For All the Dogs

On January 21, 2023, during his free concert at the Apollo Theater, Drake teased the release of an album, saying he wanted to "strike up more emotions, maybe this year".[3] He also responded to the negative reception of his previous few albums, stating: "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 [the fans]".[4]

On June 23, Drake announced that his poetry book titled Titles Ruin Everything, which was co-written with songwriter Kenza Samir and previously teased in summer 2022, would be released on July 14.[5][6] One day later, full advertisements on the front-page of the New York Post contained an incorporated QR code.[7] Upon scanning, the QR code redirected to a landing page with a picture of two puppies above a statement: "I made an album to go with the book... They say they miss the old Drake, girl don't tempt me. For all the dogs".[8][9][10] Its title was soon officially confirmed by OVO and Republic.[11][12]

During his performance in Detroit on July 9 for the It's All a Blur Tour, his co-headlining tour with 21 Savage, Drake announced that Nicki Minaj would appear on the album, which however did not happen for unknown reasons.[13] He also announced Bad Bunny would appear on the album during his performance in Los Angeles on August 13, who is featured on the song "Gently".[14] Eight days later, Drake revealed the album artwork, drawn by his son, Adonis Graham.[15] On August 22, Amazon Music announced on social media that the album would be released in three days along with praising Adonis for the drawing, but the statement was later deleted.[16] On September 6, Drake confirmed the album would be released on September 22. Two days after the announcement, he shared a trailer video for the album, which was a flashback of his father, Dennis Graham, performing on the Canadian television series Stormy Monday with Danny Marks, in the early 1990s.[17] Exactly ten days after the announcement, he announced that the album would be delayed by exactly two weeks due to the ongoing tour and would be released on October 6.[18] Drake revealed the tracklist on October 5, one day before the album was released.

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	4.7/10[22]
Metacritic	52/100[23]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[24]
Clash	7/10[25]
The Guardian	[26]
The Independent	[27]
NME	[28]
Pitchfork	6.5/10[29]
The Times	[30]
Slant Magazine	[31]

For All the Dogs received a score of 52 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on 10 critics' reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reception.[23] Shahzaib Hussain of Clash complimented the "smoky coos, chatter, static and dizzying detours" as the "production roves between sterilised studio sheen and an earthy fusion of soul samples and boom-bap drums" and remarked that while "this isn't his certified rap classic[,] it does signal a turning point".[25] Will Hodgkinson of The Times called Drake "a seriously good rapper" that "cannot stop himself from complaining all the time".[30]

Pitchfork's Julianne Escobedo Shepherd wrote that Drake "has yet again doubled down over a melange of styles—drill, underworld R&B, Playboi Carti's flow—and other than a few flashes of brilliance, the music can't save him from himself", stating that "the meat of this bloated 23-track album are his own grievances and a dearth of topical contrast".[29] Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone felt that there is "evidence of a good album somewhere within the hour-and-a-half long bloat that is For All the Dogs" but summarized the album as "meandering".[32]

Tim Sendra of AllMusic wrote that "Drake slides back into his usual M.O. of slow as taffy pull beats, alternately aggressive and morose rapping, and topics that range from how great Drake is to how rich Drake is to how misunderstood Drake is with the occasional bit of misogyny added in to put some rotten cherries on top".[24] Nadine Smith of The Independent found that "the childish pettiness and adolescent insecurities that were once endearing in their juvenilia now seem tired and immature. Instead of chilling out and settling down as he approaches his forties", the album "sees him acting up more than ever, in ways that frequently reek not just of insecurity, but outright misogyny".[27]

In Drake's home country of Canada, For All the Dogs debuted at number one on the Billboard Canadian Albums, marking Drake's fourteenth number-one album in the country.[33] The album also debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 402,000 album-equivalent units, including 10,000 pure album sales.[34] The album earned a total of 514.01 million on-demand streams in the debut week, that results in the largest streaming week of 2023 for any album until that moment, and the fourth-largest ever.[34] For All the Dogs is Drake's thirteenth number-one album in the US.[34] All 23 tracks debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, with seven of them appearing in the top-ten and Drake also becomes the first artist to tally at least 300 hot 100 entries.[35] With For All the Dogs, Drake also extends many of his Hot 100 chart records, including the most top-five hits (41), top-ten hits (76), top-20 entries (132), top 40 hits (199) and overall charted titles (320).[35] In its second week, the album remained in the top ten in the US Billboard 200 and fell to number two, earning 164,000 album-equivalent units.[36] It also gave Drake his sixth number-one album in the United Kingdom and also marked his second chart-topping album in less than a year, following his collaborative album with 21 Savage titled Her Loss (2022).[37] In its second week, the album remained in the top ten in the UK and fell to number three.[38]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer

Sample credits

• "Virginia Beach" contains samples of "Wiseman", written by Christopher Breaux and James Ho, as performed by Frank Ocean.
• "Calling for You" contains samples of "Livin Without You", written by Nohelani Cypriano & Dennis Graue, as performed by Nohelani Cypriano; a sample of "Calling 4 You (Freestyle)", written by Francis Leblanc, as performed by Fridayy; and an uncredited sample of "Shake it to the Ground", written by Charles Smith and Ryeisha Berrain, as performed by Blaqstarr and Rye Rye.[39]
• "Fear of Heights" interpolates an uncredited sample of "Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?", written by Poison Ivy Rorschach and Lux Interior, as performed by The Cramps.[40]
• "Daylight" contains uncredited samples of dialogue from Scarface (1983), written by Oliver Stone, as performed by Al Pacino.[41][42]
• "First Person Shooter" contains samples of "Look Me in the Eyes", written by Joe Washington Jr., as performed by Joe Washington and Wash.
• "IDGAF" contains samples of "The Tunnel", written by Norma Winstone and John Taylor, as performed by Azimuth.
• "7969 Santa" contains samples of "I Don't Like", written by Keith Cozart, Tavares Taylor, and Tyree Pittman, as performed by Chief Keef and Lil Reese.
• "Screw the World" contains samples of "If I Ruled the World", written by Robert Earl Davis Jr., as performed by DJ Screw, and samples of "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)", written by Nasir Jones, Kurtis Walker, Samuel Barnes, and Jean-Claude Olivier, as performed by Nas and Lauryn Hill.
• "Drew a Picasso" contains samples of "The Motion", written by Aubrey Graham, Noah Shebib, and Sampha Sisay, as performed by Drake.
• "All the Parties" contains an uncredited interpolation of "West End Girls", written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, as performed by Pet Shop Boys.[39]
• "8am in Charlotte" contains samples of "A Faithful Spirit", written by Nichol Eskridge of the Polyphonic Music Library.
• "Rich Baby Daddy" contains an interpolation of "Dog Days Are Over", written by Florence Welch and Isabella Summers, as performed by Florence + the Machine.

Musicians

Technical

• Chris Athens – mastering
• Dave Huffman – mastering (1–8, 10–23)
• Noel Cadastre – mixing (1–11, 13, 15–20, 22, 23), engineering (all tracks)
• Noah Shebib – mixing (1–3, 10–14, 17–22)
• Hector Castro – engineering (9)
• Oupsing – mixing assistance (1–8, 10–23)
• Jad El Khoury – engineering assistance (9)