DRAKE'S FOR ALL THE DOGS FETCHES BIG FEATURES

Drake dropped his eighth album, For All the Dogs (OVO/Republic), on Friday morning (10/6), another 20-track+ offering from the devoted wordsmith. Packed full of features from the likes of Bad Bunny, J. Cole, 21 Savage, SZA, Yeat, Sexyy Red and Lil Yachty, among others, the project speaks to who's hot and who's not.

Case in point, the set opens with "Virginia Beach." While it's named after the hometown of Pusha T—Drake's longtime nemesis—it's not an outright diss track like some fans had predicted (or even hoped for). Instead, he seems to reserve any vitriol for Kanye West on the song "8AM in Charlotte" in which he raps, "Handle beef so quiet you think that I’m letting it slide/Next thing you know we tip-toeing past enemy lines/Diss me so long ago we making your memories fly/Conspiracy theories start flowing around like the Kennedy guy/I’ll probably hold a grudge against you guys ’til I’m 75."

While he doesn't mention West by name, it's clear he's harboring a grudge, and the only two rappers he's had issues with in recent years are King Push and Yeezy. Needless to say, fans are having a field day dissecting the lyrics.

As for the album itself, For All the Dogs is nearly as bloated as 2018's Scorpion (which consisted of 25 songs), making it a lot of material to digest. Thankfully, Drake plays around with a variety of sounds to keep it interesting—from '80s synths and Miami bass to slow, meandering pianos and R&B rhythms riddled with Drake's signature swagger. Cole's verse on "First Person Shooter," in particular, shines with the Dreamville founder's flawless delivery and unwavering confidence.

Drake gets his most vulnerable near the end on "Away From Home." Here, he opens up about his tough climb to the top and enduring those leaner years with lines like, "Dead broke, splittin' pennies with my members/Fuck a spread, we was splittin' chicken tenders (I-I-I—)/'Member I was sleepin' in the basement, watchin' Tigger in the basement, I was tryna get a placement." It's a refreshing moment for an album wrought with bravado and a firm indication that the "old Drake" fans are always clamoring for is never too far from the surface.

Listen to the album below while we Google what "BBL" means.