For All The Dogs by Drake | Album Review

Another project by Drake in his tetralogy containing CLB, Honestly, Nevermind & Her Loss

The rapidity in which Drake has released albums recently is seemingly unmatched by any other superstar this era. He’s dropping projects like they’re soundcloud riffs waiting to be discovered — and yet, his gems are comfortably lodged in the past. He’s sounded… comfortable as of late, often scrutinized for lack of effort or formulaic ponderings of money, fame, and women — a trademark that has, admittedly, succeeded beyond all measures thus far.

Still, his stardom has yet to seize, each new project putting us on the edge of our seats as he catches bras of all sizes and goes word for word with front row concert goers in his It Was All a Blur tour. There’re still gems here and there. See: “Massive” from Honestly, Nevermind, “Hours in Silence” from Her Loss, and a handful of tracks from Certified Lover Boy which has continued to age quite well despite its lackluster reviews and collective agreement that it is overshadowed by his handful of other classics in his discography.

With the promise of delivering a product reminiscent of the “old Drake” (ooo girl don’t tempt me), and postponing the album, its lead single, “Slime You Out” signals his intentions to be problematically unforgiving and worryingly nonchalant with melodramatic crooning, cringy wordplay, along with a feature from SZA. This sentiment relays with the second lead single “8am in Charlotte,” featuring his son, Adonis, in the music video providing insight into his artwork for the albums cover.

While lousy wordplay is unsurprising, the voice of none other than Christopher Breaux, more popularly known as Frank Ocean, opens For All The Dogs with his trademark distorted, high-pitched vocals outshining a monologuing Drake in “Virginia Beach”. An Ocean feature (sample, rather) at this point is like recognizing that one actor you saw in the background of a movie a decade ago for five seconds — extremely exciting, then immediately disappointing as their prime is defined by only a moment in time.

“Daylight” and “First Person Shooter” sees Drake portray himself as a kingpin of the 6, dropping bodies in broad daylight and throwing shots with reckless abandon. At times, he’s speaking a foreign language that not even Jimmy from Degrassi would understand — a cynical spit circuit defined by an artist that finally seems to be letting loose what they’ve been holding back for a while, as if it would harm the listener. The Toronto puppetmaster pulls the strings erratically here.

Some tracks feel like throwaways, then there’s the TikTok and radio cuts like “IDGAF” with Yeat and ear-shattering production from BYNX (who has been killing it btw) and “Rich Baby Daddy” that aren’t particularly rap-savvy but benefit from extremely catchy tracks with a large number of producers and the illustrious desire to pass Micheal Jackson for most number ones.

For All The Dogs has an odd mix of R&B Drake and rapping Drake as he seems to flow between the two without warning in an often clunky and unprepared delivery. With a bloated 23 track, hour and a half listen, there are bound to be moments that slip under the rug including the Chief Keef sample of “Don’t Like” in “7969 Santa,” the “Jumbotron Shit Poppin” of this album in “What Would Pluto Do,” and his awful Spanish in “Gently,” and the cute but out of place Adonis’ verse at the end of “Daylight”.

Oldheads might love the crooning of the “Old Drake” that makes an appearance in “Bahamas Promises” and “Tried Our Best” as he leans into his R&B roots with Teezo Touchdown playing the role PND did in the 2010’s (who does make an appearance) — an eloquent vocal backing as he glides along a low energy track laden with the pitfalls of love and fame. The “Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku II” type beats that have become so prevalent under 40 are hilariously good.

Proving himself as a true raphead by including a DJ Screw deepcut, gliding along a Conductor Williams beat in “8am in Charlotte,” and a Chief Keef sample plus feature, his best moments come when he isn’t trying too hard to prove his rap eclecticism. The additional radio show theme that seems to slip in and out of focus with Quincy Jones and Snoop Dogg shouting out BARK Radio. The focus is unclear most of the album — what exactly are we meant to focus on?

For All The Dogs feels like one last catharsis before dropping out of the race for a while after putting out four albums in half as many years. Of the selection, this is the weakest by far, but perhaps it will age well as his albums typically do over time — we’ll revisit in six months. The bloated tracklist does FATD no favors and if you told me it would be the worst of the last four albums before I listened to it, I would’ve thought you were lying.

Rating: 6.8/10
Favorite Tracks: Virginia Beach, IDGAF, Bahamas Promises