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Drake’s eighth album, For All The Dogs has broken records. Aubrey Drake Graham, professionally known as Drake, recently launched his latest album on Oct 6, 2023. It has already surpassed his accolades from previous albums in the first few weeks. Just two days after its release, Billboard revealed the album was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, with 514 million streams. The R&B/Pop album is Drake’s thirteenth No. 1 album.

Since the release of the collection, Drake has tied with Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift for the most No. 1 songs by a male soloist and most No. 1 albums. Anticipation for the album exponentially grew as it kept interfering with Drake’s “It’s A Blur” tour. The initial release date was Sept 22 but was pushed to Oct 6 so the artist could focus on his tour and perfecting the album for listeners.

While promoting this particular album, Drake elevated the suspense even further by encouraging fans to look forward to seeing the “old” side of him. He was also spotted wearing a dog mask around New York, which was likely a nod to the album title.

On For All The Dogs, Drake yet again combined an assortment of styles to appeal to his fans’ music taste.

The Beacon caught up with random students in the hallway to see how Hills feels about the album. “I loved the album very much. I thought it was a mix of two of the best Drake albums. He did a really good job incorporating the different features and styles. My favorite song is ‘First Person Shooter’ featuring J. Cole,” an anonymous senior reported. The audience refers to the album as a safe haven from the forgettable year of hip hop and rap that 2023 has been.

The album includes guest appearances from Teezo Touchdown, 21 Savage, J. Cole, Yeat, SZA, PartyNextDoor, Chief Keef, Bad Bunny, Sexyy Red, and Lil Yachty.

The most popular person to hit the record? Drake’s son Adonis.

Not only is Adonis the artist of the album cover, but he recites a verse on the song “Daylight,” and is featured in the “8am in Charlotte” music video. Adonis helped the album become a record breaker.

“I thought Adonis was so cute in the song. He made it so adorable and funny. I really hope Adonis is more musically involved with Drake in the future,” said another anonymous student to The Beacon.

Where the album has received much praise and recognition, there was criticism as well. Various people deem the album as repetitive and underwhelming. Since Drake releases an album almost every year, his beats, sounds, and vocals are not what has been previously advertised.

“I don’t know, but the new album just seems really disappointing. It doesn’t feel like old Drake and seems uninteresting. He honestly could’ve scrapped 2 or 3 songs because it was getting boring,” a Hills student reviewed.

Other students that were interviewed shared similar viewpoints. The consensus has been that his albums are frequently released, therefore he must be losing his touch. He seems to be becoming repetitive and tiresome.

This leaves For All The Dogs in a weird purgatory with critics. This specific album has stirred up opinions within the audience since it has a direct purpose and influence. Like always, Drake is heard rapping about women, sex, and his romances.

But overall, the album hasn’t failed to disappoint his core fanbase. It’s an easy, no-brainer collection for when you need something to listen to. But let’s be real, no matter what Drake releases, we will always listen and love it.