After a slight delay, Drake's "For All the Dogs" has been unleashed.
The Canadian rapper, who originally announced his eighth studio album would drop last month, released his latest work Friday. It follows the Drake's two releases last year, "Honestly, Nevermind" and "Her Loss," for which he partnered with 21 Savage. Drake's new album offers 23 tracks that include collaborations with 21 Savage, J. Cole, SZA, Bad Bunny and more.
Drake expressed how "very proud" he is of the album in Friday's episode of his SiriusXM series, "Table For One," and said he's "grateful that any of you all are still interested in even listening to what the boy's go to say."
Drake also said he'd be taking a break from the studio for perhaps a year "or maybe a little longer." He said he'd be focusing "on my health first and foremost" and had "other things I need to do for some other people that I made promises to.”
Artwork for "Slime You Out," Drake and SZA's first track together, proved controversial last month. Drake selected a photo of Halle Berry being slimed at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, which irked the Oscar-winner. Berry said Drake didn't see her approval of the image. "That’s not cool. I thought better of him!" she commented on Instagram, adding: "When people you admire disappoint you, you have to be the bigger person and move on!"
The cover art on "For All the Dogs" is a safer choice. The white animal with long ears and fiery red eyes is an illustration by Drake's son Adonis, 6 this month. Adonis also stars in the video for "8AM In Charlotte" from "For All the Dogs" shared to Drake's YouTube channel Friday morning. In it Drake's son dances next to his dad while wearing a shirt that reads "Hate survivor" and interprets some of his artwork for his dad at the beginning of the video. When Drake asks if Adonis would like to share how much money he earned for his artwork, Adonis quips, "Oh, please."
'Not cool'Halle Berry says Drake didn't get permission to use her pic for 'Slime You Out'
The AI-generated songmimicking Drake and The Weeknd's voices was submitted for Grammys
This summer, Drake and 21 Savage embarked on the "It's All a Blur Tour," that kicked off in Chicago in July. The show included stops in New York, D.C., Los Angeles and Houston. Friday and Saturday, the tour stops in Drake's hometown of Toronto.
During the tour, concertgoers have parted ways with their intimates tossing their bras at Drizzy on stage. In Chicago, one night after being struck in the arm by a tossed cellphone, Drake had advised concertgoers, “Bras only, please.” Detroit fans upped the ante with a whole host of them — including one inscribed with somebody’s Instagram handle — prompting Drake to joke, “I feel like I’m cleanup duty,” as he gathered them up.
Drake tour 2023:See the setlist for the 'It's All a Blur' tour
Contributing: Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press
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