Widely recognized as one of the biggest influences in contemporary music today, Drake released his eighth studio album “For All the Dogs” on Oct. 6. With the last three albums disappointing critics and fans alike, Drake’s newest record promised to bring back the “old Drake” but fell flat with bloated songs, uninspired lyricism, and weak focus.
Much like his 2021 album, “Certified Lover Boy,” Drake demonstrates his inability to successfully produce longer albums. Marred by repetitive lyrics in songs like “Bahamas Promises” and “What Would Pluto Do,” with the latter being the most egregious for repeating the title over and over again, the lyricism is bland at best. Over its one hour and 24 minute run, at least a quarter of the album’s songs needed to be cut, and the long, boring interludes deflect attention from Drake’s main hits.
As with any Drake album, “For All the Dogs” lacks cohesion. Switching from serious and melodramatic R&B in “8 am in Charlotte” to goofy, lighthearted rap in “BBL Love (Interlude)” removes any emotional attachment the listener had from the previous track. However, when Drake takes a more serious tone on songs like “Tried Our Best,” his true talents in mixing R&B and pop come together to explore his complicated past relationship, a strength that should have been employed in the rest of the album.
With the weak album direction, some features feel misplaced and underutilized. Drake’s highly anticipated collaboration with Yeat in “IDGAF” disappointed instead with a weird clash of Yeat’s usual punk trap vibe and the R&B-inspired production of the rest of the album. Drake’s style of rapping meshed strangely with the beat, his verse sounding unnecessary to the song. Meanwhile, Lil Yachty’s feature in “Another Late Night” is sabotaged by bland, repetitive lyrics and differences in ambiance compared to the previous songs. Both features feel like normal Yeat and Yachty songs haphazardly placed in the album to generate more publicity.
The other features, however, help redirect the tone of the album. The long-awaited “Slime You Out” in collaboration with SZA blends two different narratives and meticulously crafted instrumentals, melding together bass, drum, and keyboard to make an otherworldly experience that serves as a highlight for the album. In “First Person Shooter” with J. Cole, although Drake clearly put more effort into this lyricism with this song, J. Cole brought much-needed hype with his fast-paced wordplay and outshines Drake.
As promised, hints of “old Drake” finally begin to resurface with “Drew A Picasso,” thirteen tracks into the album, as he delves deeper into his trust issues and regrets with heartfelt and vulnerable lyrics, in contrast to the majority of the album which only scratches the surface of such themes. Unfortunately, this awareness only lasts for a couple of songs before returning to the painstaking emotional ineptitude that characterizes most of the album.
Overall, “For All The Dogs” is another disappointing album from Drake, who has failed to innovate yet again. Before the drop, he announced that he would be taking a hiatus just after the album’s release for his health. Releasing multiple, rushed albums this year clearly impacted the quality of “For All the Dogs”, but hopefully this break from music will allow Drake to regain his creative focus and eventually come back stronger.
