Drake Drops ‘CLB’ Album, And The New Video Has People Talking
Drake has dropped his newest album, “Certified Lover Boy,” and people just can’t stop memeing the cover art. The art
Ivy Griffith
Drake has dropped his newest album, “Certified Lover Boy,” and people just can’t stop memeing the cover art. The art was created by Damien Hirst, oft-controversial artist, and has people scratching their head. But Drake is no stranger to the internet and may be trolling us all. Combine that with the newest music video dropped by Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham, and you may just start to think this weird album cover and weirder video are a brilliant PR move.
“Too Sexy” is “Too Much” for the Internet
Graham’s newest video, featuring Young Thug and Future, was released with the title, “Way 2 Sexy.” And the whole video is a trip.
It’s a remake of the classic, “I’m Too Sexy,” with an often-hilarious, definitely creative twist. In the video, Drake appears in a variety of scenarios, including an ’80’s gym montage. Next is a cartoon version of Drake, followed by a ’70’s flashback and a journey through the pirate cover of a romance novel.
If it’s a little hard to keep up in writing, the video isn’t much better. Or maybe it’s brilliant. With the Michael Jackson and Rambo portions of the video interspersed with Young Thug rapping on a gaudy ’80’s couch, there are some lingering questions. At one point, Cartoon Thug flexes his pecs at a woman in the cartoon grocery store, and she pops a pregnant belly, flinging a cucumber in surprise.
There are even more pop culture references mixed in throughout the rest of the video, including Boyz II Men, starring an out-of-place and unenthusiastic Kawhi Leonard. And a bizarre break for a perfume ad called, “Wet.” The whole thing caps off with an eclectic and chaotic monthly shoot for a calendar. Later, Future appears in a tanning both, because why not.
All across the internet, people have questions. But mostly, people find it hilarious. Graham is well known for not taking himself too seriously at times. With one of the most famous memes on the internet belonging to Drake in the form of the “red jacket meme,” maybe he’s embraced his destiny and has decided to be the ultimate troll.
Drake versus Kanye, From Friends to Foes
Whatever you think of the video, Graham is heating things up in his feud against Kanye West. Although Graham didn’t specifically name West, some lyrics from, “7AM on Bridle Path,” are undeniably Kanye-ish. Graham lobbed shade at West in the song in the form of a rapper who is also a designer.
USWeekly shares the lyrics, “‘Told you I’m aimin’ straight for the head / Not aiming to please,’ he rapped on the track. ‘I can give a f—k about who designing your sneakers and tees / Have somebody put you on a Gildan and you play with my seed.’
The Hotline Bling performer also seemingly alluded to the time West allegedly leaked his home address via social media.
Drake continued in the song: ‘Trust me, there’s some s—t you really gotta come and see to believe / That’s why your people not believers, they all leavin’ ya / That’s why you buyin’ into the hype that the press feedin’ ya / You know the fourth level of jealousy is called ‘Media’ / Isn’t that an ironic revelation? Get that address to your driver, make it your destination / ‘Stead of just a post out of desperation.’”
Once upon a time, the pair was friendly. They collaborated on music, and had zero beef. Things started heating up around 2011 when the competition went from friendly to proverbial glares across the void of the internet, along with the occasional taunt. The beef snowballed over the years and now the pair is in an all-out feud, even releasing their albums days apart this year. That can’t be a coincidence.
Memes Galore
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You can’t talk about Drake’s newest album without talking about the way people reacted to the album art. “Certified Lover Boy” was dropped this week, but several days ago the album art made the rounds. And it’s a doozy. The album cover features emojis – pregnant woman emojis, 12 of them to be precise in varying skin shades and shirt colors. The internet immediately did what it does best and reacted to the bizarre Hirst design, by memeing it.
Lil Nas X decided to roll with it. With his debut album now having a release date of September 17th, 2021, he used the momentum from the Lover Boy cover to share his news. Nas shared on social media a pregnant male version of the emojis, announcing that his “baby,” his long-anticipated album “Montero,” was due to come on September 17th. Nas later upped the ante by taking a picture of him shirtless looking pregnant.
Trevor Noah and the Daily Show also got in on the hype, with Noah sharing his own 12-Noah image with the announcement that the Daily Show is returning September 13th.
Everyone got in on the joke, from the NBA to grill companies, and everyone in between.
But Drake is no newcomer to the internet. It’s likely that the weirdness of his album art and the ultra-weirdness of his newest music video are all tailored to generate buzz. After all, Lil Nas X has built his entire career so far on buzz; his first album hasn’t even been released yet, but he’s all anyone talks about.
Drake may be carving a similar path out for himself in a slower, more methodical way. But whether it was intentional or a happy accident, as Bob Ross would say, it’s definitely got people talking.