Certified Lover Boy

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The journey to Certified Lover Boy began in April 2019 when Drake announced work on a new album during a concert. By June 2019, he teased the project with an "Album mode" caption on Instagram. In December 2019, appearing at DaBaby's Toronto concert, he promised fans the album would drop to help them "turn up in 2020." The rollout faced delays; initially scheduled for late 2020, a January 2021 release was pushed back after Drake suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury requiring surgery. Despite setbacks, snippets of tracks like "TSU" (originally "Not Around") and collaborations with Roddy Ricch surfaced. The project was ultimately dedicated to the late models Nadia Ntuli, who died in a 2021 Dubai car accident, and Miss Mercedes Morr, found dead in Texas in August 2021.

In Their Own Story

The release campaign intensified in mid-2021. On July 30, Drake confirmed the album was "ready" during an appearance on SiriusXM's Fri Yiy Friday. The official drop date of September 3 was revealed via an ESPN SportsCenter teaser on August 27, accompanied by artwork designed by Damien Hirst featuring 12 emojis of pregnant women—a design that sparked immediate controversy. In the days leading to release, billboards appeared globally: Atlanta showcased 21 Savage and Future; Chicago highlighted Lil Durk; New York City hinted at "the GOAT" (Jay-Z); Memphis featured Yebba and Project Pat; Lagos announced Tems; California revealed Giveon and Ty Dolla Sign; Cleveland brought Kid Cudi; Miami crowned Rick Ross as "the biggest boss"; Houston celebrated Travis Scott as the "hometown hero"; and Toronto honored Lil Wayne as the "best rapper alive." The lead single, "Way 2 Sexy," debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Reader's Guide

Certified Lover Boy debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 613,000 album-equivalent units, marking Drake's tenth US number-one album and the largest opening week for an album in 2021. It set records for biggest opening-day streams on Apple Music and Spotify while achieving a then-all-time record of nine top-ten singles from one album. While critics offered mixed reviews—praising its structure but noting a lack of sonic variety and lyrical insight—the album won Top Rap Album at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards after being nominated for Best Rap Album at the Grammys (a nomination Drake withdrew in December 2021). Subsequent singles included "Girls Want Girls" (peaking at number two) and "Knife Talk" (peaking at number four). In August 2024, a leak of 100 gigabytes of media from an account named plottttwistttttt revealed unused artworks for the album, including three scrapped cover designs.

Did You Know?

• The album artwork was designed by English artist Damien Hirst and features 12 iOS emojis of pregnant women.
• Drake withdrew the album from Grammy consideration in December 2021 after it was nominated for Best Rap Album.
• The project became Drake's tenth US number-one album and broke Apple Music and Spotify records for opening-day streams.
• On August 6, 2024, a leak revealed three unused cover artworks for Certified Lover Boy alongside other scrapped media.
• Billboards in various cities announced guest artists by hometown, with New York City revealing Jay-Z as "the GOAT."