After months of delay, Drake’s first full-length album in over a year is finally here. The Toronto rapper released his long-awaited project “Certified Lover Boy” on Sept 3. of this year, consisting of 21 tracks and a length of nearly 90 minutes. Fans held high expectations for this album after Drake’s three-song extended play  “Scary Hours 2,” a very solid project released earlier this year. A white background, stamped with emojis varying in color, serves as the album cover for this project; a seemingly strange choice for an artist with a high budget.

 The project starts with “Champagne Poetry”, a song with a vintage soul sample throughout and a smooth beat switch transitioning the song in the middle. The second track of “Certified Lover Boy” is “Papi’s Home.” Relaxed and lyrically interesting, this track is another highlight of the album. During this song, Drake references his undeniable influence on the industry and the newer generation of hip-hop. After two great songs back-to-back, the project was set up for success; however, the rest of the album was not as consistent. Drake was able to keep the album interesting and consistent. Sadly, this project fell short from a lack of variety and uninspired performances on many of Drake’s songs 

In typical Drake fashion, the project is littered with features from several of the hottest new rappers, as well as veterans of the industry like Jay-Z and Kid Cudi. Although these features add much-needed depth and variety to the project, they seem to overpower Drake’s performance on “Certified Lover Boy.” Every track with a guest appearance seems to cater to the artist, not Drake. The features make for many enjoyable cuts on the tracklist, however Drake consistently gets outperformed and often acts as the lowlight of these tracks. The collaborative tracks are a positive addition to the album; although Drake is overshadowed in his own album, the features add variety and keep the listener engaged to hear the all-star lineup of artists.e project. 

Despite a few highlight tracks in “Certified Lover Boy”, this album is not consistent with his best projects like “Take Care” and “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.” A lack of subject matter deeply hurts this album. Drake constantly raps about the same subjects on the project: his influence, his money, his girls, his son. Even on more inspired tracks like “7am on Bridle Path,” where Drake references his feud with Kanye West, the lack of passion and care behind his lyrics prevents the track from reaching its full potential. Overall, this project is nothing too special in Drake’s discography, neither one of his best or worst projects. Fans of Drake will most likely enjoy the album based off of the memorable tracks and solid features, but there is definitely room for improvement. Drake may not find himself in the hip-hop album of the year discussion with this new release, but loyal fans of the artist should be satisfied until his next release.