A day after surprising fans with his seventh studio album, Drake has opened up about his criticism.
The 35-year-old music artist appeared in a video posted to Twitter, where he said: “This is what we do. We’re waiting for you to catch up.’
Fans had previously taken to social media to deliver mixed and shocked reviews of the dance-themed project.
Speaking up: A day after surprising fans with his seventh studio album, Drake has defended his criticism
The 12-second video clip was shared by the Twitter account Rap Alert and in it the musician was barely visible as he was in a dark room.
One of the songs from his 14-track release played in the background as he gave viewers his two cents.
At the beginning of the clip, he said, “It’s all good if you haven’t got it yet,” before ending with “We’ve already caught up.” On to the next.’
Drake – real name Aubrey Graham – shocked his followers by announcing he would be releasing new music at midnight on Thursday with just hours notice.
Nevermind: Drake’s new album Honestly, Nevermind was panned by fans after the rapper decided to pursue a new musical direction
But after he stayed up listening to the tracks, fans weren’t impressed and wondered why he’d decided to make a creative shift and released a house music album.
Fans tweeted: “Honestly, Nevermind is being honest about what Drake should have done before he decided to release whatever this damn album is.”; “Drake is in his laziest era and it will have a long-term impact on his legacy as he constantly chooses relevance over creating quality work.”
“Pretending to agree with people that Drake’s ‘Surprise’ album is really good is exhausting. It’s awesome.’; “Drake dropped Scorpion and I genuinely thought it was hands down his worst album ever, but I NEVER thought his next album would be worse and NEXT album even WORSE. omg.’
Clapping back: The 35-year-old music artist appeared in a video posted to Twitter defending his new music, saying: “This is what we do. We’re waiting for you to catch up’
Live life! Graham took to Instagram on Saturday to share a carousel of new photos that further proved how little he was bothered by the bad reviews
Buddies of his appeared in the photos, wearing the same shirt as him and adorned with flashy jewellery
Graham took to Instagram on Saturday to share a carousel of new photos that further proved how little he was bothered by the bad reviews.
He wrote “Sympathetic 22” in the caption, which matched his camouflaged shirt, which read “Sympathy” in big orange letters.
The father-of-one sipped from a glass of wine and showed his middle finger in a photo.
Private flight: The media figure was busy with his phone as a display of silver balloons reading his album title floated nearby on a private jet
Peace! The chart-topper couldn’t wipe the big smile off his face after sharing his seventh full album
The hitmaker shared outtakes with a number of different friends, including DJ Khaled in one.
Other buddies of his also showed up, some wearing the same shirt as him and adorned with flashy jewellery.
Another snapshot showed the successful media figure flying in a private jet.
He busied himself with his phone while a display of silver balloons reading his album title floated on a nearby wall.
Squad: Drake and his friends coordinated as they celebrated the release of his new album
Summer album: The Canadian rapper, 35, on Thursday released the cover art for the project, which is his seventh studio album, following last year’s release of Certified Lover Boy
While many listeners were unhappy, some were pleased with the new music, who tweeted, “Drake did a ting though. Can’t even hate. Respect the artist and the boundaries he pushed on this one’; ‘Is Drake’s new album any good or did it just get me in a great mood this morning?’
It came after Drake sent fans into a frenzy when he released the cover art for the project, which is his seventh studio album following the release of Certified Lover Boy last year.
“7. Studio album HONESTLY, NEVERMIND out at midnight,” the Canadian hitmaker captioned the photo, which simply included the new album’s name.
Panned: After staying up listening to the tracks, fans weren’t impressed and wondered why he decided to make a creative shift and released a house music album
Drake then released the tracklist for the project, which consisted of 14 tracks including Falling Back, Calling My Name and Jimmy Cooks – a nod to Jimmy Brooks, the popular character he played on Canadian teen series Degrassi.
The album came as a complete surprise as the musician didn’t advertise it beforehand.
The exciting announcement was liked by nearly 2 million of his followers within the first two hours, including former rap rival Kanye West, 45.
The speed of the new project may be due in part to the God’s Plan star recently signing a $400 million record deal earlier this year.
Tracklist: Drake also released the project’s tracklist, which consisted of 14 tracks, including Jimmy Cooks – a nod to Jimmy Brooks, the popular character he played on the Canadian teen series Degrassi
On May 3, Sir Lucian Grainge, head of Universal Music Group, confirmed that Drake had signed a massive “broad, multi-faceted deal” with the label, according to Variety.
The deal “includes recordings, releases, merchandise and visual media projects.”
Drake’s Certified Lover Boy was released through his own label, OVO Sound, under license from Republic Records (owned by UMG).
The album earned him a nomination for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance at the 2022 Grammy Awards.
However, the artist, who has won four Grammys in the past, withdrew from competing for the awards.
The chart-topper is known for being critical of the Grammys, and in response to a Grammy snub from The Weeknd in 2020, he wrote on Instagram calling for a new platform.
“I think we should stop being shocked by the discrepancy between effective music and these awards every year and just accept that what was once the highest form of recognition is for the artists that exist now and those that come after may no longer matter.’
He added: “This is a great time for someone to start something new that we can build over time and pass down to generations to come.”
Recent Project: Drake’s latest album earned him a nomination for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance at the 2022 Grammy Awards, though he retired; Certified Lover Boy album cover