Drake Gives Love A New Meaning On His Highly Anticipated New Album “Certified Lover Boy”
By: Chris Buxton IG/Twitter: @chrisbuxtonllg
Over the last 12 years, music lovers from all around have been blessed with the opportunity to watch Aubrey “Drake” Graham climb up the ranks of the music industry and become the “Music Tycoon” he is today! Although some will say they never saw this coming, his rise to the top wasn’t by accident. From his very early stages, Drake had a formula and an ability to craft hits that not only brought out emotions, but he also had enough swagger to drop explosive raps that would come at you like bullets. With albums such as “Thank Me Later”, “Take Care”, and “Nothing Was The Same”, the Toronto hitmaker had cemented himself as one of Hip-Hop’s greats. He continued his conquest by dropping his masterclass mixtape “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”, and he followed that with his joint album with Future titled “What A Time To Be Alive”. His career finally reached its climax with "Views” which I still consider to be one of my favorites. Since then, it seems like Drake has been on a 5-year victory lap dropping singles, features, and projects left and right to keep feeding the industry what they want. Now, the 6-God is back with his highly anticipated 6th studio album “Certified Lover Boy”.
When I went to listen to the album, I didn’t fully know what to expect. Although I am a huge fan of Drake and his recent work, there was something about that hungry Drake from the past that made me adore him as an artist. To my surprise, “Certified Lover Boy” had the Drake that I was looking for. The album sounds like a mixture of my favorite Drake album “NWTS” and pieces of “Thanks Me Later” and “Dark Lane Demo Tapes”. On the album, we get to hear the 6-God finally come at people’s heads again with disses and introspective thoughts of who he is becoming due to his success. Drake is a father now and the king wants us all to know that he has been granted a different life than most. I don’t know if this album is a farewell for Drake, but it almost feels like it is. For the first time in a long time, we see Drake apologizing for some of the wrongs that he had committed over the time of his success. He apologizes for his treatment of women and others that might have been close but never understood his lifestyle. I felt Drake was finally maturing throughout this album, and it seemed like he was accepting that he’s ran this game so long that it’s time to enjoy his roses. Overall, the album may not be considered a classic yet, but this will be an album people look back on and say this man was cold!
In addition to the countless producer credits, Drake literally had everyone on the album. “Certified Lover Boy” features Jay-Z, Future, Travis Scott, Kid Cudi, Young Thug, Rick Ross, Lil Baby, and more. My favorite records from the project have to be “Girls Want Girls”, “Fountains”, “No Friends In The Industry”, and “Race My Mind”. There are just so many vibes on this project, and I believe Drake succeeds in giving fans every part of himself on this album. We get rap Drake, struggle Drake, emotional Drake, introspective Drake, and popstar Drake. There is no stone left unturned so I believe people will truly love this one. We have all been able to grow with Drake over the years, and I couldn’t think of a better way for him to go out if this is his last album. Thank you Drake!
Favorite Song: Girls Want Girls (with Lil Baby)
Lyrics That Stick:
“We got 1942 Casamigos, it’s getting heated
They gotta follow us in the Uber, my car filled up with shooters
It be lights, camera, action when you with us, it’s a movie”
