new york –
The hip-hop frontrunner has a new album in the works, and it could be out sooner than you think.
Drake told a packed Barclays Center crowd in Brooklyn on Thursday night that production on his upcoming project, For All The Dogs, would be finished in about “a few weeks.” The 36-year-old megastar, known for releasing music without announcing dates, hinted at a potential project at the intimate Apollo show in January.
In addition to Thursday’s announcement, the five-time Grammy Award winner, who was photographed wearing a Doberman mask earlier in the day, said he will also unveil a new freestyle on Friday.
Details are unknown, but he confirmed a collaboration with Nick Minaj at a show in Detroit earlier this month. ‘For All the Dogs’ is 21’s latest project since her joint album ‘Her Loss’ with Savage, released in November. His final solo release was the dance-themed EP Honestly, Nevermind, released in 2022.
While the summer of 2023 was all about girl power with female-led concerts that included Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, Drake’s 56-episode “It Was All A Blur” tour reminded the music world that he was a man to forget.
Drizzy’s Thursday night show marks the third of four consecutive sold-out shows at Barclays, with three more shows in the New York area starting Sunday at Madison Square Garden. It will be his first headline appearance since Aubrey & The Three Migos tour in 2018 before Corona.
Drake, who released his first book of poetry, Titles Ruin Everything: A Stream of Consciousness, with songwriter Kenza Samir last month, kicked off with “Look What You’ve Done,” a deep, piano-driven, melancholy album cut dedicated to his mother, uncle, and grandmother from 2011’s Take Care.
He then embarked on some early hits like “Marvin’s Room,” “Say Something,” and the hugely popular breakup song “Feel No Ways,” which wasn’t even a single. In addition to his early songs, Drake delved even further into songs from his Money era Young, before showing the audience the latest and greatest of his big records from his 35-plus solo setlist.
The Toronto native proclaimed his hit-making greatness, confidently speaking to an audience that was virtually on their feet for the entire two-hour set: “Nobody’s going to (bad) me. I have too many,” he repeated over and over again.
Throughout the night, a spectacular light show flew across the arena and surrounded Drake with a variety of giant inflatables and puppets suspended above the stage. They include a bride, a Peter Pan doll, an explosion that resembles an exotic dancer, and a giant singular holographic sperm cell (yes, that’s right), complete with animated sperm cells swimming over the stage’s floor monitors. He dedicated that part of the concert to his female fans.
Bras and e-cigarette pens were also thrown onto the stage after objects were recently thrown at artists. Drake replied, “If you think I’m going to pick up this e-cigarette and go smoke with you at the (expletive) Barclays Center, then you’re not taking life seriously. You have something to appreciate in real life.”
In an unconventional concert sequence, Grammy Award-winning rapper 21 Savage followed Drake in a short set, playing some of his big records, including “Red Ops,” his collaboration with Post Malone, “Rock Star,” “A Lot,” and “Bank Account.” With Drake back, the duo performed songs from “Her Loss” such as “Spin Bout U” and “Rich Flex.”
The “Best I Ever Had” rapper closed the show by stepping off the stage to a giant statue of Virgil Abloh as voices from the designer played. Abloh, who died of cancer in 2021 at the age of 41, was the black designer who created a groundbreaking fusion of streetwear and high couture that many in the fashion world have come to refer to as the Karl Lagerfeld of his generation.
“Not only did he inspire me through direct conversations we had, but I just met some amazing people through this man,” Drake said, ending the night with his song “Legend.”
