The artist released his new music on Thursday, after it was supposed to drop back in January.
Drake's new album is finally here! The artist dropped Certified Lover Boy Thursday night, after having to delay the release by several months.
The album includes 21-tracks, and features Lil Baby, Travis Scott, Lil Durk, Giveon, JAY-Z, Future, Young Thug, 21 Savage, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Kid Cudi, Ty Dolla $ign, and Tems.
Not included in the new album is the track "Laugh Now, Cry Later," featuring Lil Durk, which came out in August 2020 in anticipation of the album's original release date and was intended to be the lead single.
In one track, fans think Drake is calling out Kanye West after the Donda rapper apparently shared Drake's Toronto address last month in a reported Instagram post that was later deleted. The song is titled "7am On Bridle Path," which seems to be referencing a neighborhood in Toronto where Drake owned a home.
"You know the fourth level of jealousy is called media / Isn't that an ironic revelation? / Give that address to your driver, make it your destination / 'Stead of just a post out of desperation," read the lyrics.
He continues, "This me reaching the deepest state of my meditation / Why you over there trying to impress the nation?"
Fans were quick to react to the track:
In addition to possibly fueling his apparent feud with Kanye, Drake name drops Ayesha Curry in his track, "Race My Mind."
"How I'm supposed to wife it? / You not Ayesha enough," he raps.
In his song, "No Friends in the Industry," Drake also makes a reference to U.S. sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, who was barred from being selected for the U.S. 2020 Tokyo Olympic team after she tested positive for marijuana.
"And I'm like Sha'Carri, smoke 'em on and off the track (Aye)," read the lyrics.
Finally, in "Champagne Poetry," Drake mentions his 3-year-old son, Adonis, rapping, "I been hot since the birth of my son."
In "Remorse," Drake also recites, "My son is the one thing I hate to be apart from."
Not long after the release of the album, Drake dropped a music video for his song, "Way 2 Sexy," featuring Young Thug.
Drake announced the album's release date to Instagram on Monday, sharing a pic of 12 pregnant women emojis featuring a variety of hair and skin tones, created by conceptual artist Damien Hirst.
The album -- which he originally announced for release in January -- is Drake's first full-length album since 2018's Scorpion, which included the three no. 1 singles "God's Plan", "Nice for What" and "In My Feelings".
He also released the compilation mixtape Dark Lane Demo Tapes in 2020 and dropped his EP Scary Hours 2 back in March.
In the lead-up to the album's launch day, Drake received a countdown in the form of sweet flowers and poetic notes from his mom, Sandi Graham.
On Thursday, Drake shared a look at his mom's message.
"It's finally come, the countdown has reached one, with each new album my heart skips a beat, being your mother has been my life's greatest treat," his adoring mom wrote. "It's been a long hard road together, now there's one more day to go. I wanna celebrate you son, more than you'll ever know. Love you now and forever."
The road to this album has been particularly a hard one for Drake, who revealed back in January that he was delaying the release because he had to undergo surgery and recuperate from the procedure.
He raps about this in his "The Remorse" track. "Dislocated shoulder, it's hard to be always reaching back," he says.
"I was planning to release my album this month but between surgery and rehab my energy has been dedicated to recovery," Drake wrote in a post shared to his Instagram story in January, according to Billboard. "I'm blessed to be back on my feet and feeling great and focused on the album, but CLB won't be dropping in January."
Certified Lover Boy is available for streaming and download now.
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