After a delayed rollout due to his busy tour run with fellow rapper 21 savage, Drake’s 8th studio album, For All The Dogs, is finally here. While this was hyped to be a return to the “old Drake,” it contains the same inconsistency that’s dampened his discography since Views in 2016.
We start off with a strong opener, “Virginia Beach,” that contains obvious shots at his longtime ex Rihanna, and subliminals at Pusha T (who’s married to Virginia Williams). The album continues with a standout feature from Teezo Touchdown on “Amen,” and a mediocre verse from 21-savage on “Calling For You” (best thing about this song is the over-the-top skit of a girl complaining about her personal chef who only cooked jerk chicken and oxtails). We get more digs at badgalriri on “Fear of Heights,” and bars such as “Like tennis indoors, we squashin’ n—–,” on “Daylight.”
Just when I thought the album would put me to bed, Jermaine Cole came and set off the fire alarm. Excuse my bias, but this has to be verse of the year right now. Drake holds his own with a mean second verse speaking on the irreverence he feels from the industry (like he received from Joe Budden after the album’s release), despite doing numbers like Michael Jackson. “First Person Shooter” is far and away the best song on the album.
“IDGAF” is another masterclass by producer BNYX and rapper Yeat, and spawned yet another viral Drake meme.
Fast forward three tracks to “Screw The World – Interlude,” we get a hard-hitting, grungy ode to the legendary DJ Screw which leads us into the second half of the album.
Outside of “8am in Charlotte”, “Rich Baby Daddy (featuring Sexyy Red and SZA)”, and an insanely catchy hook on “What Would Pluto Do,” the rest of the batch feels like Drake’s attempt to give us the old him, but it falls short due to poor songwriting and lack of substance.
Overall, this album felt like it was lacking any sense of direction to make a compelling, holistic body of work. In the past, he used the copout of referring to More Life as a ‘compilation’ rather than an album, ep, or mixtape. Perhaps he should stick with that formula.
ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SONGS: “First Person Shooter”, “Amen” “Screw The World – Interlude”
GOOD SONGS: “Virginia Beach”, “IDGAF”, “8am in Charlotte”
OK SONGS: “Rich Baby Daddy”, “What Would Pluto Do”
-Raj Douglas