Dogs Still in the Pound? Drake’s New Album Brings in Mixed Reviews Despite Going Number 1

Drake is undoubtedly one of the most popular artists in the world right now. He is currently tying Michael Jackson himself for the most No.1 Hits in Billboard history. With top hits like One Dance in 2016, God’s Plan in 2018, and even as far back as 2010 with What’s My Name? (Rihanna feat. Drake), Drake has been at the top of the music industry for a very long time. With multiple Grammys and seven RIAA Platinum-certified studio albums under his belt, some felt that Drake had nothing left to prove to the rap game.
After the very successful release of his collaboration album with 21 Savage, Her Loss, fans were looking forward to Drake’s next solo rap album. It would’ve been the first solo rap album Drake released since Certified Lover Boy, which brought him a number-one hit in Way 2 Sexy (Feat. Future & Young Thug) all the way back in the fall of 2021. Drake would announce the release of a new album on August 21 of 2023.
Immediately, For All The Dogs was one of the most highly anticipated albums from the decorated artist. Drake would then bring in more hype by releasing the single Slime You Out(Feat. SZA) on September 15th which went number one on the Billboard Hot 100. He would then confirm that the record would be on his upcoming project, For All The Dogs. Officially released on October 6th, For All the Dogs would feature new upcoming artists such as Sexyy Red on Rich Baby Daddy (Feat. Sexyy Red & SZA), Teezo Touchdown on Amen (Feat. Teezo Touchdown), and Yeat on IDGAF(Feat. Yeat) a song which would go number two on the Billboard Hot 100. He would also bring in industry staples such as 21 Savage on Calling For You (Feat. 21 Savage), SZA, and J. Cole on First Person Shooter (Feat. J.Cole).
Commercially, the album lived up to the hype, selling 411K units first week, his biggest debut since his platinum release of Certified Lover Boy. It would also net him 7 of the top 10 spots in the Billboard Hot 100, proving once again that Drake is still one of the biggest artists in the world. However, despite all of this, the album itself would be met with mixed reviews from fans.
JerVohn Robinson, a freshman majoring in Computer Science shared his thought saying. “Lowkey, the album was mid. I only liked a few songs on it.” This statement would be echoed by others with Jamarion Bell, a freshman majoring in Mechanical Engineering, saying, “It was mid, but the song with Yeat was good… The song with Sexyy Redd was alright, it was catchy. The rest, I didn’t really care about.”
There were still some that enjoyed the album and what it had to offer, like Kaleb Chew, a freshman majoring in Sociology. “I honestly feel like it’s not one of his best albums but it’s still pretty good to me. It has a lot of diversity on it. That’s why I can appreciate it.” He told the Southern Digest.
Drake’s new album no doubt has had success. Already, it’s on pace to become Drake’s eighth platinum studio album. However, the fan reaction tells a different story, with a lot of fans yearning for more from Drake as an artist.