To hear Drake tell it, his toxic trait is that he loves too hard, cares too much, wants it all and can’t have everything.
He’s been dissecting emotional entanglements, social media culture and the unglamorous realities of celebrity life with equal rigor for more than a decade, but for once, Drake doesn’t seem too worried about nuance.
For better and for worse, Certified Lover Boy sounds like vindication, too busy enjoying the spoils of victory to dwell on what it took for Drake to get here or how quickly he could lose it all.
CLB is a commercial juggernaut that sounds incredible but says very little. That’s bad news for OVO diehards who enjoy Drake at his most introspective but great for the casual listeners who love “Jumpman” and “In My Feelings.” It isn’t difficult to see why it’s on track to be his biggest album yet.
While Drake spent the years since his debut establishing his personal sound, listeners have become accustomed to the Canadian rap titan’s various tics. As a result, CLB can feel formulaic, as if checking off boxes on an executive producer’s clipboard.
Despite the frequent predictability, it’s exciting to see a consummate professional at work, swinging his weight around to sample Biggie, Right Said Fred and The Beatles, paying homage to Houstonian strippers for the millionth time and rapping circles around JAY-Z for the sixth.
The probable Kanye West disses on “No Friends In The Industry” should keep tabloids and blogs happy for a few weeks (“Better find ya someone else to hit with all that smoke n-gga/And all them tweets and all them posts”), but it’s Drake’s haughty braggadocio that will be captioning B-list A&R Instagram posts for the next few months (“When I signed my first deal, that shit came through a fax”).
Or consider “Pipe Down,” a spiritual successor to the Cheesecake Factory fights of “Child’s Play.” A soulful beat from Working On Dying provides a lush backdrop for Drake to gaslight and gate keep, admonishing an unnamed lover whose ex “fell off twice,” saying “you’re the reason we cannot communicate.”
Questionable relationship advice aside, inside Drake there are two wolves — comedian and Casanova — and “Pipe Down” not only marries the two, it makes the union look easy. “Said you belong to the streets/But the streets belong to me” is already a romantic gut punch; the addition of Future’s memeified “she belong to the streets” is just icing on the pound cake.
But the sugar rush doesn’t last. “TSU” is overstuffed, with a minute-long Swishahouse intro incorporating a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sample of noted sexual predator R. Kelly. The song itself is gorgeous, built around ephemeral synths that feel like steam off of a ski chalet hot tub. But it’s hard to feel good about a song with an R. Kelly credit in 2021, no matter how it got there.
CLB is dedicated to “a combination of toxic masculinity and acceptance of truth that is inevitably heartbreaking.” But being generally shitty to women is nothing new for Drake, who’s long treated fame and money as exculpatory; Baka Not Nice was arrested on human trafficking charges and Drake rewarded him with a record deal (Baka ultimately pled guilty for assault and a weapons charge, though he continues to protest his innocence). If a man says he loves Rihanna but keeps working with Chris Brown, it’s hard to call him anything except a misogynist.
Unlike previous rounds of emotional bloodletting, CLB is largely uninterested in accountability. Drake used to worry about the new men his exes were entertaining (“Hotline Bling”) or question his own culpability in messy situations (“Redemption”), but the newfound security of knowing he’s the biggest rapper in the game precludes any opportunity for reflection. “Nice for What” wasn’t exactly a feminist manifesto, but it’s still jarring to hear the same guy ask women, “How much I gotta spend for you to pipe down?”
Meanwhile, “Fucking Fans” has all the charm of someone who only apologizes because they got caught. Drake has confused oversharing for poetic specificity before (Courtney from Hooters on Peachtree had to nuke her social media accounts after “From Time”), but it’s particularly shameless to say, “Hard to justify the women I was into/Especially when the whole entire world wished they had you,” let alone on an ostensible apology to Rihanna for past infidelities.
Every guest brings their A-game, though that’s less rewarding from JAY-Z and Giveon than it is from 21 Savage and Yebba. Lil Wayne and Rick Ross build a time machine to 2012 on “You Only Live Twice” and Drake still hogs the limelight, showing off the Rafael Nadal Richard Mille, grinning ear to ear the whole time. “Way 2 Sexy” with Future and Young Thug doesn’t just match the club demon highs of their last collaboration “D4L,” it blows them out of the water.
Even operating at their best, many of the guests feel shoehorned in and out of sync with the album’s rhythms. Giveon’s syrupy outro to “In the Bible” undercuts an incredible advertising pitch for India Royale Cosmetic by Boyfriend of the Year Lil Durk. And Tems collaboration “Fountains” doesn’t quite gel like previous forays into African pop music with WizKid and Black Coffee, providing ample ammunition for those who see Drake as a musical colonialist.
JAY-Z verses in 2021 bring to mind an aging racehorse limping towards the glue factory. “I don’t want no friends no more, not many understand me” sounds like a 2005 MySpace bio rather than the complaints of a billionaire mobster. His melodramatic verse punctures the moody atmospherics of “Love All” and egregiously fumbles a particularly thoughtful Drake verse in the process.
Guest appearances from Lil Baby and 21 Savage are similarly wasted on CLB, particularly disappointing from an artist who previously excelled at slotting new collaborators into his albums’ thematic worldview. The features here feel like a Marvel Cinematic Universe cash grab, sprinkled in because fans really want to see Drake team up with Kid Cudi and Travis Scott posts excellent streaming numbers.
Album closer “The Remorse” fails to stand up against its predecessors (State of the OVO Union outro tracks such as “The Ride,” “Paris Morton Music 2” and “Do Not Disturb”). But the humbly stated shoutouts to 40, Noel, Niko, CJ, Chubbs and Mark are endearingly direct. When he says, “Even with [the] salary, you can’t put no prices on that/There is no salary cap, there is no payin’ [them] back,” the gratitude in his voice is palpable.
Certified Lover Boy radiates contentment in all things: fights with Instagram models, unsettling rap beefs and getting up-charged by Jacob the Jeweler. Former idols have largely retreated from the limelight, whether in dignity or ignominy. Peers such as Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott have pivoted into auteurism and corporate cronyism respectively. At this point, Drake isn’t competing with other rappers but with pop superstars such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé (CLB’s first-week sales are projected to potentially outdo Lemonade, though Folklore will likely remain the year’s biggest release).
Despite the petty antics surrounding the album’s release, Certified Lover Boy is unstressed and unbothered. It’s an album by a man who has to laugh loudest and longest, a man who has to be in on the joke because the alternative is being the punchline. It feels like stretching out next to the world’s largest residential pool, or wearing an emerald-encrusted Patek Philippe, or doing shots at Tao, carefree and wealthy as emoji meme art by Damien Hirst.
Expect more vacant luxury from Drake in the future: he’s finally given up on trying to be better. He’s overdosed on confidence, drunk on champagne, done with apologies and accepted the lonely truth. He’s the last rapper left standing at the top.
The work it took to get here cost everything. The resulting heartbreak was inevitable.
So are you guys ever going to review Grip’s new album
yes, working on it now.
An unexpectedly well-written review. Can’t help but think that some people are overthinking this album. But this has given me a reason to check it out. I’ve only heard a couple songs so far.
boring
meeh
Awful, feminine hygiene product. 0/5. Not a half song I liked. And I do not hate Drake. I like couple of his older songs. This shit here is the worst nightmare.
What is the writer talking about? I really thought Hovs verse must be terrible…Here his verse is better than Drakes.
Has more classics than duds
Not one classic. All duds. Worse than scorpion, which was awful. I can’t remember one track off of the album.
That’s just bad memory
Nothing special, felt like a compilation of songs. Lacked so much creativity. This album will definitely not stick, just like scorpion. When you think about “the best of Drake” this album will most definitely NOT make the cut.
I agree
The songs that hit are fire but he has a lot of misses. Sounds like a forced lover boy image instead of the genuine music he used to make. Decent lyrics but musically lazy.
I agree
CLB sucked. Neither Drake’s or Ye’s album lived up to the hype. Donda was better imo. Waiting on KDot.
Certified Lame Boy
It is a very good album, not excellent but very good.
Drake is always mediocre. I don’t why y’all’s generation think he’s a goat. He comes nowhere near Kendrick or Cole when a new album is dropped. This album was hyped for sooo long. I would of gave it a 3.0 even. That’s being generous.
Its a good album although some tracks are a total let down. But its good side makes it better.
I don’t think that warrants a 5. All the tracks have to be fire for you to give it a 5 and you said “although some tracks are a total let down.” Then why give it 5? Don’t make sense…
I agree
If it’s just a “good” album why did you give it a “perfect” rating?
Straight garbage. Very disappointed in this one
I dont understand how Drake gives you a album you’ve heard over and over before amd gets a great score from the platform but the community knows its bad
Kanye gives you a completely new sound with great features & concepts the platform hates on it but the community knows it good
This is why the music review sphere is becoming obsolete
There are some incredible tracks and some that are directed for a certain type of audience. So it doesn’t necessarily give everyone something to be hyped about. From a production side, 40 if the fucking man. Can’t get no better, Although “knife talk” does have an editing problem with one of 21 Savages chorus. It missed a G sound @ 3:18. Other than that, no one seems to be able together a better album other than Gunna.
Wow. Some incredible tracks? Hahahaha. You realize this is a hip-hop site. Right? Which is the slapped single off of this? We’re waiting. Is it that bullshit with future the radio won’t play? LOL.
We’re waiting? Slap your self lame. You just embarrassed to bump the album cause you softer than this n!66@ Drake. LoL, N2Deep, No Friends in the Industry, TSU, Fair Trade, Race my mind, Fountains is enough to say, these are incredible, coming from someone who engineers music. I highly doubt you have anything to do with music. Like I said, you can’t compete with my music intellect. Probably never even played an instrument in yo life. Go back to waiting.
Not a Drake fan at all. I absolutely dislike pop rap in general. I usually give dude a fair couple of listens just to see where the bar is at for pop. He is usually one of the standards. I consider him on par with Bieber, Selena, Swift. Never Kendrick or Cole. This is by far the worse album he has ever released. With his other albums, there are obvious singles. Hit tracks that are catchy. I can’t name one on this project. Not one song sticks out. This also made me believe in the “click farm” conspiracies revolving around this guy and all of his ghost writing. Just a lame album and dude overall. I think this is the beginning of his ascent. I also find it hilarious that HHDX with their reviews rated this higher than Donda yet the actual community rated them the opposite way. Whatever.
Horrible as expected. Actually worse.
Gotta give us a 2.5… there’s some slaps and some greatness trying to shine but the other 15 songs won’t let it … also he isn’t talking to Kanye on no friends in the industry. 7 am on bridle is for Ye… no friends in the industry was a direct shot at kendrick and Kendrick will come back subliminally – miss the days when rappers said names… but y’all don’t fuck with Em no more – y’all act like cube isn’t amazing – 50 just a tv producer … for a HIPHOP site to not know who drake is talking to on no friends in the industry is nuts to me.
Correct! I’ve never understood why rappers get credit for subliminals (it is seen as clever or smart or genius) but rappers who go for the throat like Pusha T, Game, 50 Cent and Eminem are criticized (people say they use other people’s names for attention). Hip-hop/rap has always been explicit and that’s why we love it but I guess people want it to be more “commercially friendly.”
Great album. Cant stop listening.
2 best parts of the album had nothing to do with Drake…the Jay verse was dope, and the interlude with that chick singing…she was dope, had that Sade vibe…This dude is a clown and it’s a shame he’s considered the top dog
Lazy album and lazy cover art. Disappointing 2/5
THIS IS NOT THE 1
Great for functions, but honestly I could use his previous efforts for that. The thing I believe is Drake will never evolve. He won’t be daring, speak on substance and is comfortable where he’s at. Like Flo Rida or Pittbull or all those zany Florida repping artists. Hip pop is real. This is a testament to it. And Champage Poetry is OVERLY overrated imo. Like I said, good tracks for good vibes at a party, but he isn’t offering a new vibe to hip hop. And why would he? Regardless, keep doing your thing bc it works. And really quick, the reason for and ye are held Hurley by the underdog commercial venues, is bc they aren’t scared to experiment. I know a lot of white dudes that steered away from kdot when tpab dropped bc it was too real.
Pretty Good album. The hiphopdx review on this album was kind of closed minded and crappy. The features were great and there was something for everybody.
One thing that’s consistent with the 6God is you know exactly what your going the get. The OVO formula is tried and proven since take care. 40 and drizzy have mastered their respective crafts to the point where every track on CLB seems effortless and with that it feels almost too calculated. Many critics will point out that the sounds of CLB are too safe, if you heard one drake track you heard them all. I would actually disagree with that CLB doesn’t sounds like any other drake album, while the same drake album structure is there, lyrically and sonically this is the highest level we seen from the boy. I enjoyed CLB, the biggest knock for me is that I can’t listen to CLB in it entirely in one sitting, it’s functions best in a “choose your adventure” style making your own playlist each time you revisit the album, maybe that was their intention. Overall a good album, Drake’s most concise album since NWTS.
Drake’s prevailing shortcoming on the album is the salient absence of any risk, but his standard of output is so brilliantly high that this caveat is not as bitter a pill to swallow. It will inevitably ascend to cult status (just as many inferior albums in the discography of other timeless artists tend to do), but for now the fantastic smorgasbord of tracks, tempos and moods Drake graces us still provide sufficient fodder for those late nights — whether they’re spent alone in an introspective state or in the company of others ballin out.
I’m laughing at how bad of a take this is. This will never be a “cult classic”, and I’ll put my life savings on that fact. It’s not unique nor is it substantial enough to make it so. Nor is it bad enough to be actual fun to make fun of. At this point, we’re all tired of poking fun at Drake despite it being the only rational response to this “work” and how it was hyped. Nothing but disappointment, first track actually had me thinking this would be a truly different Drake record like it was touted to be.
2/5 and I’m being generous here. People have set their expectations so low for music it’s no wonder most of us are starved for something truly great.
I’m laughing at how bad of a take this is. This will never be a “cult classic”, and I’ll put my life savings on that fact. It’s not unique nor is it substantial enough to make it so. Nor is it bad enough to be actual fun to make fun of either. At this point, we’re all tired of poking fun at Drake despite it being the only rational response to this “work” and how it was hyped. Nothing but disappointment, first track actually had me thinking this would be a truly different Drake record like it was touted to be.
2/5 and I’m being generous here. People have set their expectations so low for music it’s no wonder most of us are starved for something truly great. Bring me back to the 2011-2017 era of rap please.
I’m laughing at how bad of a take this is. This will never be a “cult classic”, and I’ll put my life savings on that fact. It’s not unique nor is it substantial enough to make it so. Nor is it bad enough to be actual fun to make fun of either. At this point, we’re all tired of poking fun at Drake despite it being the only rational response to this “work” and how it was hyped. Nothing but disappointment, first track actually had me thinking this would be a truly different Drake record like it was touted to be.
2/5 and I’m being generous here. People have set their expectations for music so embarrassingly low it’s no wonder most of us are starved for something truly great. Bring me back to the 2011-2017 era of rap please.
This is a poor attempt to “blend”.
Drake tries to blend bragging and complaining, he tries to blend hard punchlines with a lazy flow and it’s ok to admit that he failed.
Also, by now, sneak dissing, subliminal disses and all of that, it’s getting old and tiresome. There were poor attempts of this sprinkled throughout the album but no sign of that “Back to Back” Drake.
The album cover is bad and as generic as the album itself is.
It’s not bad. Dude is still cold with it. His new music beginning to sound like is old stuff. Same cadence makes me think of other songs of his. I mean it’s his flow, so I can’t knock it, but it’s not fresh, IMO.
.
Great album . 4/5
As a Drake Fan, it’s exactly what I’ve been asking for since Take Care/NWTS/Views/More Life/Scorpion. Drake has been very consistent at keeping his character. He never fails to include “The Drake” flavor that every fans adore. Experimentation would be fun to include in the album but those should be simply left out to features and such. I don’t wanna listen to Drake that sounds like another artist. That’s why other artists exist already.
Exactly what we expected..but a step up from the Scorpion joint.. that album was horrible…. this is a good playback album
This is officially the most out of touch hip hop site on the internet…it’s now official
album is booty.
5/5
I only listen to fair trade and N 2 Deep but I feel guilty for listening to that because iono if drake is rapping about Millie or not. The rest of the album is… I guess a little forgettable. Not bad but not enough to make me return
Not it
It’s ok
Classic! Years from now someone will come back to this comment and give me reason… CLB is one of those albums that will sound better in retrospective, plus a lot of songs are part of the early 2020’s sound so it will be even more nostalgic. Definitely not for everybody and also the hype turned a lot of people off since it sounds like a familiar Drake album. Don’t kid yourself, if this was released by an up and coming artist this would be rated differently. Either way as a neutral listener I think this album is a CLASSIC!
It’s ok
CLB was his best project since IYRTITL. A solid album and yh it didn’t really evolve Drake’s sound but the music and production are on point. Drake’s lyrics were sharp, and 40’s beats going crazy, though I wish Way 2 Sexy or Girls Want Girls weren’t on this album. People have just been riding the bandwagon and saying it’s a bad album without giving reasons why. Drake is the easiest rapper to hate because he’s on of the big 3 and the other two have no ounce of dirt on them. People need to stop looking at the album cover it’s bad but there’s literally a saying, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.”
To me personally Drake delivered a very enjoyable, well crafted album, that is (most of the time) fun listening to. It’s definitely better than Scorpion and is probably his best since Views
CLB = Corny Lame Borjng
Not Good