Drake’s audience has grown up – so, why hasn’t he?

Drake used to be a heartbroken lover boy. For a while, his songs arguably exuded more teenage-girl-esque longing than any Taylor Swift single.  After rapping about himself, his favourite topic was the women he obsessed over— Kiki obviously didn’t love him but we all did. As an artist, he was almost comically angsty.

But Drake’s latest album has coincided with a vibe shift. For All The Dogs demonstrates an anger and frustration with women which, according to some critics, “borders on sinister”. Essentially, it’s giving incel energy. There’s nothing sensitive or babyfaced about the 23-song track list. Despite claiming “IDGAF”, Drake comes off as butthurt and insecure.

During Fear of Heights Drake seemingly tries to take a swipe at Rihanna – with reference to her Anti album – to prove he’s not hung up. “I had way badder bitches than you, TBH,” he claims in what sounds like a 14-year-olds response to getting pied.

“Typed some shit, then I erased what I felt,” the rapper, who is turning 37 in two weeks, says on 7969 Santa— a track about a supposedly emotionally immature 25-year-old woman. But Drake’s inability to articulate his feelings suggests she is not the problem.

Aside from his whole album reeking of misogyny, there’s a disquiet on Twitter over Drake’s  actions, too. Three weeks ago, he used Halle Berry’s image as an album artwork despite her request not to. Days before that, he posed with hundreds of women’s bras on Instagram to remind us he could get some. While in 2018, in the music video for God’s Plan, he gave cash to pay for student’s tuition fees and families’ food shops— in 2023 he handed a fan $50k because his girlfriend left him. His actions are increasingly ick-worthy.

Fundamentally, For All The Dogs screams of a mid-life crisis. Drake packs women’s numbers “into my phone like sardines”, drags his exes into the dirt and comes off as more childish and petty than he ever has before. As the name suggests, For All the Dogs is for the boys. Specifically, the foot-stamping teenagers.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Right, this is why Halle Berry is seriously angry at Drake right now 

• The twinning effect: Why we start dressing like the guys we want to date 

• If a guy says any of these things on a first date, run and never look back

Featured image credit via Instagram