Drake released his long delayed eighth studio album, For All the Dogs, on Friday morning (October 6). It’s a typical Drake record—a few tracks too long, monster features from the likes of J. Cole, 21 Savage, SZA and Bad Bunny and lots of verses about how rich he is. But despite the formulaic nature of the project, his fans are ravenously eating it up.
According to HITS Daily Double, the sales projections for the album are huge. It’s currently expected to move anywhere between 400,000 and 450,000 total album-equivalent units in its first week, another win for Republic Records and OVO Sound. Even with the late release, the number is holding steady.
Drake has been making headlines for reasons other than his music. On Saturday (October 7), the OVO Sound boss went after Joe Budden for criticizing the new album.
“He rappin’ for the children,” Budden said on the latest episode of The Joe Budden Podcast. “Yo dog, I had to look up how old this n###a was when I finished listening to the album. You are 36 [years old]. Your birthday is in 20 days. I Googled that, too. You’re going to be 37 years old. Get the f##k away from some of these younger n###as. I want to hear adult Drake rapping for adult people. He’s rapping for the kids, the streams, the accolades. He ain’t trying to rap for me. I can accept that.”
Drake replied in part, “@joebudden you have failed at music. You left it behind to do what you are doing in this clip cause this is what actually pays your bills. For any artist watching this just remember you are watching a failure give their opinion on his idea of a recipe for success…a quitter give their opinion on how to achieve longevity.
“you switched careers cause the things that pop into your brain had you broke living cheque to cheque and the raps you write had 450 men showing up to your shows in dusty Enyce jeans to screw up their face to Mood Muzik 29 and pretend you are the goat. pls to any artist that’s doing what they feel is right don’t let these opinions affect your mindset after the fact…this guy is the poster child of frustration and surrendering.”
Budden replied by essentially telling Drake to grow up.