After nearly two years of anticipation, Drake’s sixth album, “Certified Lover Boy”, is finally here. Initially set to release in the summer of 2020 before being pushed back to January 2021, the album was delayed again after the rapper was recovering from a knee injury.

Twelve emojis of pregnant women of all different ethnicities, wearing different long sleeve shirt colors, holding their stomachs with white background.

Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” album cover.

“I was planning to release my album this month but between surgery and rehab my energy has been dedicated to recovery,” said Drake on his Instagram story. “I’m blessed to be back on my feet feeling great and focused on the album, but ‘CLB’ won’t be dropping in January. I’m looking forward to sharing it with you all in 2021.”

Since then, he has given hints as to who will be featured in his album through billboards in the featured artists’ hometowns, including Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Lil Baby, 21 Savage and many more. The Canadian rapper also turned to Instagram to reveal the long list of titles for the albums’ 21 tracks. 

Drake’s album was released on Sept. 3. The album broke records on Spotify and Apple Music in just a few hours. 

According to Spotify, “Certified Lover Boy” became the platform’s “most-streamed album in a single day.”  His previous 2018 album, “Scorpion”, held the previous record with 170 million single-day streams. 

Given that Drake is Spotify’s most-streamed artist of all time, it comes as no surprise that the album continues to fill spots in the top charts. Drake’s reign as the biggest rapper alive is inevitable due to the power he will always hold, regardless of the quality of the work he produces in the future. 

 “Far as the Drake era, man, we in the golden ages,” Drake raps on the track ‘7 am On Bridle Path’. 

But is the new album truly a depiction of Drake’s golden age? 

In total, “Certified Lover Boy” (CLB) is 86 minutes in length, with each track lasting around four to five minutes. Aside from the small handful of hits alongside a few mediocre ones, this album is not unlike anything that Drizzy fans have heard before. 

 The track “Fountains,” featuring Nigerian R&B singer Tems, sounds like a typical remake of “One Dance” from Drake’s 2016 album “Views.” But unlike previous records, most of the tracks on “CLB” turned out to be big skips for fans. It is safe to say that this album had unnecessary features with weak verses. “Girls Want Girls” with Lil Baby is an example of an opportunity lost— even with its trademark Drake verse and catchy chorus. The song “Way 2 Sexy” featuring Future and Thugger and the song “F****** Fans” seem out of place and consist of lackluster, meaningless lyrics. 

With the track “No Friends in the Industry”, Drakes shoots an impressive shot at Kanye West a week after the release of his rival’s “DONDA” in “7 am on Bridle Path”. Even though Kanye’s name was not mentioned, the diss was pretty lethal. 

Although Drake strove to change the aesthetics of his new album, the underlying formula behind it all remains the same, and instead reuses themes that have garnered his commercial success in the past. He talks about women, fame, and pities those who can’t recognize his fame, but in turn also talks about loneliness and being misunderstood. 

Listeners are given a glimpse into Drake’s vulnerable side as he talks about his anxiety in “The Remorse.” Listeners can feel that he poured his heart out onto this track, and the fact that he is still able to do that shows the amount of dedication he truly has for his craft. 

Some of the decent tracks on the album are “Champagne Poetry”, which features a sample from the Beatles song “Michelle”, and “7 am on Bridle Path”, which has sentimental lyrics and soothing beats. On the other hand, tracks like “Knife Talk”, “N2Deep” and “Fair-trade” offer heavy bars alongside an energetic beat. The fluid transition to featured artists in “Knife Talk” and Travis Scott’s striking tenacity and passion at the end of his verse in “Fair Trade” could be considered the savior of this album.

“Somehow I’m the greatest in the game, to my own amazement. The greatest in the world, there’s no debatin’,” Drake raps in his song, “7 am on Bridle Path.” 

His versatility is on full display, and rappers can only dream of copying the rapper’s run. But, with lackluster albums like his latest drop, Drake might just end right back at the “bottom”—the humble, valiant starting point from which he famously arose —or so he says in his music.

Alyssa Domingo can be reached at jaedynyoung@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.