Aubrey Graham, known worldwide as Drake, has consistently been one of the most successful artists in the world over the past decade, with 12 Billboard number one albums and 51 Grammy nominations and 5 wins.
His dominant run, beginning in 2010 with his debut album Thank Me Later, debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, selling an impressive 447,000 copies in its first week of release. Drake would continue his historic run by dropping albums such as Take Care, Nothing Was The Same, Views, Scorpion, Certified Lover Boy, Honestly, Nevermind, and his most recent LP, a collaboration with Atlanta rapper 21 Savage titled Her Loss. Drake has dropped a project every year since 2020 and he looks to continue that trend in 2023 with For All the Dogs.
For All the Dogs
Drake’s next solo project following his critically panned house album, Honestly Nevermind, will be titled For All The Dogs. This will be Drake’s 8th studio album and was announced June 24 following the release of his debut poetry collection: Titles Ruin Everything. He would advertise a QR code on multiple newspapers that led to a website that said the following: “I made a album to go with the book. They said they miss the old Drake girl don’t tempt me. FOR ALL THE DOGS”.
On September 6th, Drake would post a video of his father, Dennis Graham performing a song, with the caption “FOR ALL THE DOGS SEPTEMBER 22ND”. Drake’s complicated relationship with his father has been a topic of his rap in the past, as Graham’s trouble with immigration kept him from Drake’s hometown of Toronto.
The album’s release date was scheduled almost exactly 10 years following the release of one of his most critically acclaimed albums, Nothing Was The Same. On September 15th, he would release the lead single for For All The Dogs, titled “Slime You Out“ featuring R&B singer SZA.
The next day, Drake would post news on his Instagram story which would disappoint many fans. “Okay my dilemma I am faced with is I either cancel shows to finish the album or I complete the mission and drop the album before the last show,” wrote Drake in a statement via Instagram early Saturday morning. “I owe you all these memories we are building and anywhere we have missed to date we will be spinning back for sure… For All the Dogs Oct. 6 it’s only right …”. After months of rumors and speculation, Drake’s For All The Dogs is officially releasing on October 6th.
Confirmed Features and Collaborators
In the past couple of months, Drake has shared information about the guest appearances on this album. One is his former fellow Young Money Entertainment label mate Nicki Minaj. On a live stream, Minaj said the following: “Drake, I’m not going to tell you one more time,” she said. “The Barbz [A nickname for Minaj’s fans] want the album!”
Another confirmed feature is global superstar Bad Bunny who Drake revealed was a feature at a Los Angeles show in August when he brought Bad Bunny onstage during his performance. “I wanna tell y’all something because y’all are L.A. and we love you,” Drake said. “It’s been like six years since me and Benito did a song, so we got a song coming for y’all on my album and it’s real.”
Another feature that isn’t confirmed but highly rumored and speculated is from Atlanta artist, and one of Drake’s close friends, Lil Yachty. This would be after Lil Yachty and Drake would be spotted filming a music video together in Vancouver, Canada with popular film director Cole Bennett. Drake would later post Bennett on his Instagram story, seemingly confirming the collaboration.
Expectations
Drake has been an industry powerhouse when it comes to sales and numbers. His past two solo albums were both successful. His 2021 release, Certified Lover Boy, sold 613,000 copies in the first week and was one of the biggest albums of the year. Even Drake’s surprise release Honestly, Nevermind managed to sell 204,000 copies.
Drake’s past few releases have been successful despite using some experimental, nontraditional, and unique release and promo strategies. Drake has shown a more traditional release route for For All The Dogs as it not only has a lead single, but is receiving an actual promotional run with Drake hyping up the album during his tour as well as promoting it on social media. Assuming Drake stays in his Rap/R&B lane, this can potentially be Drake’s highest selling album since 2018, when his album Scorpion sold 732,000 copies.
In 2013, on his intro track to Nothing Was The Same, Drake would rap, “I’m tired of hearin’ ‘bout who you checking for now / Just give it time we’ll see who’s around a decade from now”. Now over a decade later, Drake is still dropping chart-topping hits, and with For All The Dogs around the corner, he might be on the verge of one of his most successful albums in his historic career.
