Maps of Music

Certified Lover Boy (2021)

Where the lyrics of Certified Lover Boy take you, and where it was really made.

The cover shows 12 emojis of pregnant women, and fans and critics called it lazy and ridiculous.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

Certified Lover Boy: sixth studio album by Canadian rapper Drake
Released 3 September 2021 by OVO Sound and Republic Records
Production handled by frequent collaborators 40, Nineteen85, PartyNextDoor, OZ, Vinylz, among others
Guest artists include Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Giveon, Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Future, Young Thug, Yebba, 21 Savage, Project Pat, Tems, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Kid Cudi
First part of a "trilogy" with follow-ups Honestly, Nevermind and Her Loss (both 2022)
Themes: fame and success, dominance in the music industry, misplaced loyalty, tainted romance, feuds, loneliness
Mainly a hip hop record with a hazy atmosphere; includes elements of crunk and trap

April 2019: Drake announced during a concert that he had started work on a new album
June 2019: teased the album on Instagram with the caption "Album mode"
Originally scheduled for late 2020, then postponed more than once
14 August 2020: title announced
Dedicated to the late models Nadia Ntuli and Miss Mercedes Morr
Ntuli, a close friend of Drake, was killed in a motor vehicle accident in Dubai in early 2021
Morr was found dead in her Texas apartment on 29 August 2021; believed to be a murder–suicide
26 November 2022: Drake revealed the album as part of a trilogy

Artwork features 12 iOS emojis of pregnant women in varying clothing colours, hair colours and skin tones
Designed by English artist Damien Hirst
Met with negative reception from fans and critics alike
Named the worst album artwork of 2021 by Exclaim!

Aubrey Drake Graham, born October 24, 1986 in Toronto, Ontario, is a Canadian rapper, singer and actor.
Gained recognition as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–2008).
Independently released mixtapes Room for Improvement (2006), Comeback Season (2007) and So Far Gone (2009) before signing with Young Money Entertainment in 2009.
Debut album Thank Me Later (2010) debuted atop the Billboard 200; followed by Take Care (2011), Nothing Was the Same (2013), Views (2016), Scorpion (2018), Certified Lover Boy (2021) and Iceman (2026).
Views led the Billboard 200 for 13 weeks; "One Dance" became the first song to surpass 1 billion streams on Spotify.
Among the world's best-selling artists with over 170 million units sold; the highest-certified digital singles artist in the United States.
Accolades include 5 Grammy Awards, 6 American Music Awards, 41 Billboard Music Awards, 2 Brit Awards and 3 Juno Awards.
Founded OVO Sound, DreamCrew and the fragrance house Better World; became global ambassador of the Toronto Raptors in 2013.
Known for feuds with Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar; the 2024 feud with Lamar is reported to have damaged his public image.

Mixed reviews from music critics on release
Most critics felt it was comparable to Drake's other releases and highlighted its structure
Criticism focused on the level of lyrical insight and the lack of sonic variety in the production
Pitchfork (Matthew Strauss): Drake seems to be doing what he thinks Drake would do, and ticking the box is taking its toll
Variety (Brandon Yu): praised it as a perfectly fine record, expensively well-produced
Consequence (Okla Jones): lacks some of the variety of earlier albums, but concepts and musical structure make a solid body of work
Los Angeles Times (Mikael Wood): glowing review; called the R. Kelly credit a thoughtless error
The Guardian (Alim Kheraj): lukewarm; songs not bad and some excellent, but they hew to a formula
Clash (Nathan Evans): says the album is too extensive and calls for sacrifice to make a more cohesive project
The Independent (Sam Moore): greatest crime is how bland and boring it is
The Arts Desk (Harry Thorfinn-George): mixed; much feels rehashed, but intriguing in capturing Drake at an awkward point in his life
Entertainment Weekly (Gary Suarez): compared it to watching the eighth season of a sitcom

Metacritic: average score 60 out of 100 based on 20 reviews, "mixed or average reviews"
AnyDecentMusic?: 5.5 out of 10 based on critical consensus

US Billboard 200: debut at number one with 613,000 album-equivalent units
Drake's tenth US number-one album
Biggest US opening week of 2021 at that time
Broke Apple Music and Spotify records for largest streaming debut in a single day
Lead single "Way 2 Sexy" became Drake's ninth US number-one hit
UK Albums Chart: debut at number one with 46,000 units in first week
Nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2022 Grammy Awards, withdrawn in December 2021
Won Top Rap Album at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards
RIAA triple platinum certification on 25 October 2023

Scary Hours 2, a sequel to the 2018 EP, was released on March 5, 2021 to build anticipation for the album, with three songs and guests Lil Baby and Rick Ross
"Solid" with Gunna and Young Thug was originally intended for this album; because the album was postponed, Drake gave the song to Gunna
On 1 September 2021, billboards in the US, Canada and Nigeria revealed the featured artists according to their hometowns
The October 2020 teaser referenced covers of So Far Gone, Take Care, Nothing Was the Same and Dark Lane Demo Tapes
Recording engineer Noel Cadastre said on 29 July 2020 that the album was "90% done"