bad Bunny) and “Rich Baby Daddy” (feat. Sexyy Red & SZA) employ very different styles from the rest of the album, but they’re both lackluster and feel out of place. “Gently” ends just as the beat begins to pick up, and “Rich Baby Daddy” is a terrible display of lyricism with a repetitive and boring hook. SZA is the only redeeming factor of “Rich Baby Daddy,” once again showing her incredible vocal abilities.
Drake and Lil Yachty deliver incredible melancholic bars while exploring an interesting lyrical theme in “Another Late Night.” The song once again delivers on the friendship between Drake and Yachty, and its catchy rhythm makes it one of my favorites.
As the penultimate track on a long album, “Away From Home” gives listeners a sleepy R&B cut with relatable lines and references. Drake also leans into his Toronto accent in this track, giving it a sense of nostalgia. Although “Away From Home” sits late in the album, it prevailed as a personal favorite.
After listening to 22 tracks, the majority being R&B-based, a slow, late-night R&B jam is the perfect ending to the album. “Polar Opposites” delivers, giving listeners a mellow beat with Drake nearly speaking his lyrics onto it. It’s a woozy but peaceful ending to such a long project.
“For All The Dogs” is full of introspective R&B tracks that showcase Drake’s ability to relate to listeners. Some of these tracks feel like a nostalgic return to an older Drake style, but other tracks see featured artists frequently outperforming him. Overall, the majority of the album is a smooth, enjoyable listen, despite other artists occasionally having to carry Drake through it.
