Canadian
rapper Drake’s long-awaited sixth studio album ‘Certified Lover Boy’ released on
Friday with former Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney listed as co-writers.
The two are credited on the album’s opening track – ‘Champagne Poetry’ – which
features excerpts from their song ‘Michelle.

The album
is a “combination of toxic masculinity and acceptance of truth which is
inevitably heartbreaking,” Drake said in a footnote on Apple Music.

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“Executive
produced by me, Noah ‘40’ Shebib, Oliver El-Khatib, and Noel Cadastre.
Dedicated to Nadia Ntuli and Mercedes Morr. RIP ? —Drake.”

Mercedes
Morr was a model and an influencer on Instagram who was found dead in her Texas
apartment, believed to have the victim of a murder-suicide. Nadia Ntuli is also
a model who died earlier this year. She previously was shouted out by Drake on
Instagram.

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Drake teased
the release of his album on Thursday, hiring billboards in New York, Chicago,
Los Angeles, Atlanta, Memphis, Houston, Toronto, Miami, Cleveland and in Lagos,
Nigeria as he announced his collaborators.

The album features
Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Lil Baby and Yebba in guest spots.

The album
was originally scheduled for 2020, before being delayed till early 2021. It was
further delayed when the 34-year-old injured his anterior cruciate ligament,
which required knee surgery.

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“Between
surgery and rehab my energy has been dedicated to recovery,” he said in a
message to his fans earlier this year. “I’m blessed to be back on my feet and
feeling great and focused on the album, but CLB won’t be dropping in January.”

 The album’s cover, designed by artist Damien
Hirt, features a number of pregnant woman emojis.

‘Certified
Lover Boy’, which has 21 songs, comes days after the Kanye’s album ‘Donda’ dropped
on August 29 – which was pushed ahead of its September 3 release, as fans debate
which one is better.