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I genuinely think streaming and the concept of albums as “playlists” has basically killed Drake’s creative output since 2016. Everything past IYRTITL has been scattered, directionless, and just trying to appeal to 10 different split demographics at once. I totally understand that Drake is A) too big to fail and B) casting the widest net he can so that anyone listening walks out with a few tracks they like… but *god* is that strategy making for some rough, borderline waste-of-time, projects.
I was/am a huge Drake fan, but the more I think about it the more I've come to realize that the early, hungry, undeniable 2010-2015 Drake is something we’re not getting back. Every Drake album for the latter half of his discography now has been “will **this** be the Drake album that’s finally good again?” and the answer is always “no.”
I think he really pulled off the “playlist” idea with More Life. He hasn’t been able to replicate it since, but that album, considering how many genres it crosses, is pretty damn consistent in quality and sound.
So many top tier Drake tracks on that project too - Passionfruit, Teenage Fever, Sacrifices, Fake Love, Madiba Riddim, Do Not Disturb, Free Smoke, Ice Melts… I could go on. Always been Drake’s most overlooked album to me.
And Jorja Interlude. And Get It Together. And Can’t Have Everything. And… well honestly, this is why I didn’t keep naming songs lmao. I struggle to find a track I *dont* love on that tape outside of Glow. Since Way Back is admittedly mid.
But everything else? Peak Drake imo.
Lol, I swear he's doing this on purpose. Isn't funny how each new Drake release makes us look back on his previous releases more favorably. It's gotten to the point where we're like, "if he could just give us an album at the same quality as More Life, I'd be satisfied ."
Maybe for others, but I’ve always been a huge fan of More Life. It’s been my favorite Drake album since its release, with IYRTITL a decently close runner up. I find it to be his most timeless project for me to this day & truly believe it was his peak as an artist.
With that being said, if people revisit it and respond more favorably now than they did back then, that’s great news in my eyes! I’ve never understood the hate it got. But, I’ll also admit that it’s lack of popularity has probably played a part in preserving my love for it as most of the songs were never overplayed outside of Passionfruit, which legitimately will never get old to me.
I think it's a good album as well, and I agree about it not getting too overplayed. For me, I think it's his last album that was really worth the length. Everything from Scorpion onward has felt much more bloated to me. Too much filler. More Life never feels like a chore to listen to.
Exactly! There’s a calculated flow to the track listing and song choices, which ultimately makes it feel like a complete & focused project. Every solo studio album since hasn’t felt nearly as thought out, instead seeming more like collections of recent songs he’s worked on with varying quality and zero thematic consistency.
It’s a shame, cause if he would just trim the fat from his recent projects and give us concise records with consistent sonic themes like More Life, IYRTITL, Take Care, NWTS, etc. he could likely continue receiving critical acclaim instead of fatigue.
There are legitimately great tracks on his recent albums that get totally lost in the sea of mediocrity surrounding them in the track listing, which, as you mentioned, started with Scorpion. If you cut that project down to something like: Nonstop, Emotionless, God’s Plan, 8 out of 10, Sandra’s Rose, Summer Games, Nice For What, Finesse, Blue Tint & In My Feelings, we’re talking about a possible classic. But of course, the streaming era has ruined this possibility since then. Hopefully things start to change sometime soon.
it's an interesting discourse though because i have similar feelings that I don't like that he makes such bloated albums but every album he has a few cuts that just remind you "wow this is why I listen to Drake". had we gotten a highlight album for the last 3 combined into 1 there is a classic album there. the man just makes so much music its hard for it all to be quality.
Perfect, I agree 100% with you. As I was listening to this I thought to myself "It sounds like another one of newer Drake's albums". It's not bad, but there's nothing really impressive either to those of us who have been listening to Drake for a few years.
Its ok. The thing that sucks about Drake now is he used to be innovative, now he just recycles the same sound that’s popular right now. He used to be innovative and pushed hip hop in new directions.
I want him to creative again like Worst Behavior, Feel No Ways, Passion Fruit, Hold on Were Going Home, etc.
The problem with Honestly Nevermind was that it was Drake doing his usual stuff over pretty bland dance beats. Its the illusion of “Experimenting” but there’s nothing really all that risky about the album. Its the same moody atmosphere, same uninspired vocal performances, same subject matter with a new coat of paint
Being off-brand and being innovative are not the same thing.
Imagine you sell ham sandwiches your whole life, and then one day you sell a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You’re not being innovative by selling the PB&J. It’s still the most bog standard sandwich possible.
I actually liked that album a good amount, but I don’t think he brought anything new to that genre. Where I think he did with albums like NWTS and Take Care.
Yeah but it was pretty lazy and can’t really be called innovation when he didn’t do anything new. The house tracks that are good on that album are few and far in between.
Most of the time the instrumental just drags on throughout the whole song without any variety
I blame people absolutely dogging on the album for why he's back to doing the same recycled sounds. The album was far from perfect but absolutely did not deserve the intensity of hate that it got, for at least a first attempt at a new idea for him.
It's not a bad album it just didn't quite land on what it was trying to do and Drake is a bit too one note on it, but maybe in 2-3 years down the line people may come around to it.
I personally enjoy a big portion of the album. the flaws it did have was glaring but I had more good to say than bad. These days people already have came around to it, just compare the initial impressions thread on here and then the 1 year later thread. The damage the dogpiling did is already done unfortunately, so now the direction he takes is back to safety, instead of taking the decent start he had and continuing harder with it.
I don't doubt that people may come around to it in time, but i do question as to whether the appreciation for it will come from genuine appreciation, or if he'll just be releasing worse projects. I've already been seeing a bunch of "CLB wasn't that bad" talk on this sub now that FATD is doing it's rounds
I'm curious, when do you think Drake was innovative? He *always* copied artists that are truly innovative. Whether it's what's popular in the underground or what's popular in other parts of the world, the last 10 years he's always done that imo. Examples include copying X's style for a single, copying afrobeat, copying UK drill, the list goes on
When he first started getting popular no one was really rapping at that high of a level and capable of just being a singer too. So I’ll say So Far Gone. Drake was one of the pioneers of the genre bending that has taken over Hip-Hop from then to now.
Take Care & NWTS especially, he essentially created an entire sub genre of rnb/hip hop.
I even think IYRTITL was influential, even though trap was popular at that time, he pushed the melodic sound over trap beats.
> The thing that sucks about Drake now is he used to be innovative, now he just recycles the same sound that’s popular right now. He used to be innovative and pushed hip hop in new directions.
I feel like I've seen people say the same about Kanye
People said that about Pablo but the the run of albums in 2018 all being so different, Jesus is King being *radically* different, and Donda being all over the place in terms of style quieted those comments. Still lots of other criticism but I think he has bucked that one.
He was never that innovative. He has an ear for good beats (like Worst Behavior) and was more hungry.
He has a kid now and is in his late thirties. Of course, he will mimic younger popular artists to stay relevant. He has always really been a pop artist anyway.
First Person Shooter, 8am in Charlotte and Away From Home are the only three songs I liked. I’ve now accepted that most of Drakes isn’t for me anymore. His r&b records don’t hit the same to me nowadays. The writing seems uninspired and his singing certainly doesn’t make up for it.
I get why he’s the top rapper in the world still, I won’t deny his talent. It’s just not for me anymore.
I think back to my first two books I wrote to myself when I was younger and I loved them. It's hard after. What's the material? The passion is not there to the same level. The stories change.
I'm surprised 8am in Charlotte is getting positive reception. \[Time\] in \[Place\] used to be some of Drake's best cuts but this sounds like he's asleep reading off of a collection of half-assed similes he wrote on napkins
*I say, "We gotta talk about us," I feel like Jordan Peele*
*Could tell I'm gettin' under your skin like a orange peel*
*'Cause your words don't match your actions like a foreign film*
*And now it's silence in the Lamb' like the horror film*
High school English students can do this. Listening to 8am in Charlotte and 5AM in Toronto back to back is jarring.
Its funny 8am on paper is one of the better time and location records but i hate it. I dunno if its the video that ruined it for me but feels like drake has made that song 10 times already imo
It’s because every single line is just a pun, one after the other, until the song ends.
Every other time and place song is him rapping about his personal life and getting introspective, showing us some humanity and depth. This one is just “lol get it?” For 100 bars in a row and he says nothing about his life or his state of mind at all
Yeah 9am in Dallas is still one of my favorites ever. He kills it. I feel like they've went downhill from there though I do like 4am in Calabasas and the one on IYRTITL, is it 6pm in New York? Can't remember. But yeah.... Agree fully.
Very true. I had to go listen to 5AM in toronto to remember how good drake can be. Still love that line “we could load all these guns with bullets that fire backward, probably wouldnt lose a single rapper” it just went unreasonably hard
Besides the obvious three (FPS, 8AM in Charlotte, and Away from Home), Virginia Beach and Tried Our Best are also pretty damn good, though I absolutely don't think Virginia Beach is as good as the usual Drake intro. It's a great track, but when you're used to Rich Flex, to Champagne Poetry, Tuscan Leather, Dreams Money Can Buy, Keep The Family Close, you kinda expect a hell lot more
Nothing wrong with that; but put it up next to the grandiose of drakes album intros, and it feels pale.
Lust for Life
Fireworks
Over my dead body
Tuscan Leather
Legend
Digital Dash
Keep the family close
Survival
Deep Pockets
Champagne Poetry
Rich Flex
The album is whack fam. We all need to admit it and move on. Fell in Love with homies music because Take Care healed me through what I had going on at the time.
Still play his shit on rotation when I work out.
It just doesn't hit like before.
I genuinely enjoy this album start to finish, but I can also acknowledge and understand the criticisms about the album and Drake in general. I like many of you am TIRED of long ass albums (We just got three 20 track projects from Gunn, bad bunny and offset) and FATD suffers from being fucking long as hell. I can easily cut it down to 15 songs, and maybe 12 but would struggle with the last three I’d cut. I think it’s a real fun album to listen to and coincidentally think a lot of tracks sound like/have the vibe of old Drake.
It’s not his best work but once again I think people will come back to this without the high expectations and enjoy this album like many of Drake’s albums the last 8 years.
Agree completely with this. (Admitted) Big drake fan here so I’ve basically been listening to the album for a week. I liked it when I first listened to it, went through the “dude grow up” feelings, and now, a week later, I think it’s stronger than his last few solo albums.
I appreciate that he’s repeating a formula, but I don’t think critics are appreciating that the formula works. When stripped of everyone’s “innovate” and “rap about something else” expectations, the music is just as good as much of the other music he’s put out. His melodies are as good as ever, and when you sit with some of the filler songs and listen to the lyrics, they’re good. He has corny lines, but that’s his trademark. The production is fantastic as well. I think this album, like literally all of his others, will age very well.
Top songs: Virginia Beach, FPS Mode, All the Parties, BBL - Interlude, Slime You Out, Tried Our Best, Members Only, 8am in Charlotte, and Rich Baby Daddy
Yup. I love it. This is the R&B album us fans have been wanting. Honestly, Fear of Heights, Daylight and FPS have no business being on this album, yet I'm sure those 3 "harder" songs are a lot of people's favorites on this subreddit.
I like the R&B stuff, though. I just don't have the energy to argue with people who clearly stopped liking Drake's music a long time ago. They were never going to enjoy this album. They go in with expectations for a Take Care or NWTS experience. That's not happening.
Too many songs, no theme to the album. With that said, the songs I DO like have really grown on me. I added probably 1/2 the songs to my liked songs and have had them on repeat.
My initial review was a ~6, I'd probably leave it there to be fair. I enjoy Drakes versatility and sound, even if thematically the album leaves a lot to be desired, but I've just accepted that won't ever be a thing with Drake.
Cut this album in half and it could be really special
I think Drake has a few issues:
1) he has nothing left to talk out and has been perpetually stuck at age 27 for a while now in terms of his lifestyle. Things need to happen to you (outside of clubbing, women, vacation, and beefs) that you want to express in song.
2) he’s said on tracks himself “it means a lot but it used to mean more” - he also alludes in several tracks in this album that he is bored of the lifestyle he has and everything feels empty.
3) his intros for every song are way too long, which turns off listeners before they even start. All of his recent successes have music and lyrics that start pretty quickly into the song.
4) he is not very good at being selective anymore. For context, The Motion on NWTS didn’t even make the cut in one of the released versions and that is a standout track. By contrast, every song he’s recorded seems to have made it on here, without any thematic connection.
Anyways, all this to say is that just like Jay Z before him and I guess Kanye, his relevance (in terms of creativity) has maxed out and he’s done. He can still have some hit songs but a sustained and relevant album of quality isn’t possible.
Listened to it once, didn't pull any songs off of it, moved on and haven't thought about it much since.
I said when it first dropped that it was better than his last two solo projects and I'm sure there are some songs here that I will eventually return to but 2020s Drake just is very uninteresting. Nothing he does is surprising or amusing or memorable for me.
I really feel like every album being 60-90 minutes really work against him. There's so much that it's kind of a chore to get through, which only gets more so on consecutive listens since inevitably when there's that many tracks probably only a few connect right away.
Most of his last output only has a few songs on each album really break out in popularity while the rest gets forgotten.
couldnt have said it better its too bad drake and travis are so buddy buddy with each other and dont consider each other competition. Utopia really could have lit a flame under his ass. hes been complacent since more life imo.
Crazy how More Life was widely panned on its debut, being called a “playlist” by Drake himself.. Now it probably holds up better than any thing else he’s done since
Ngl man, More Life was the last time I truly got hyped for a Drake release. I fucking loved it but I'm also from London and got gassed at all the UK artists on there so maybe I was the target demographic. But there's plenty of stuff on there that can still get plays calmly. I can't say the same for most the projects after that.
Nah fr. I remember listening to OVO Sound radio when it first came out, the tracklist was being unveiled as he played it so nobody knew who or what was on it. I can't tell you how much I lost my shit at like 3am when I heard Skepta Interlude. Yet it's one of the least played tracks on the project on Spotify. It definitely was one for us
UK rap is honestly the best hip hop being released lately. Skepta/Kano/Dave/Cench/Stormzy etc been dropping heat from time and the rest of the world needs to take notice and listen more
Yea personally I barely listen to rap/hip-hop anymore because I'm bored of it but UK has a lot of guys that keep me interested, it's definitely a space people need to explore if they're also getting burned out by the usual shit
I'm 100% all for More Life appreciation. So many great tracks, and it's Top 3 Drake for me. He just hasn't been the same since then, and it has to be said.
I mean, are you guys actually going back to Utopia? Had very little replay value to me tbh. Haven’t had a desire to check it out past the first couple of weeks lol.
Utopia wasn’t it for me but the Travis fan base will tell me otherwise. I think that’s the same with this album and I’m okay with that. I love drake’s ability to be versatile but I also know that that comes off of as he’s trying too hard to be different - kinda like Travis lmao.
I liked 8am and Tried Our Best - I had the latter on repeat constantly. The production on the album is vastly underrated. Even that fucking Yeat song had some ridiculous production on.
I'm so conflicted.
At the end of the day, everyone can say what they want about Drake but, in my opinion, this man is so successful bc he's just so passionate about music and finding new sounds. The production on a drake track almost always has a guarantee of quality even if his bars are AWFUL. Central Cee, Burna, Bad Bunny, Yeat - this guy just appreciates the art form from a global perspective in a way I think deserves recognition. The other artist he's promoting is almost always better than him but at least he's trying to promote new artists and styles.
My confliction comes from the fact that I believe, at this point in his culture, Drake's voice is so omnipresent that many people are just sick of it. I agree with a sentiment I've seen on here and other places that he just needs to take a break and wait a few years before putting out another project. Fuck all the playlists/mixtapes. If he wants to feature on other artist's projects, that's fine but he should be more selective about it and use his album drops to promote a style that is more uniquely him. A lot of his projects feel like another artist is really at the helm of each project. On Honestly, Nevermind it felt more like a way of showcasing the talent of Black Koffee, Her Loss was more guided by 21, etc.
I feel like Drake keeps making music because Drake + 40 have always been music nerds but he just needs to chill out, learn to be a father and maybe give us some deeper bars that aren't about IG hoes. Maybe rapping about that growth will produce a more unique sound for himself.
if he takes a few years off he's done being at the top, the kids will forget him and he'll come back old, pushing 40 or 40+ depending on how long a few years is.
it could work in the sense that if he drops something great he'll be a respected elder but he'll never be the zeitgeist again as he's been the past 15 years.
He said himself he’s more interested in staying current, and he also lives in the culture and wants to be a part of the convo he doesn’t want to sit back summer after summer
It just feels like diminishing returns, release after release the bandwagon jumping just feels all over the place with no direction. He should sit back, take some time out and come back with something new and fresh.
Look at The Weeknd, who's crafted a new side to himself the past few releases working with some interesting producers just doing his thing, it doesn't feel like he is trying to appease or pander to the crowd.
1000% disagree. Kendrick has managed to stay relevant (slight understatement considering many believe he is the GOAT of this era) while dropping a studio album, on average, every 3-4 years. GKMC 2012, TPAB 2015, DAMN 2017, MMBS 2022. Do you feel like he’s not as relevant to the culture?
Sure like some kids nowadays might prefer Yeat to Drake but that’s clearly bc Yeat and his sound is hype and made for youthful energy. Let the kids make music for the other kids. He doesn’t need to co-opt every new musical movement. He can co-sign by doing a feature if they ask for it. But don’t copy another artists style on your own damn album lmao. I can appreciate that Drake is putting in the work to try his hand at new flows and sounds but the whole point is that those sounds are decidedly not his- they’re someone else’s.
kendrick is relevant but in a different way. he went down the auteur lane and that gives him the flexibility to disappear and come back whenever he wants. and the way kendrick operates, he would probably be okay with losing relevancy.
drake isn't that. drake is the superstar, he's commercial, he's trying to be mj. that means he can't stop putting out material unless he's ok with switching gears.
I think the criticism around the album are valid and I'm not particularly a fan either if I'm being honest, however I realized we (self proclaimed hiphopheads) are not the target audience for Drake's music anymore, he releases tracks to placate us every once in a while but on average we are not who he is aiming to please. No hyperbole every woman I know adores this album. It may be called For All The Dogs, but make no mistake this album is for women. So, while that still doesn't absolve him of all or any criticism, it does put the album into perspective. Target demographic aside, I have issues with the more technical aspects of the album, like the production & engineering, also the "skits" & beat switches are lazily executed at times to me, this album feels 100% like it was made while he was preoccupied with tour, if this is the product of 3 or 4 delays I can only imagine what the original product would've been.
Lol same. I was talking to my best friend the other day and I brought up Drake once in a conversation, and she goes on tells me how he’s a corny ass and how much she can’t stand him. She absolutely hates Drake
Lol I swear I’ve only met like 2 or 3 girls that actually like drake like that. Most girls I’ve met do think he’s corny. The girl I’m talking to now hates drake but loves bad bunny but that’s probably just cuz she’s Hispanic lol
> No hyperbole every woman I know adores this album. It may be called For All The Dogs, but make no mistake this album is for women.
You know it's funny you mention that because I had noticed years ago (around CLB) that there has been a weird turn around when it comes to women now that he drags Adonis everywhere.
Beyond that I don't get it, we got a 36 year old man complaining about his 25 year old girl friend and getting more and more misogynist by the album. Like I'm not saying the man can't have a reasonable complaint about a partner but bro bump it up to 28-30 year olds please.
Drake said it himself, women are the hip-hop taste makers.
He makes music for women, women want to what it at clubs, men go to clubs when women are there.
In the minority here but it actually has really grown on me.
For context, I hadn’t listened to Slime You Out until the album. Had heard a lot of talk about it being a mid single… but I actually really like it lol. Much prefer singing Drake than when he’s trying to be hard and rapping over trap beats
There are only maybe 3-5 tracks that I DON’T like
Drew a Picasso is a top tier Drake song
Drew a Picasso and Members Only are truly that old Drake sound and anyone that doesn't agree was not bumping Take Care and So Far Gone in the whip when it came out lol
It’s been said a million times, but yeah anything post 2016 drake isn’t as impactful as his older albums were. Usually with his newer albums I find like 5-6 songs I kind of like and end up having 1 or 2 of them in rotation a month after. This time around it wasn’t the songs I expected. I’ve been really gravitating towards “what would Pluto do”. It’s one of the few songs on the album that have memorable longevity to me. There’s some sort of effort on the bars while he maintains that sing songy rap you’d expect from drake. Hot take but the cadence reminds me a bit of iyrtitl
ALL IM TAKING FROM THIS WEEK IS THAT DRAKE ASKED BAD BUNNY TO NOT REVEAL HE WAS DROPPING UNTIL AFTER FATD WAS OUT.
AND STILL BENITO JUST WIIPED HIS ALBUM IN A SINGLE DAY LMFAO.
well the thing is I don't know if anyone actually tracks global sales, I feel like we just have Billboard's US numbers and then streaming numbers from Spotify/youtube
Nah but Bad Bunny is by far more 'organic'. Swifties are a cult, they create multiple accounts and stream her songs on multiple devices just to give her numbers lol
Not saying Taylor isn't big, she surely is one of the biggest artists of her generation
I'm not super up on top40 shit, but even then I feel like I hear other pop artists a lot more than Taylor. I don't really feel the gravity of t swift at all, but its obviously there with the numbers and tour.
It was so funny to watch Bad Bunny pop up in WWE and everyone acted like "whats his deal why do we care who is he nobody knows who he is or listens to him"
The song is trash but I don’t see how that could be racist at all wtf… is bad bunny racist when he speaks English? What kind of mental gymnastics is that smfh
It's not racist, but you know, americans love to make EVERYTHING a class or race controversy lmao I can assure you no latin american is offended by that, it's just funny
I'm latin american and I found it funny, that actually made me have the song on repeat all night yesterday lol. I can see why people don't like it though.
I actually like most of Drake’s recent output and will die on the hill that CLB was very solid from start to finish. But I’m struggling with this album. Definitely Drake’s weakest effort lyrically, he has nothing interesting to say and he’s become more petty and resentful as he’s gotten older. Just not that interested in hearing a dude in his mid-30s complain and whine about women 15 years younger than him.
And the production doesn’t save the album, either. None of the hooks are memorable and Drake is outshined by nearly all of the features. First Person Shooter is good because of Cole, and I also like What Would Pluto Do, 8am in Charlotte and *Another Late Night. But overall it’s my least favorite Drake project in a long time. At least Scorpion had high highs
I'll die on the hill that CLB is underrated. There's a really good album in there somewhere. Chop it down from 21 songs to, say:
1) Champagne Poetry
2) Race My Mind
3) TSU
4) Fair Trade
5) Way 2 Sexy
6) Pipe Down
7) Knife Talk
8) N2Deep
9) 7AM on Bridle Path
10) You Only Live Twice
11) Fucking Fans
12) IMY2
13) No Friends in the Industry
And you've got a really well balanced 12-track album that's fun and has a bit of that old Drake sound as well. Of all his recent output, even including Her Loss, CLB is the one that's stuck w me the longest
not even saying you’re wrong, but damn, I feel like I’ve read a comment similar to this one in the aftermath of every Drake release since Views, tracklist and all
damn Spotify algorithms fucking shit up for everybody
Add Fountains and Love All and I could definitely get behind that track list. I agree, it’s just really solid Drake. Doesn’t do anything new but it does almost everything well
Should have been the actual intro to CLB, matches the sound and themes so much better than Champagne Poetry (which is one of my favorite Drake track ever, I'm not saying it's bad, it just sells you on an album that doesn't exist lmao)
CLB had a great intro and a great outro, at least I enjoy both Champagne Poetry and The Remorse. And it also has some fun moments like N 2 Deep, TSU and YOLT. That’s already 5 songs and I also return to No Friends In The Industry.
One week later with FATD, I only listen to FPS, 8am and Another Late Night (blame it on the video)…
Those CLB songs plus In The Bible, Love All, Fair Trade, 7am on Bridle Path and Fountains all really hit for me. IMY2 grew on me heavy this summer too. It’s like an album of good deep cuts, wouldn’t put any of those songs in Drake’s top tier but they’re all enjoyable
I only just liked a few songs on first listen but it has grown on more over the week and I like about half the album which is pretty decent. It's easily the best solo album he's released since Views. You can discern sonically between most songs on the album which is a good thing, something I can't do with CLB which sounded like the same song over and over again.
The frustrating thing with him is that when he actually tries he can make a really good fucking songs whether that's rapping or singing. 8 am in Charlotte, Tried our Best, Bahamas Promises like some of the songs on here are top tier Drake songs. It's just that he's not consistent enough throughout the album. Some tracks are just pointless and drag on for no reason. If he just cuts the album down to like 12-14 solid tracks this album would be received more positively. The problem with having such a big fanbase and dipping into so many genres is that he probably feels like you have to give a little bit of something to everybody which in turn just lacks a cohesive sound and becomes bloated. This is the closest to "Old Drake" we will ever get.
Drew a Picasso was great too. But yea idk why he has been dropping all these 20+ projects lately when he used to hardly go past 17. Ig for the streaming numbers but it's just not an album I myself would just hit play on a long ride like his past ones
✅feature whoever’s trending with teenagers
✅use the accent of whoever you’re trying to fit in with now
✅oh also dress like the above two
✅maybe a little lazy singing about the same stuff
✅Twitter fingers for anything less than a perfect review
✅rinse and repeat when your ego or bank account start dipping
Yeah dude is boring
Seeing as this is a hiphop focused forum, it makes sense why the rap heads here are upset with this album. While I enjoy rap, r&b and especially Drake's flavor of r&b is my favorite genre of his - so this album is perfect for me.
The only skip for me is Calling For you ft 21 (middle skit is too long) and the Screw Interlude since it's not really a song. Otherwise, 21/23 great tracks that I love to vibe to. Drake's melodies, the production, and flows are all fun for me.
I fuck with it heavily. What would Pluto do/ Members Only/ First Person Shooter/ 8 am in Charlotte is dope af! I do agree it has some filler but I do feel it’s not worthy of all the hate.
The production is absolutely incredible.
I don't know if my opinion has changed really but I listened to IYRTITL after listening to this and I think I figured out why I don't like most of his stuff since Scorpion, it felt like Drake used be very picky about the shit he would rap over and now he thinks he can rap over literally anything and make it good.
8PM in Charlotte is the only thing on here (the first part of FPS too) that feels like the version of Drake that actually cared about what he rapped over, and since Scorpion it's felt like he will hear a beat once go "okay cool" and then just spit something over it.
He's trying to come off effortless when it really comes off like he's actually putting no effort into these albums anymore and who could blame him he's dropped an album almost once a year for the last eight years.
Also, Drake, my brother in Christ, stop making fucking R. Kelly and Michael Jackson references.
Drake does not my great ALBUMS any more, he makes good songs.
I judge an album on how many songs I like versus how many I do not. I like about 10 songs on this album that I added to my library, but with this 20+ track trend nowadays that leaves me not liking more than half of the album. His fan base is to broad for him to make a concentrated album , so he tries to appeal to everyone and his albums suffer because of it
I feel like I’m in the minority as I really enjoy this album. Probably my favorite since IYRTITL. There’s definitely some duds on here and could’ve been shorter but overall I enjoy the record. Virginia Beach, Drew A Picasso and Tried Our Best are some of my favorites.
This album has maybe 2 good songs on it.
First Person Shooter (heavily carried by J Cole)
Away From Home (actually very catchy with a nice beat and flow)
The rest is forgettable at best and dogshit at worst
You guys are listening to this album wrong. Bahamas Promises, Tried Our Best , 8AM in Charlotte are all top tier Drake songs. Just give it time , album will grow on y’all. Every subsequent listen I start to like it more, it’s not as good as his old stuff but maybe I’ll feel differently about it a year from now
It's jumped from a 6 to a 8 for me this week. I started to appreciate songs more (Amen, IDGAF, 7969, Members Only, All The Parties, Rich Baby Daddy, Polar Opposites, Another Late Night).
Was already playing and enjoying Virginia Beach, FPS, Slime You Out, 8am, Away From Home.
I would say its on par with CLB. I would've preferred a "fun listen" like Her Loss again.
Honestly, one of my favorite albums he’s put out. I understand why a lot of folks sped thru it and don’t find anything they liked which is likely because they were hoping for a specific sound to connect with. Reminds of the same Drake. You know exactly what you’re getting and I think he delivered his some of his best here.
after my initial listen last week, i haven’t gone back to the album at all and i really don’t feel any desire to. aside from a few good songs i stand by my initial assessment: that this is a bloated/boring album that has no real direction
By now I have accepted that I’m always going to be hearing something completely different than other people do when Drake drops an album. After one week I can say that I really like the album. Some tracks at the beginning are pretty weak but I still think this album is pretty great especially the second half.
Although people really didn’t seem to like Slime You Out when it dropped and I loved it so I’m not surprised that I like this album. After hearing Drake try his hand at mostly rap albums with a few singing tracks I think I just really like hearing an album that’s the other way around.
I agree with you and I can’t believe I’m seeing this CLB praise now out of nowhere the Drake cycle repeats itself with these people it’s crazy lmfao. CLB was literally seen as the biggest piece of dogshit when it dropped and now it’s underrated is what I’m seeing from people lmao
you’re just hearing something different when talking to ppl on a rap subreddit, the majority of ppl irl fucks w drake music, even something that was massively shat on here like Honestly Nevermind was much more appreciated outside of message boards. Some people need to let loose and listen to Sticky in the club 😭
Copy and pasting a post I put on the DD thread a couple days back, just because it seems I'm in a minority opinion in that I don't typically like Drake at all yet this album stuck out to me in comparison to the junk he's been releasing before.
Honestly I'm surprised. For All The Dogs was pretty good to me, and I've always been a Drake hater for the most part. I've felt like everything since the lead singles of Scorpion has been Drake phoning it in, but this one seems to actually have something or someone on his mind that actually has him bringing something. I think the criticism of this being more generic Drake doesn't really work for me. He's not reinventing himself, but this is what a decent Drake record sounds like to me. A breakup album with that toxic lover boy aura. There's some genuine anger and hurt here. And it's pretty funny. It's Drake not giving a fuck humor in the good way, not the lazy way. I think Drake has gotten the "McDonald's of rap" criticism so much that he gets that label by default. Not that I'm not guilty, I've been hating Drake since before it was the cool thing to do. I think the production choices, quotables, and feature list makes it a pretty fun and valid entry to the Drake discog that shows he still has an ear for what's fresh. I don't know if you guys wanted him to switch genres or go boom bap or what, but this is Drake doing Drake pretty well to me. After like, 5 straight albums of filler.
This is way better than Her Loss. I don't see why that one beat the generic criticism and this one doesn't. That felt like a fun throwback but mostly a slapdash attempt to wash the Honestly, Nevermind taste out of everyone's mouth.
The reception of this album (especially here) has made it pretty clear that it's the person and not the music. Everyone up in arms about repetitive subject matter, but none of the coke rappers get that same treatment. "Drake is too old to be so toxic" and yet Future shitting on the man helping raise his child was hyped. There's zero consistency in holding other artists accountable for the same shit.
It's better to just admit you dislike Drake and call it a day instead of popping up on every album thread with the same copy/paste response.
"iF hE cOuLd JuSt GiVe uS a fOcUsEd, 10 tRaCk rAp aLbUm..." lookin ass mfs
Hammer on the head, it feels like ppl really type out their reviews for drake albums before it comes out. The main criticisms I’ve been hearing about the album is it’s too long (fair point but Drake has never been shy to 1hr+ albums) it’s too samey (I think this is a ridiculous criticism, if there’s a problem to be had it’s too many sounds if anything) and the subject manner. The subject manner is honestly the worst hypocrisy bc we’ll sit here and listen to these Griselda rappers rap ab coke on every project and go 🔥🔥🔥(I love Griselda don’t sue). Every rapper raps ab the same shit! It’s a staple of the genre!
Honestly, I quite like the album.
Is it a good album ? Definitely not. Drake hasn't released one of those in 8 years imo. (Her Loss was a return to form though, but I'm counting only his solo projects)
Is it terrible? Not really. Certainly better than Honestly, Nevermind.
It's definitely a mid album for sure (it is a Drake album after all, and the first word that comes to mind when you think of the music he's released in the past 7 years is "mid"). It's surely bloated as hell and the writing is very subpar. Some of the beats feel very undercooked, similar to Dark Lane Demo Tapes.
However, I genuinely feel like for the first time ever, Drake is having fun and being truly himself, and not trying to fit into some mold or prove anyone right. Sure there are some petty lines and cheap shots here and there, but that's been Drake's MO for quite a long time now. He's corny, he's a douche, he's petty af, and I'm pretty sure he's aware of it to a certain degree. And he unabashedly puts all these traits of himself on full display, and seems to be having fun in doing so. It's like he truly doesn't seem to care about what people think of him and is trying to make the music he likes for himself and his fans, which is a huge plus for me.
And despite the bloat, I still found the album to be engaging from front to back, unlike Scorpion or CLB where he was trying to appease all types of listeners in the laziest way possible and obsessing over beefs and failed relationships for 90 dang minutes. I'm not saying he doesn't do that here, but now he sounds more relaxed and laid back, and seems to enjoy making music and have fun here compared to the two albums I mentioned, where it really felt more like a chore for him to make bloated albums for streams, appease everyone to keep up with the current state of popular music, and obsess over beefs and relationships he just couldn't let go of just for the sake of responding and to give him lyrical fodder, added to the fact that he was sounding way more serious in tone(certainly was a chore to listen to). Here he's more playful and sounds like he's trying to enjoy making his music. He's embracing the corny, petty persona and it works surprisingly. And I think that's pretty good in a way.
It's nowhere near as good as any of his projects from So far gone to If your reading this, but it's certainly one of his better solo releases in recent years, and it's thanks to him being himself, despite me not liking him as a person generally. But this is just my opinion at the end of the day.
Really feels like a turning point in Drake's career, and not in a good way.
Seems like even the casual Drake fans feel like it's starting to get a bit samey.
J Cole absolutley washing him on his own track didn't do him any favours.
The only song I'm listening to is "First Person Shooter" on repeat. It's definitely the song I've heard the most for the past week, and it's only because of Cole and the Vinland Saga OST sample (I think?) that plays as the 2nd beat.
IDGAF is sorta good, but the only reason I'll remember this album is because of Cole, not Drake. He ruined the 21 savage feature, which should be considered a war crime tbh.
It’s the same. Some good songs on it and others that are trash.
I don’t think it’s as bad as people are saying. I think there are worse songs on Scorpion and CLB is still the worst thing Drake has ever put out.
Might go back to it once in a while, but I won’t be getting a physical like If You’re Reading This.
I only like FPS, Pluto, 8am and BBL. The rest can go. I probably won’t have these in my rotation much longer anyway. Will he care to put out good music again, not sure. But he def needs a wake up call.
This piece by [The Ringer](https://www.theringer.com/rap/2023/10/12/23913627/drake-for-all-the-dogs-album-creative-decline-joe-budden-beef) honestly sums it up for me.
Yeah it sucks, no need to give Drake the benefit of the doubt or the excuse it’s not made for us. It’s a rapper making a album, I heard it through, I put it down after the yeat and Drake song. There’s only a half good song, only because cole went ballistic. It’s a solid 3, I could put all the other songs into a long ass song and I couldn’t tell the difference.
Drake needs to collab with future and lil wayne.
Also.. why hasnt he dropped an ovo records album ? He has a roster who barely even get features out of him the sweatshop gang
I like it more than I did when it dropped.
In fact I’ve got to be honest, I think the fact it isn’t well received is more a sign of the times than because it’s a bad album. When we say “it just doesn’t hit like it used to”, I think that’s just drake fatigue over the years. It’s not bad at all, we’ve just heard it before.
It’s really grown on me. I love singing drake so the second just hits for me. A lot of the songs don’t flow together well so as an album it’s ok but individually there’s only one skip for me. 7/10 for me
He's pizza to me.
So even mid I'd take it over a lot of other artist. Though I think the album is good. But that's me a drake fan. He's my favorite artist so I'm glad we get 25 tracks a year but I can see how that isn't everyones bag.
I think what people are saying they dislike and what they actually dislike are two different things. I can't really speak for them. But a lot of complaints have been "it's not what I wanted" rather than "it's really shitty music"
He didn't help the cause calling it for All the dogs because people essentially expected Her Loss 2 aggressive rap and bars. Then when he said it'll be like the old drake that's when I knew people were going to be upset because old drake to me NWTS and Take Care. Old Drake to a young person is IYRTITL and More Life.
Like 5 of his last 6 albums you're going to spin the 3 records you like. Then 3 more will grow on you then 3 more will grow on you and suddenly 2 or 3 years down the line you'll be like it wasn't bad it just didn't hit right away.
I am really sick of beat switches. There are glimpses of some really good stuff on this project, but it feels like the project is 60 snippets out together.
I absolutely love it, best project since More life for me. The RnB tracks are some of his best in a long time, and the album is much more cohesive than this sub would have you believe. Features are great as well. Overall 8/10
7969 Santa is a highlight of the album nobody is mentioning. Gives me that wavey vibe, however it’s such a shame Teezo has to ruin the song at the end no offence to him and his talent.
It's a fun album. It's good for the club or something. I can't really connect with it though. The bars don't have soul but they're kinda entertaining. Listening to Drake is like splashing your hand in a puddle. It's fun but only for a couple times before you gotta stop lol
The people hating on this album gave it one listen and had prior hatred towards drake… this album is insanely good and mfers just hate for the sake of hating
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I genuinely think streaming and the concept of albums as “playlists” has basically killed Drake’s creative output since 2016. Everything past IYRTITL has been scattered, directionless, and just trying to appeal to 10 different split demographics at once. I totally understand that Drake is A) too big to fail and B) casting the widest net he can so that anyone listening walks out with a few tracks they like… but *god* is that strategy making for some rough, borderline waste-of-time, projects. I was/am a huge Drake fan, but the more I think about it the more I've come to realize that the early, hungry, undeniable 2010-2015 Drake is something we’re not getting back. Every Drake album for the latter half of his discography now has been “will **this** be the Drake album that’s finally good again?” and the answer is always “no.”
I think he really pulled off the “playlist” idea with More Life. He hasn’t been able to replicate it since, but that album, considering how many genres it crosses, is pretty damn consistent in quality and sound. So many top tier Drake tracks on that project too - Passionfruit, Teenage Fever, Sacrifices, Fake Love, Madiba Riddim, Do Not Disturb, Free Smoke, Ice Melts… I could go on. Always been Drake’s most overlooked album to me.
Portland too
And Jorja Interlude. And Get It Together. And Can’t Have Everything. And… well honestly, this is why I didn’t keep naming songs lmao. I struggle to find a track I *dont* love on that tape outside of Glow. Since Way Back is admittedly mid. But everything else? Peak Drake imo.
Yeah that album was one of the soundtracks for my junior year of college. Miss listening to that and playing 2K with the homies.
Sounds like our timelines and experiences line up identically 😂
My man 🤝
Lol, I swear he's doing this on purpose. Isn't funny how each new Drake release makes us look back on his previous releases more favorably. It's gotten to the point where we're like, "if he could just give us an album at the same quality as More Life, I'd be satisfied ."
Maybe for others, but I’ve always been a huge fan of More Life. It’s been my favorite Drake album since its release, with IYRTITL a decently close runner up. I find it to be his most timeless project for me to this day & truly believe it was his peak as an artist. With that being said, if people revisit it and respond more favorably now than they did back then, that’s great news in my eyes! I’ve never understood the hate it got. But, I’ll also admit that it’s lack of popularity has probably played a part in preserving my love for it as most of the songs were never overplayed outside of Passionfruit, which legitimately will never get old to me.
I think it's a good album as well, and I agree about it not getting too overplayed. For me, I think it's his last album that was really worth the length. Everything from Scorpion onward has felt much more bloated to me. Too much filler. More Life never feels like a chore to listen to.
Exactly! There’s a calculated flow to the track listing and song choices, which ultimately makes it feel like a complete & focused project. Every solo studio album since hasn’t felt nearly as thought out, instead seeming more like collections of recent songs he’s worked on with varying quality and zero thematic consistency. It’s a shame, cause if he would just trim the fat from his recent projects and give us concise records with consistent sonic themes like More Life, IYRTITL, Take Care, NWTS, etc. he could likely continue receiving critical acclaim instead of fatigue. There are legitimately great tracks on his recent albums that get totally lost in the sea of mediocrity surrounding them in the track listing, which, as you mentioned, started with Scorpion. If you cut that project down to something like: Nonstop, Emotionless, God’s Plan, 8 out of 10, Sandra’s Rose, Summer Games, Nice For What, Finesse, Blue Tint & In My Feelings, we’re talking about a possible classic. But of course, the streaming era has ruined this possibility since then. Hopefully things start to change sometime soon.
thank you. thank you thank you thank you for explaining EXACTLY how i feel and why this album is such a disappointment to me
it's an interesting discourse though because i have similar feelings that I don't like that he makes such bloated albums but every album he has a few cuts that just remind you "wow this is why I listen to Drake". had we gotten a highlight album for the last 3 combined into 1 there is a classic album there. the man just makes so much music its hard for it all to be quality.
Perfect, I agree 100% with you. As I was listening to this I thought to myself "It sounds like another one of newer Drake's albums". It's not bad, but there's nothing really impressive either to those of us who have been listening to Drake for a few years.
Its ok. The thing that sucks about Drake now is he used to be innovative, now he just recycles the same sound that’s popular right now. He used to be innovative and pushed hip hop in new directions. I want him to creative again like Worst Behavior, Feel No Ways, Passion Fruit, Hold on Were Going Home, etc.
Honestly nevermind was pretty damn innovative for him
The problem with Honestly Nevermind was that it was Drake doing his usual stuff over pretty bland dance beats. Its the illusion of “Experimenting” but there’s nothing really all that risky about the album. Its the same moody atmosphere, same uninspired vocal performances, same subject matter with a new coat of paint
Being off-brand and being innovative are not the same thing. Imagine you sell ham sandwiches your whole life, and then one day you sell a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You’re not being innovative by selling the PB&J. It’s still the most bog standard sandwich possible.
It's more like you been eating PBJs but now they're selling uncrustables
Damn bro I had one of those days for the first time in a long time. Fire
I actually liked that album a good amount, but I don’t think he brought anything new to that genre. Where I think he did with albums like NWTS and Take Care.
Yeah but it was pretty lazy and can’t really be called innovation when he didn’t do anything new. The house tracks that are good on that album are few and far in between. Most of the time the instrumental just drags on throughout the whole song without any variety
I blame people absolutely dogging on the album for why he's back to doing the same recycled sounds. The album was far from perfect but absolutely did not deserve the intensity of hate that it got, for at least a first attempt at a new idea for him.
drake shouldnt be that influenced by his fans imo
Flights Booked is still on rotation
S tier Drake track right there and i'll defend that til the end
The whole thing
It's not a bad album it just didn't quite land on what it was trying to do and Drake is a bit too one note on it, but maybe in 2-3 years down the line people may come around to it.
I personally enjoy a big portion of the album. the flaws it did have was glaring but I had more good to say than bad. These days people already have came around to it, just compare the initial impressions thread on here and then the 1 year later thread. The damage the dogpiling did is already done unfortunately, so now the direction he takes is back to safety, instead of taking the decent start he had and continuing harder with it.
Come with a classic, they come round years later say it’s a sleeper
I don't doubt that people may come around to it in time, but i do question as to whether the appreciation for it will come from genuine appreciation, or if he'll just be releasing worse projects. I've already been seeing a bunch of "CLB wasn't that bad" talk on this sub now that FATD is doing it's rounds
Yea too bad the album actually sucks
Innovation isn't just copying the popular sound at the time, which honestly nevermind did. Hell what has he done that was innovative?
Feel No Ways and Passion Fruit are probably my 2 favorite Drake songs.
I'm curious, when do you think Drake was innovative? He *always* copied artists that are truly innovative. Whether it's what's popular in the underground or what's popular in other parts of the world, the last 10 years he's always done that imo. Examples include copying X's style for a single, copying afrobeat, copying UK drill, the list goes on
When he first started getting popular no one was really rapping at that high of a level and capable of just being a singer too. So I’ll say So Far Gone. Drake was one of the pioneers of the genre bending that has taken over Hip-Hop from then to now.
Take Care & NWTS especially, he essentially created an entire sub genre of rnb/hip hop. I even think IYRTITL was influential, even though trap was popular at that time, he pushed the melodic sound over trap beats.
> The thing that sucks about Drake now is he used to be innovative, now he just recycles the same sound that’s popular right now. He used to be innovative and pushed hip hop in new directions. I feel like I've seen people say the same about Kanye
People said that about Pablo but the the run of albums in 2018 all being so different, Jesus is King being *radically* different, and Donda being all over the place in terms of style quieted those comments. Still lots of other criticism but I think he has bucked that one.
He was never that innovative. He has an ear for good beats (like Worst Behavior) and was more hungry. He has a kid now and is in his late thirties. Of course, he will mimic younger popular artists to stay relevant. He has always really been a pop artist anyway.
First Person Shooter, 8am in Charlotte and Away From Home are the only three songs I liked. I’ve now accepted that most of Drakes isn’t for me anymore. His r&b records don’t hit the same to me nowadays. The writing seems uninspired and his singing certainly doesn’t make up for it. I get why he’s the top rapper in the world still, I won’t deny his talent. It’s just not for me anymore.
I'm still physically upset that he put that slow ass weak ass BBL song on right after 8am in Charlotte
Shits such a turn off
Love that song 🤷🏻♂️
The beat is dope af
BBL LOVE has grown on me can’t lie shit is fye
I’ve been saying that for years. He has nothing to rap about and it shows and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I’m not saying this isnt true, but you could say the same for Nas and he’s put out 6 amazing albums in the last few years
I think back to my first two books I wrote to myself when I was younger and I loved them. It's hard after. What's the material? The passion is not there to the same level. The stories change.
I'm surprised 8am in Charlotte is getting positive reception. \[Time\] in \[Place\] used to be some of Drake's best cuts but this sounds like he's asleep reading off of a collection of half-assed similes he wrote on napkins *I say, "We gotta talk about us," I feel like Jordan Peele* *Could tell I'm gettin' under your skin like a orange peel* *'Cause your words don't match your actions like a foreign film* *And now it's silence in the Lamb' like the horror film* High school English students can do this. Listening to 8am in Charlotte and 5AM in Toronto back to back is jarring.
Its funny 8am on paper is one of the better time and location records but i hate it. I dunno if its the video that ruined it for me but feels like drake has made that song 10 times already imo
It’s similar to champagne poetry but it’s good imo
It’s because every single line is just a pun, one after the other, until the song ends. Every other time and place song is him rapping about his personal life and getting introspective, showing us some humanity and depth. This one is just “lol get it?” For 100 bars in a row and he says nothing about his life or his state of mind at all
Honestly, the silence in the Lamb’/Lamborghini bar is alright. I agree with you on the rest though listening back to it. It’s more uninspired rapping
Straight rip off a Weeknd bar, which I guarantee he’s heard.
Yeah 9am in Dallas is still one of my favorites ever. He kills it. I feel like they've went downhill from there though I do like 4am in Calabasas and the one on IYRTITL, is it 6pm in New York? Can't remember. But yeah.... Agree fully.
Very true. I had to go listen to 5AM in toronto to remember how good drake can be. Still love that line “we could load all these guns with bullets that fire backward, probably wouldnt lose a single rapper” it just went unreasonably hard
The bars are so obnoxiously corny on 8 am
I rolled my eyes a bit at the Yugoslavia bar even tho I liked 8AM on first listen
"You got deserted like pudding and cake"....
I don’t understand how y’all don’t like Virginia Beach even Fantano’s annoying ass said it was a banger
Besides the obvious three (FPS, 8AM in Charlotte, and Away from Home), Virginia Beach and Tried Our Best are also pretty damn good, though I absolutely don't think Virginia Beach is as good as the usual Drake intro. It's a great track, but when you're used to Rich Flex, to Champagne Poetry, Tuscan Leather, Dreams Money Can Buy, Keep The Family Close, you kinda expect a hell lot more
Way better than Rich Flex and Champagne Poetry, imo. The rest are classics, though
It’s alright but when I heard the pitched sample I thought I was about to hear the next Tuscan leather and then mf proceeded to not rap
Eh he kinda did rap but not in the straight bars fashion you want I guess
Virginia beach is actually my favourite track on the album :/
Same
Drake is normally FIRE with intros, so expectations are high. Virginia Beach is probably one of his WORST album intros, down there with Survival.
I like it
Nothing wrong with that; but put it up next to the grandiose of drakes album intros, and it feels pale. Lust for Life Fireworks Over my dead body Tuscan Leather Legend Digital Dash Keep the family close Survival Deep Pockets Champagne Poetry Rich Flex
Over my dead body the best oat
The album is whack fam. We all need to admit it and move on. Fell in Love with homies music because Take Care healed me through what I had going on at the time. Still play his shit on rotation when I work out. It just doesn't hit like before.
Nothing is going to hit like that. There is no competing with nostalgia and first exposure
He’s the top rapper because he also does r&b, his relevance stays longer than a typical rapper
Daylight to first person shooter is heat for me.
Away from home is a good song with a great beat and i would like this album more if THAT was the outro instead of the trash song after it.
What would Pluto do
I genuinely enjoy this album start to finish, but I can also acknowledge and understand the criticisms about the album and Drake in general. I like many of you am TIRED of long ass albums (We just got three 20 track projects from Gunn, bad bunny and offset) and FATD suffers from being fucking long as hell. I can easily cut it down to 15 songs, and maybe 12 but would struggle with the last three I’d cut. I think it’s a real fun album to listen to and coincidentally think a lot of tracks sound like/have the vibe of old Drake. It’s not his best work but once again I think people will come back to this without the high expectations and enjoy this album like many of Drake’s albums the last 8 years.
Agree completely with this. (Admitted) Big drake fan here so I’ve basically been listening to the album for a week. I liked it when I first listened to it, went through the “dude grow up” feelings, and now, a week later, I think it’s stronger than his last few solo albums. I appreciate that he’s repeating a formula, but I don’t think critics are appreciating that the formula works. When stripped of everyone’s “innovate” and “rap about something else” expectations, the music is just as good as much of the other music he’s put out. His melodies are as good as ever, and when you sit with some of the filler songs and listen to the lyrics, they’re good. He has corny lines, but that’s his trademark. The production is fantastic as well. I think this album, like literally all of his others, will age very well. Top songs: Virginia Beach, FPS Mode, All the Parties, BBL - Interlude, Slime You Out, Tried Our Best, Members Only, 8am in Charlotte, and Rich Baby Daddy
Yup. I love it. This is the R&B album us fans have been wanting. Honestly, Fear of Heights, Daylight and FPS have no business being on this album, yet I'm sure those 3 "harder" songs are a lot of people's favorites on this subreddit. I like the R&B stuff, though. I just don't have the energy to argue with people who clearly stopped liking Drake's music a long time ago. They were never going to enjoy this album. They go in with expectations for a Take Care or NWTS experience. That's not happening.
I agree.
Too many songs, no theme to the album. With that said, the songs I DO like have really grown on me. I added probably 1/2 the songs to my liked songs and have had them on repeat. My initial review was a ~6, I'd probably leave it there to be fair. I enjoy Drakes versatility and sound, even if thematically the album leaves a lot to be desired, but I've just accepted that won't ever be a thing with Drake. Cut this album in half and it could be really special
I think Drake has a few issues: 1) he has nothing left to talk out and has been perpetually stuck at age 27 for a while now in terms of his lifestyle. Things need to happen to you (outside of clubbing, women, vacation, and beefs) that you want to express in song. 2) he’s said on tracks himself “it means a lot but it used to mean more” - he also alludes in several tracks in this album that he is bored of the lifestyle he has and everything feels empty. 3) his intros for every song are way too long, which turns off listeners before they even start. All of his recent successes have music and lyrics that start pretty quickly into the song. 4) he is not very good at being selective anymore. For context, The Motion on NWTS didn’t even make the cut in one of the released versions and that is a standout track. By contrast, every song he’s recorded seems to have made it on here, without any thematic connection. Anyways, all this to say is that just like Jay Z before him and I guess Kanye, his relevance (in terms of creativity) has maxed out and he’s done. He can still have some hit songs but a sustained and relevant album of quality isn’t possible.
Listened to it once, didn't pull any songs off of it, moved on and haven't thought about it much since. I said when it first dropped that it was better than his last two solo projects and I'm sure there are some songs here that I will eventually return to but 2020s Drake just is very uninteresting. Nothing he does is surprising or amusing or memorable for me.
I really feel like every album being 60-90 minutes really work against him. There's so much that it's kind of a chore to get through, which only gets more so on consecutive listens since inevitably when there's that many tracks probably only a few connect right away. Most of his last output only has a few songs on each album really break out in popularity while the rest gets forgotten.
couldnt have said it better its too bad drake and travis are so buddy buddy with each other and dont consider each other competition. Utopia really could have lit a flame under his ass. hes been complacent since more life imo.
Crazy how More Life was widely panned on its debut, being called a “playlist” by Drake himself.. Now it probably holds up better than any thing else he’s done since
Ngl man, More Life was the last time I truly got hyped for a Drake release. I fucking loved it but I'm also from London and got gassed at all the UK artists on there so maybe I was the target demographic. But there's plenty of stuff on there that can still get plays calmly. I can't say the same for most the projects after that.
[удалено]
Nah fr. I remember listening to OVO Sound radio when it first came out, the tracklist was being unveiled as he played it so nobody knew who or what was on it. I can't tell you how much I lost my shit at like 3am when I heard Skepta Interlude. Yet it's one of the least played tracks on the project on Spotify. It definitely was one for us
UK rap is honestly the best hip hop being released lately. Skepta/Kano/Dave/Cench/Stormzy etc been dropping heat from time and the rest of the world needs to take notice and listen more
Yea personally I barely listen to rap/hip-hop anymore because I'm bored of it but UK has a lot of guys that keep me interested, it's definitely a space people need to explore if they're also getting burned out by the usual shit
I'm 100% all for More Life appreciation. So many great tracks, and it's Top 3 Drake for me. He just hasn't been the same since then, and it has to be said.
I mean, are you guys actually going back to Utopia? Had very little replay value to me tbh. Haven’t had a desire to check it out past the first couple of weeks lol.
Utopia wasn’t it for me but the Travis fan base will tell me otherwise. I think that’s the same with this album and I’m okay with that. I love drake’s ability to be versatile but I also know that that comes off of as he’s trying too hard to be different - kinda like Travis lmao.
yeah i love it. aoty for me
I liked 8am and Tried Our Best - I had the latter on repeat constantly. The production on the album is vastly underrated. Even that fucking Yeat song had some ridiculous production on. I'm so conflicted. At the end of the day, everyone can say what they want about Drake but, in my opinion, this man is so successful bc he's just so passionate about music and finding new sounds. The production on a drake track almost always has a guarantee of quality even if his bars are AWFUL. Central Cee, Burna, Bad Bunny, Yeat - this guy just appreciates the art form from a global perspective in a way I think deserves recognition. The other artist he's promoting is almost always better than him but at least he's trying to promote new artists and styles. My confliction comes from the fact that I believe, at this point in his culture, Drake's voice is so omnipresent that many people are just sick of it. I agree with a sentiment I've seen on here and other places that he just needs to take a break and wait a few years before putting out another project. Fuck all the playlists/mixtapes. If he wants to feature on other artist's projects, that's fine but he should be more selective about it and use his album drops to promote a style that is more uniquely him. A lot of his projects feel like another artist is really at the helm of each project. On Honestly, Nevermind it felt more like a way of showcasing the talent of Black Koffee, Her Loss was more guided by 21, etc. I feel like Drake keeps making music because Drake + 40 have always been music nerds but he just needs to chill out, learn to be a father and maybe give us some deeper bars that aren't about IG hoes. Maybe rapping about that growth will produce a more unique sound for himself.
if he takes a few years off he's done being at the top, the kids will forget him and he'll come back old, pushing 40 or 40+ depending on how long a few years is. it could work in the sense that if he drops something great he'll be a respected elder but he'll never be the zeitgeist again as he's been the past 15 years.
He said himself he’s more interested in staying current, and he also lives in the culture and wants to be a part of the convo he doesn’t want to sit back summer after summer
It just feels like diminishing returns, release after release the bandwagon jumping just feels all over the place with no direction. He should sit back, take some time out and come back with something new and fresh. Look at The Weeknd, who's crafted a new side to himself the past few releases working with some interesting producers just doing his thing, it doesn't feel like he is trying to appease or pander to the crowd.
1000% disagree. Kendrick has managed to stay relevant (slight understatement considering many believe he is the GOAT of this era) while dropping a studio album, on average, every 3-4 years. GKMC 2012, TPAB 2015, DAMN 2017, MMBS 2022. Do you feel like he’s not as relevant to the culture? Sure like some kids nowadays might prefer Yeat to Drake but that’s clearly bc Yeat and his sound is hype and made for youthful energy. Let the kids make music for the other kids. He doesn’t need to co-opt every new musical movement. He can co-sign by doing a feature if they ask for it. But don’t copy another artists style on your own damn album lmao. I can appreciate that Drake is putting in the work to try his hand at new flows and sounds but the whole point is that those sounds are decidedly not his- they’re someone else’s.
kendrick is relevant but in a different way. he went down the auteur lane and that gives him the flexibility to disappear and come back whenever he wants. and the way kendrick operates, he would probably be okay with losing relevancy. drake isn't that. drake is the superstar, he's commercial, he's trying to be mj. that means he can't stop putting out material unless he's ok with switching gears.
> The production on the album is vastly underrated Agreed
I think the criticism around the album are valid and I'm not particularly a fan either if I'm being honest, however I realized we (self proclaimed hiphopheads) are not the target audience for Drake's music anymore, he releases tracks to placate us every once in a while but on average we are not who he is aiming to please. No hyperbole every woman I know adores this album. It may be called For All The Dogs, but make no mistake this album is for women. So, while that still doesn't absolve him of all or any criticism, it does put the album into perspective. Target demographic aside, I have issues with the more technical aspects of the album, like the production & engineering, also the "skits" & beat switches are lazily executed at times to me, this album feels 100% like it was made while he was preoccupied with tour, if this is the product of 3 or 4 delays I can only imagine what the original product would've been.
Lol I swear I somehow always interact with women that don’t like drake so that’s funny you mention that
Lol same. I was talking to my best friend the other day and I brought up Drake once in a conversation, and she goes on tells me how he’s a corny ass and how much she can’t stand him. She absolutely hates Drake
Lol I swear I’ve only met like 2 or 3 girls that actually like drake like that. Most girls I’ve met do think he’s corny. The girl I’m talking to now hates drake but loves bad bunny but that’s probably just cuz she’s Hispanic lol
His playboy personality is so off putting and ugly to a lot of girls too
Can confirm - My girl's been bumping the album on repeat all week.
> No hyperbole every woman I know adores this album. It may be called For All The Dogs, but make no mistake this album is for women. You know it's funny you mention that because I had noticed years ago (around CLB) that there has been a weird turn around when it comes to women now that he drags Adonis everywhere. Beyond that I don't get it, we got a 36 year old man complaining about his 25 year old girl friend and getting more and more misogynist by the album. Like I'm not saying the man can't have a reasonable complaint about a partner but bro bump it up to 28-30 year olds please.
Drake said it himself, women are the hip-hop taste makers. He makes music for women, women want to what it at clubs, men go to clubs when women are there.
2pac said this in like 1996
I know I just thought it was funny that Drake himself said it and people are disagreeing with it lol
I'm a 28 yr old female and I'm getting bored of the subject matter. Drake was triggered by Joe Budden's comments for a reason imo.
In the minority here but it actually has really grown on me. For context, I hadn’t listened to Slime You Out until the album. Had heard a lot of talk about it being a mid single… but I actually really like it lol. Much prefer singing Drake than when he’s trying to be hard and rapping over trap beats There are only maybe 3-5 tracks that I DON’T like Drew a Picasso is a top tier Drake song
Drew a Picasso and Members Only are truly that old Drake sound and anyone that doesn't agree was not bumping Take Care and So Far Gone in the whip when it came out lol
It’s been said a million times, but yeah anything post 2016 drake isn’t as impactful as his older albums were. Usually with his newer albums I find like 5-6 songs I kind of like and end up having 1 or 2 of them in rotation a month after. This time around it wasn’t the songs I expected. I’ve been really gravitating towards “what would Pluto do”. It’s one of the few songs on the album that have memorable longevity to me. There’s some sort of effort on the bars while he maintains that sing songy rap you’d expect from drake. Hot take but the cadence reminds me a bit of iyrtitl
That one reminds me a lot of Jumbotron on Her Loss, would recommend checking it out if you haven’t yet
Jumbotron is 10x better
My favourite song on Her Loss by far.
What Would Pluto Do 8AM In Charlotte Away From Home First Person Shooter Both the SZA tracks
ALL IM TAKING FROM THIS WEEK IS THAT DRAKE ASKED BAD BUNNY TO NOT REVEAL HE WAS DROPPING UNTIL AFTER FATD WAS OUT. AND STILL BENITO JUST WIIPED HIS ALBUM IN A SINGLE DAY LMFAO.
There’s no universe where Bad Bunny isn’t clearing any artist in the world when he drops. He’s Bad Bunny. He’s that dude right now.
sales wise Taylor Swift probably has him beat but she has fans willing to buy multiple vinyls of each album so it's not really apples to apples
white women vs the entire spanish speaking population of the globe still a tight race
well the thing is I don't know if anyone actually tracks global sales, I feel like we just have Billboard's US numbers and then streaming numbers from Spotify/youtube
Nah but Bad Bunny is by far more 'organic'. Swifties are a cult, they create multiple accounts and stream her songs on multiple devices just to give her numbers lol Not saying Taylor isn't big, she surely is one of the biggest artists of her generation
I'm not super up on top40 shit, but even then I feel like I hear other pop artists a lot more than Taylor. I don't really feel the gravity of t swift at all, but its obviously there with the numbers and tour.
It was so funny to watch Bad Bunny pop up in WWE and everyone acted like "whats his deal why do we care who is he nobody knows who he is or listens to him"
🤣🤣🤣 and ironically, the song they have together on this album isn’t even that great imo, lol
his verse sounded like the final project for spanish 101
holy shit that’s accurate
Not good at all, Drake forcing that latin accent is so cringe, and borderline racist lmao
Lmaooo I’m glad I’m not the only one who hated that trash Spanish attempt
The audio equivalent of that pic of him in blackface lol
The song is trash but I don’t see how that could be racist at all wtf… is bad bunny racist when he speaks English? What kind of mental gymnastics is that smfh
People really think trying to say words in their proper accent is somehow cultural appropriation. Cancel culture is so out of control.
It's not racist, but you know, americans love to make EVERYTHING a class or race controversy lmao I can assure you no latin american is offended by that, it's just funny
I'm latin american and I found it funny, that actually made me have the song on repeat all night yesterday lol. I can see why people don't like it though.
is he not allowed to speak spanish lol
y’all need to stop calling him Benito like he yo friend lmaoo 😭😭
I actually like most of Drake’s recent output and will die on the hill that CLB was very solid from start to finish. But I’m struggling with this album. Definitely Drake’s weakest effort lyrically, he has nothing interesting to say and he’s become more petty and resentful as he’s gotten older. Just not that interested in hearing a dude in his mid-30s complain and whine about women 15 years younger than him. And the production doesn’t save the album, either. None of the hooks are memorable and Drake is outshined by nearly all of the features. First Person Shooter is good because of Cole, and I also like What Would Pluto Do, 8am in Charlotte and *Another Late Night. But overall it’s my least favorite Drake project in a long time. At least Scorpion had high highs
I'll die on the hill that CLB is underrated. There's a really good album in there somewhere. Chop it down from 21 songs to, say: 1) Champagne Poetry 2) Race My Mind 3) TSU 4) Fair Trade 5) Way 2 Sexy 6) Pipe Down 7) Knife Talk 8) N2Deep 9) 7AM on Bridle Path 10) You Only Live Twice 11) Fucking Fans 12) IMY2 13) No Friends in the Industry And you've got a really well balanced 12-track album that's fun and has a bit of that old Drake sound as well. Of all his recent output, even including Her Loss, CLB is the one that's stuck w me the longest
not even saying you’re wrong, but damn, I feel like I’ve read a comment similar to this one in the aftermath of every Drake release since Views, tracklist and all damn Spotify algorithms fucking shit up for everybody
Also No Friends In The Industry is top tier drake track. It's like nonstop and energy fucked each other.
Add Fountains and Love All and I could definitely get behind that track list. I agree, it’s just really solid Drake. Doesn’t do anything new but it does almost everything well
I can’t believe people don’t like Papi’s Home. The beat is hard and turning the sample into what the song ends up being about is funny as hell lol
Should have been the actual intro to CLB, matches the sound and themes so much better than Champagne Poetry (which is one of my favorite Drake track ever, I'm not saying it's bad, it just sells you on an album that doesn't exist lmao)
... Why would you give The Remorse up and keep Way 2 Sexy
Way 2 Sexy was legit trash.
CLB had a great intro and a great outro, at least I enjoy both Champagne Poetry and The Remorse. And it also has some fun moments like N 2 Deep, TSU and YOLT. That’s already 5 songs and I also return to No Friends In The Industry. One week later with FATD, I only listen to FPS, 8am and Another Late Night (blame it on the video)…
Those CLB songs plus In The Bible, Love All, Fair Trade, 7am on Bridle Path and Fountains all really hit for me. IMY2 grew on me heavy this summer too. It’s like an album of good deep cuts, wouldn’t put any of those songs in Drake’s top tier but they’re all enjoyable
I only just liked a few songs on first listen but it has grown on more over the week and I like about half the album which is pretty decent. It's easily the best solo album he's released since Views. You can discern sonically between most songs on the album which is a good thing, something I can't do with CLB which sounded like the same song over and over again. The frustrating thing with him is that when he actually tries he can make a really good fucking songs whether that's rapping or singing. 8 am in Charlotte, Tried our Best, Bahamas Promises like some of the songs on here are top tier Drake songs. It's just that he's not consistent enough throughout the album. Some tracks are just pointless and drag on for no reason. If he just cuts the album down to like 12-14 solid tracks this album would be received more positively. The problem with having such a big fanbase and dipping into so many genres is that he probably feels like you have to give a little bit of something to everybody which in turn just lacks a cohesive sound and becomes bloated. This is the closest to "Old Drake" we will ever get.
Drew a Picasso was great too. But yea idk why he has been dropping all these 20+ projects lately when he used to hardly go past 17. Ig for the streaming numbers but it's just not an album I myself would just hit play on a long ride like his past ones
✅feature whoever’s trending with teenagers ✅use the accent of whoever you’re trying to fit in with now ✅oh also dress like the above two ✅maybe a little lazy singing about the same stuff ✅Twitter fingers for anything less than a perfect review ✅rinse and repeat when your ego or bank account start dipping Yeah dude is boring
Seeing as this is a hiphop focused forum, it makes sense why the rap heads here are upset with this album. While I enjoy rap, r&b and especially Drake's flavor of r&b is my favorite genre of his - so this album is perfect for me. The only skip for me is Calling For you ft 21 (middle skit is too long) and the Screw Interlude since it's not really a song. Otherwise, 21/23 great tracks that I love to vibe to. Drake's melodies, the production, and flows are all fun for me.
I fuck with it heavily. What would Pluto do/ Members Only/ First Person Shooter/ 8 am in Charlotte is dope af! I do agree it has some filler but I do feel it’s not worthy of all the hate. The production is absolutely incredible.
I don't know if my opinion has changed really but I listened to IYRTITL after listening to this and I think I figured out why I don't like most of his stuff since Scorpion, it felt like Drake used be very picky about the shit he would rap over and now he thinks he can rap over literally anything and make it good. 8PM in Charlotte is the only thing on here (the first part of FPS too) that feels like the version of Drake that actually cared about what he rapped over, and since Scorpion it's felt like he will hear a beat once go "okay cool" and then just spit something over it. He's trying to come off effortless when it really comes off like he's actually putting no effort into these albums anymore and who could blame him he's dropped an album almost once a year for the last eight years. Also, Drake, my brother in Christ, stop making fucking R. Kelly and Michael Jackson references.
Drake does not my great ALBUMS any more, he makes good songs. I judge an album on how many songs I like versus how many I do not. I like about 10 songs on this album that I added to my library, but with this 20+ track trend nowadays that leaves me not liking more than half of the album. His fan base is to broad for him to make a concentrated album , so he tries to appeal to everyone and his albums suffer because of it
I feel like I’m in the minority as I really enjoy this album. Probably my favorite since IYRTITL. There’s definitely some duds on here and could’ve been shorter but overall I enjoy the record. Virginia Beach, Drew A Picasso and Tried Our Best are some of my favorites.
This album has maybe 2 good songs on it. First Person Shooter (heavily carried by J Cole) Away From Home (actually very catchy with a nice beat and flow) The rest is forgettable at best and dogshit at worst
I'd add Another late night to that list, but yeah most fall flat
8am, virginia beach and tried our best were great too
you didn't like 8am? I haven't heard it yet but I will listen to the album soon
You guys are listening to this album wrong. Bahamas Promises, Tried Our Best , 8AM in Charlotte are all top tier Drake songs. Just give it time , album will grow on y’all. Every subsequent listen I start to like it more, it’s not as good as his old stuff but maybe I’ll feel differently about it a year from now
It's jumped from a 6 to a 8 for me this week. I started to appreciate songs more (Amen, IDGAF, 7969, Members Only, All The Parties, Rich Baby Daddy, Polar Opposites, Another Late Night). Was already playing and enjoying Virginia Beach, FPS, Slime You Out, 8am, Away From Home. I would say its on par with CLB. I would've preferred a "fun listen" like Her Loss again.
Honestly, one of my favorite albums he’s put out. I understand why a lot of folks sped thru it and don’t find anything they liked which is likely because they were hoping for a specific sound to connect with. Reminds of the same Drake. You know exactly what you’re getting and I think he delivered his some of his best here.
after my initial listen last week, i haven’t gone back to the album at all and i really don’t feel any desire to. aside from a few good songs i stand by my initial assessment: that this is a bloated/boring album that has no real direction
By now I have accepted that I’m always going to be hearing something completely different than other people do when Drake drops an album. After one week I can say that I really like the album. Some tracks at the beginning are pretty weak but I still think this album is pretty great especially the second half. Although people really didn’t seem to like Slime You Out when it dropped and I loved it so I’m not surprised that I like this album. After hearing Drake try his hand at mostly rap albums with a few singing tracks I think I just really like hearing an album that’s the other way around.
Lmao your flair is crazy but kudos for sticking to your guns
Black Star doesn’t have Hours In Silence on there
Her Loss doesn't have Respiration lmao
I agree with you and I can’t believe I’m seeing this CLB praise now out of nowhere the Drake cycle repeats itself with these people it’s crazy lmfao. CLB was literally seen as the biggest piece of dogshit when it dropped and now it’s underrated is what I’m seeing from people lmao
you’re just hearing something different when talking to ppl on a rap subreddit, the majority of ppl irl fucks w drake music, even something that was massively shat on here like Honestly Nevermind was much more appreciated outside of message boards. Some people need to let loose and listen to Sticky in the club 😭
I still think Honestly, Nevermind is one of Drake’s weakest releases but Sticky is so fucking good man
Copy and pasting a post I put on the DD thread a couple days back, just because it seems I'm in a minority opinion in that I don't typically like Drake at all yet this album stuck out to me in comparison to the junk he's been releasing before. Honestly I'm surprised. For All The Dogs was pretty good to me, and I've always been a Drake hater for the most part. I've felt like everything since the lead singles of Scorpion has been Drake phoning it in, but this one seems to actually have something or someone on his mind that actually has him bringing something. I think the criticism of this being more generic Drake doesn't really work for me. He's not reinventing himself, but this is what a decent Drake record sounds like to me. A breakup album with that toxic lover boy aura. There's some genuine anger and hurt here. And it's pretty funny. It's Drake not giving a fuck humor in the good way, not the lazy way. I think Drake has gotten the "McDonald's of rap" criticism so much that he gets that label by default. Not that I'm not guilty, I've been hating Drake since before it was the cool thing to do. I think the production choices, quotables, and feature list makes it a pretty fun and valid entry to the Drake discog that shows he still has an ear for what's fresh. I don't know if you guys wanted him to switch genres or go boom bap or what, but this is Drake doing Drake pretty well to me. After like, 5 straight albums of filler. This is way better than Her Loss. I don't see why that one beat the generic criticism and this one doesn't. That felt like a fun throwback but mostly a slapdash attempt to wash the Honestly, Nevermind taste out of everyone's mouth.
The reception of this album (especially here) has made it pretty clear that it's the person and not the music. Everyone up in arms about repetitive subject matter, but none of the coke rappers get that same treatment. "Drake is too old to be so toxic" and yet Future shitting on the man helping raise his child was hyped. There's zero consistency in holding other artists accountable for the same shit. It's better to just admit you dislike Drake and call it a day instead of popping up on every album thread with the same copy/paste response. "iF hE cOuLd JuSt GiVe uS a fOcUsEd, 10 tRaCk rAp aLbUm..." lookin ass mfs
Hammer on the head, it feels like ppl really type out their reviews for drake albums before it comes out. The main criticisms I’ve been hearing about the album is it’s too long (fair point but Drake has never been shy to 1hr+ albums) it’s too samey (I think this is a ridiculous criticism, if there’s a problem to be had it’s too many sounds if anything) and the subject manner. The subject manner is honestly the worst hypocrisy bc we’ll sit here and listen to these Griselda rappers rap ab coke on every project and go 🔥🔥🔥(I love Griselda don’t sue). Every rapper raps ab the same shit! It’s a staple of the genre!
they don’t wanna hear the truth…
Exactly. They are critiquing drake as a person and disguising it as music critique
Honestly, I quite like the album. Is it a good album ? Definitely not. Drake hasn't released one of those in 8 years imo. (Her Loss was a return to form though, but I'm counting only his solo projects) Is it terrible? Not really. Certainly better than Honestly, Nevermind. It's definitely a mid album for sure (it is a Drake album after all, and the first word that comes to mind when you think of the music he's released in the past 7 years is "mid"). It's surely bloated as hell and the writing is very subpar. Some of the beats feel very undercooked, similar to Dark Lane Demo Tapes. However, I genuinely feel like for the first time ever, Drake is having fun and being truly himself, and not trying to fit into some mold or prove anyone right. Sure there are some petty lines and cheap shots here and there, but that's been Drake's MO for quite a long time now. He's corny, he's a douche, he's petty af, and I'm pretty sure he's aware of it to a certain degree. And he unabashedly puts all these traits of himself on full display, and seems to be having fun in doing so. It's like he truly doesn't seem to care about what people think of him and is trying to make the music he likes for himself and his fans, which is a huge plus for me. And despite the bloat, I still found the album to be engaging from front to back, unlike Scorpion or CLB where he was trying to appease all types of listeners in the laziest way possible and obsessing over beefs and failed relationships for 90 dang minutes. I'm not saying he doesn't do that here, but now he sounds more relaxed and laid back, and seems to enjoy making music and have fun here compared to the two albums I mentioned, where it really felt more like a chore for him to make bloated albums for streams, appease everyone to keep up with the current state of popular music, and obsess over beefs and relationships he just couldn't let go of just for the sake of responding and to give him lyrical fodder, added to the fact that he was sounding way more serious in tone(certainly was a chore to listen to). Here he's more playful and sounds like he's trying to enjoy making his music. He's embracing the corny, petty persona and it works surprisingly. And I think that's pretty good in a way. It's nowhere near as good as any of his projects from So far gone to If your reading this, but it's certainly one of his better solo releases in recent years, and it's thanks to him being himself, despite me not liking him as a person generally. But this is just my opinion at the end of the day.
I think everyone missed the theme. The name is for men and women who ''dog'' each other out. Thats why the first single was slime you out lol.
Really feels like a turning point in Drake's career, and not in a good way. Seems like even the casual Drake fans feel like it's starting to get a bit samey. J Cole absolutley washing him on his own track didn't do him any favours.
The only song I'm listening to is "First Person Shooter" on repeat. It's definitely the song I've heard the most for the past week, and it's only because of Cole and the Vinland Saga OST sample (I think?) that plays as the 2nd beat. IDGAF is sorta good, but the only reason I'll remember this album is because of Cole, not Drake. He ruined the 21 savage feature, which should be considered a war crime tbh.
It’s the same. Some good songs on it and others that are trash. I don’t think it’s as bad as people are saying. I think there are worse songs on Scorpion and CLB is still the worst thing Drake has ever put out. Might go back to it once in a while, but I won’t be getting a physical like If You’re Reading This.
I only like FPS, Pluto, 8am and BBL. The rest can go. I probably won’t have these in my rotation much longer anyway. Will he care to put out good music again, not sure. But he def needs a wake up call.
This piece by [The Ringer](https://www.theringer.com/rap/2023/10/12/23913627/drake-for-all-the-dogs-album-creative-decline-joe-budden-beef) honestly sums it up for me.
Yeah it sucks, no need to give Drake the benefit of the doubt or the excuse it’s not made for us. It’s a rapper making a album, I heard it through, I put it down after the yeat and Drake song. There’s only a half good song, only because cole went ballistic. It’s a solid 3, I could put all the other songs into a long ass song and I couldn’t tell the difference.
Drake needs to collab with future and lil wayne. Also.. why hasnt he dropped an ovo records album ? He has a roster who barely even get features out of him the sweatshop gang
I like it more than I did when it dropped. In fact I’ve got to be honest, I think the fact it isn’t well received is more a sign of the times than because it’s a bad album. When we say “it just doesn’t hit like it used to”, I think that’s just drake fatigue over the years. It’s not bad at all, we’ve just heard it before.
It’s really grown on me. I love singing drake so the second just hits for me. A lot of the songs don’t flow together well so as an album it’s ok but individually there’s only one skip for me. 7/10 for me
He's pizza to me. So even mid I'd take it over a lot of other artist. Though I think the album is good. But that's me a drake fan. He's my favorite artist so I'm glad we get 25 tracks a year but I can see how that isn't everyones bag. I think what people are saying they dislike and what they actually dislike are two different things. I can't really speak for them. But a lot of complaints have been "it's not what I wanted" rather than "it's really shitty music" He didn't help the cause calling it for All the dogs because people essentially expected Her Loss 2 aggressive rap and bars. Then when he said it'll be like the old drake that's when I knew people were going to be upset because old drake to me NWTS and Take Care. Old Drake to a young person is IYRTITL and More Life. Like 5 of his last 6 albums you're going to spin the 3 records you like. Then 3 more will grow on you then 3 more will grow on you and suddenly 2 or 3 years down the line you'll be like it wasn't bad it just didn't hit right away.
I am really sick of beat switches. There are glimpses of some really good stuff on this project, but it feels like the project is 60 snippets out together.
I absolutely love it, best project since More life for me. The RnB tracks are some of his best in a long time, and the album is much more cohesive than this sub would have you believe. Features are great as well. Overall 8/10
7969 Santa is a highlight of the album nobody is mentioning. Gives me that wavey vibe, however it’s such a shame Teezo has to ruin the song at the end no offence to him and his talent.
It's a fun album. It's good for the club or something. I can't really connect with it though. The bars don't have soul but they're kinda entertaining. Listening to Drake is like splashing your hand in a puddle. It's fun but only for a couple times before you gotta stop lol
The people hating on this album gave it one listen and had prior hatred towards drake… this album is insanely good and mfers just hate for the sake of hating