This is a review of some songs off of the recently released album For All The Dogs, by Aubrey “Drake” Graham, the artist’s eighth studio album. The album is his most recent serious project, as since “Certified Lover Boy”, he’s only released two records: “Honestly Nevermind”, which was just experimental house music, and “Her Loss,” a collab album with 21 Savage.
Virginia Beach- Drake has always delivered genuine intros, each consistently containing real depth in their production. “Virginia Beach” is no exception, he gives a passionate vocal performance and samples Frank Ocean’s “Wise Man” throughout. As for the subject matter, you unfortunately do get the same repetitive “woe is me” Drake lyrics but overall a good track.
Calling For You (feat. 21 Savage)- It’s quite shocking for such a strong duo to put out such a painfully boring track. Their collab album tracks like “Rich Flex” and “Jimmy Cooks” would present the complete opposite. This song is stale and 21’s delivery is inapt given his track record. For someone hailed as a prolific feature artist, this is one of the most boring 21 Savage verses in a while.
Daylight- Drake has never shied away from trends, whether that be following them or setting them. On this track, Drake takes a bite out of Gen Z’s favorite rage genre popularized by artists like Yeat. Overall, Drake doesn’t do all too bad. The song is well mixed and at the end, features the rap debut of six-year-old Adonis Graham, in a verse that has created a meme online causing fans to either be big fans of the kid or just outright call him trash.
First Person Shooter (feat. J Cole)- I can’t lie, these two made a banger. This is the best song on the album by a long shot. At one point, J. Cole mentions K-dot (Kendrick Lamar) with Drake and himself as the three goats, and all that did was make me wonder why Kendrick wasn’t on this track. Either way, it is an excellent track, from the beat switch with dogs barking, to J Cole describing the Spider-Man meme, to Drake’s comparison of himself and Micheal Jackson at the end. There are no bad moments on this track. Despite what others say, Drake isn’t corny, it’s just good rap music.
IDGAF (feat. Yeat)- “An ode to Rage,” This track is the quintessential rage trap music that you hear on TikTok constantly. It’s done the best in the tracklist, but that’s not that surprising given Drake tracks like this one have been engineered for the widest amount of ears to enjoy. Yeat really isn’t that different in his verse and you just get the standard rage song, aside from the memes about Drake’s opening there is nothing that special about the song. The issue with this song isn’t the fact that Drake isn’t transformative it’s that he doesn’t try.
7969 Santa- I have a personal affinity to this song, it being my favorite track on the album. Drake calls back to “Pain 1993” from his shockingly mediocre record “Dark Lane Demo Tapes,” a track which Drake featured and took from artist “Playboi Carti” and his ethereal sound. On “7969 Santa” Graham evokes a similar sentiment, via a cut that puts you into this cold Toronto night atmosphere. The track produces this wafer-thin airy atmosphere that you can quite literally cut through; as if you’re driving and the only ambiance is coming from street lights, Drake articulates these sensations all the while still maintaining a subtle sharpness and precision in his flow. Teezo Touchdown ends the track with a beautiful ballad, cutting into the playful running gag that is BARK radio, these cutaways are meant to introduce the next song while giving you an interesting celebrity cameo. In this instance, it was Snoop Dogg, which was a perfect way to finish off a flawless track, the iconic voice, and the cosigning of Teezo’s touchdown.
Bahamas Promises- This and many other songs on the album go back to my point earlier in the review. Drake has gotten to a point where he doesn’t need to try which is valid because of his level of success, but with that is gonna come the criticism of a decrease in the quality of the content. This song is a clear example of that. It’s mostly filler and annoying, mostly him adorning about with another “woe is me, you ruined my perfect Bahamas trip” plot point, to the long pacing of the track.
8 am in Charlotte- Coming off of the album’s arduous and almost business-like side, “8 am in Charlotte” is an interesting cut that opens the emotional end of the album. This is a better song in a part of the album that if I were being brutally honest could’ve done with some editing and just straight-up removal of the low-effort filler tracks. The piano and beat are consistent and overall Drake comes through with bars.
Gently (feat. Bad Bunny)- I had to include this just to stress how awful it is, given this is a school publication, I have words that I can’t use to describe this monstrosity. The issue is Drake again has tried to appeal to popularity. He has an almost perfect barometer for telling what is going to garner attention and knowing, if not creating a trend. This track lacks effort and Drake’s delivery feels wrong. As for Bad Bunny, he was impressive given the standards this song dropped to following Drake’s verse. Not too different from some of his other cuts but overall a good feature from him.
Rich Baby Daddy (feat. Sexxyy Red & SZA)- Rich Baby Daddy personifies Jersey club, as I’ve stated multiple times throughout this review, Drake doesn’t shy away from appealing to popularity and replicating the trend. This is an example of that but with actual effort. Jersey club has recently become a craze on TikTok, a style of music characterized by electronic melodies and dance-inducing beats. The song does well to have detail while not feeling overproduced. It samples Filipina artist Jessica Domingo. Drake puts in genuine effort, he is a little robotic in his delivery but given he’s stepping a bit out of his comfort zone it’s expected. SZA’s vocal performance is truly the spine of this song, she gives a fun but very technically complete verse. Sexxyy Red is a new artist who may have been making music for a while but hasn’t been in the spotlight, for what is her biggest feature to date, she does quite well. While there is a deficit in her lyricism, she makes up for it, in what is an energetic and fun chorus that does well to progress the song. She did well for something that forced her to change her delivery and showcased some versatility.