Drake confirms release date for eighth album, ‘For All the Dogs’
The long-teased record will arrive on September 22
By Joe Goggins
Drake has confirmed that the release of his latest album is imminent.
He had previously told a sold-out crowd at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, during the third of three nights there in late July, that a new record would be out “in like two weeks.” Whist he missed that deadline, he has now confirmed that his eighth album will be released on September 22.
In an Instagram post, he also appeared to confirm the the record is indeed entitled For All the Dogs, as had previously been rumoured. “FOR ALL THE DOGS SEPTEMBER 22”, read then simple caption, beneath a video of his father, Dennis Graham, performing in Memphis, Tennessee. The clip, taken from the Toronto television show Stormy Monday with Dennis Marks, sees Drake’s dad showcasing his own musical chops, as he leads his band in a rendition of Albert King’s ‘Crosscut Saw’.
Details on the sound of For All the Dogs are scant; on his last album, 2022’s Honestly, Nevermind, he took a left turn towards house territory, polarising fans and critics alike. He had first hinted that a new album was coming this year back in January, when he played several intimate shows at the legendary Apollo in Harlem. “I’ve thought about a bunch of things in life, but at this moment in time, none of those things are stopping making music for you, so I’ll be here for you for a little bit at least,” he teased at the time. “I hope I can strike up some more emotions for you – maybe this year, I might get bored and make another one, who knows?”
Last month, he confirmed a new record was in the works, a day after releasing his debut poetry collection, Titles Ruin Everything: A Stream of Consciousness by Kenza Samir and Aubrey Graham. On June 25, he used cryptic ads in such titles as the New York Post and the Houston Chronicle to direct fans to his website via a QR code; there, he said: “I made an album to go with the book,” the statement reads, before quoting his own lyric from the 2011 single ‘Headlines’. “They say they miss the old Drake girl don’t tempt me. FOR ALL THE DOGS.”
He went on to share the album’s artwork on Instagram on August 22, which features a drawing by his five-year-old son, Adonis.