Drake has finally announced the release date for his new album, the long-teased Certified Lover Boy, as well as shared the cover art.
The official Instagram announcement comes just days after the OVO boss teased the September 3 release date of the long-awaited follow-up to his 2018 album, Scorpion. The drop date was revealed in a cryptic clip during ESPN’s SportsCenter program last week. The broadcast was briefly interrupted by a glitchy promo that was made to appear like it was a hack, as it featured distorted vocals and grainy imagery, including some shots of a piece of paper that read: "CLB September 3."
The SportsCenter Twitter account addressed the incident in a tweet Friday afternoon, writing: "We want to apologize for any interruptions viewers might have experienced during SportsCenter this morning. We had some technical difficulties that have since been resolved."
Certified Lover Boy has been in the works since 2019, when Drake told fans he was locked in "album mode." At the end of that year, he made an appearance at a DaBaby concert and suggested his sixth studio album would arrive sometime in 2020. He would continue to tease the project over the following year, eventually revealing its title and its original release date last fall. The album was then expected to drop in January of this year, but was pushed back so that Drake could focus on his health.
"I was planning to release my album this month, but between surgery and rehab, my energy has been dedicated to recovery," Drake wrote on social media at the beginning of the year.
"I’m blessed to be back on my feet, feeling great and focused on the album, but CLB won’t be dropping in January. I’m looking forward to sharing it with you all in 2021."
It was less than a month ago when Drake announced he had completed Certified Lover Boy and that it was "on the way." Shortly after, he connected with Trippie Redd on "Betrayal," a track in which he seemingly took shots at his friend-turned-foe, Kanye West, as well as said his release date was "set in stone."
On social media, Drake shared a white canvas emblazoned with rows of pregnant women in emoji form, allegedly the CLB cover art. Elliott Wilson at TIDAL has since confirmed that this is indeed the cover. Stay tuned for when the album drops on Friday.
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