Drake, For All The Dogs Album Review
By B. Sims aka ‘Urban Music Enthusiast’
Effortlessly, for the past decade, this Toronto native has dominated radio waves and women’s minds worldwide. This project, his 8th studio album installment (succeeding Her Loss, the acclaimed collaboration album with 21 savage, which they are currently still touring) , proves that he is still in peak lyrical performance. After 2 unforeseeable delays, the undisputed reign of Aubrey Graham continues with the highly anticipated album ‘For All The Dogs.’
This Commercial music powerhouse, who has mastered the unique talent of blending rap and RnB seamlessly, presented the world with 23 tracks (including 2 interludes) sure to give the fans quality listening material through the entire month of October. And this intention was clearly stated in the album's 1st single ‘Slime You Out’ Feat SZA, where Drake states ‘‘October is all about me because your time should've been over.’
The cover art is a heartfelt illustration of a goat, hand-drawn by his son Adonis Graham The illustration described by Adonis Graham, in ‘8 AM in Charlotte’ (the albums 2nd single) when he said that his father's face is next to the goat to represent Drake, as the ‘Daddy GOAT’. To which, Drake replies ‘That makes perfect sense to me.’ Further emphasizing the classic lyrics ‘I been hot since the birth of my son’, the opening lyric on Champagne Poetry off Drake's 6th Studio Album released in 2021, Certified Lover Boy.
As the album title suggests, this project is directed towards a male/dominant audience. This direction, is an unexpected departure, as Drake's target audience has primarily been women, with ‘aspirational’ feminist lyrics revolving around unrequited love, female empowerment and luxury courtship practices. For All The Dogs, instead, reflects a man exhausted of missed expectations who is now choosing accountability and vengeance as a healing practice, so concisely said in the chorus lyrics of ‘What Would Pluto Do.’
With a clear shift in thematic direction, the album is also sprinkled with toxic masculinity and misogyny. Largely due to Drake’s effervescent and melodious delivery, almost makes his toxic masculinity sound less toxic, as reflected in ‘Tried Our Best.’
Strategically, packaging and presenting misogynistic ideas, in a sonically appealing manner to women, before they realize the material is intrinsically anti-feminist, is an unmastered skill by most rappers. This makes Drake not only a skilled musician but also a magician in many ways.
21 tracks and 2 interludes featuring iconic storytelling, majestic bars, Instagram caption-worthy lyrics and addictive melodies. The most notable feature is Jermaine Cole's collaboration on ‘First Person Shooter’, a collaboration that many rap fans have been desperately waiting for. J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and Drake have historically been regarded as the Top 3 rappers in their generation, and the superiority of their lyrical craft is on display as they trade self-affirmations and industry accolades on their respective verses. ‘Love when they argue the hardest MC, Is it K-Dot? Is It Aubrey? Or, Me’ We the big three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali.’-J. Cole on First Person Shooter.
This album is entertaining, cohesive, and even with unexpected redirection still on-brand. In many ways, it feels like the return of Aubrey Graham to his original mixtape-level artistry, RnB with a splash of Rap, with his signature zest and songwriting capacity intact.
In short, this project is impressive and another instant classic.
Well Done, Yet Again, Aubrey Graham.