Drake could finally release his long-rushed album Certified Lover Boy next week. A cryptic clip broadcast on ESPN’s SportsCenter showed someone holding a sign that read “CLB September 3rd”. A Drake representative did not confirm a September 3 release date for Rolling Stone, but advised the publication that the video could be taken “at face value.” Drake and ESPN representatives have not responded to Pitchfork’s requests for comment and information.
Drake first announced Certified Lover Boy, his formal successor to Scorpion, in August 2020 when he also released “Laugh Now Cry Later”. A few months later, he teased a January 2021 release, but the album, of course, didn’t materialize. Instead, Drake released his Scary Hours 2 EP with three tracks. He later starred in Nicki Minaj’s “Seeing Green”, Brent Faiyaz’s “Wasting Time”, Smiley’s “Over the Top” and Trippie Redd’s “Betrayal”.
On “Betrayal” Drake rapped “All these fools I barely know / Forty-five, 44 (burned out), let it go / You don’t change anything for me, it’s set in stone,” as quoted by Genius. His lyrics seemed one reigniting simmering beef with Kanye West Notably, the ever-changing iTunes pre-order page for West’s new album Donda gives a release date of September 5th.
Last year Drake released his Dark Lane Demo Tapes, a 14-track release with “Toosie Slide”, his future collaboration “Desires” and more. In 2019, Drake released Care Package, a compilation of tracks originally released between 2010 and 2016. The project brought fan favorites like “Girls Love Beyoncé” and “How About Now” to streaming services for the first time.
Dark Lane Demo Tapes was the first Drake project in 10 years to fail to debut at number 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, ending the series that began with the release of Thank Me Later in 2010. He stepped on Lil Waynes. on Apple Music radio program Young Money Radio shortly after the mixtape was released to talk about the project, how the COVID-19 pandemic made him rethink how he wanted to release music, and more.
