Are women people? Unpacking the lyrical philosophy of Drake’s new album

Was that a Harry Potter reference? Is he dissing Rihanna? Are women people? These are just some of the questions that crop up when listening to For All The Dogs, the eighth studio album by Canadian rapper Aubrey Drake Graham. Across the record’s 23 tracks, Drizzy takes us on a jaunt through his current philosophy, one that’s become increasingly questionable of late. On the album, the opposite sex are bogeywomen who buy their bodies (“All The Parties”), cry about flying economy (“Calling For You”), and don’t know how to use knives and forks (“Slime You Out”). Classic Drakeisms abound, and the rapper once again finds himself forlorn amidst a sea of delinquent women and their fresh-off-the-table BBLs. Quite fortuitously, the only thing that seems to lift Drizzy from his woman-induced inertia is to have sex with the same women who’ve caused him all that pain. How interesting!

So, without further ado, we’ve trawled through the album in its 84-minute entirety, presenting you the current, up-to-the-minute guide of Drake’s unhinged lyrical philosophy (which is basically a public service at this point).

TRACK 1, “VIRGINIA BEACH”

“Drawing conclusions like you got a Parsons degree or something”

The theme of Women In Education crops up at various places across the record. Why can’t they simply stay in school? Here, Drake chastises a mystery lover for acting like she has a degree from design school Parsons, but no, that would be silly – she merely draws conclusions like she has one. Interestingly, alleged former flame Rihanna was given an honorary award by Parsons in 2017, so this could be directed at her. But speaking of Riri…

TRACK 4, “FEAR OF HEIGHTS”

“Gyal can’t run me… I’m anti, I’m anti/Yeah, and the sex with you was average”

Drake opens the fourth track with what seems to be quite an extended dig at the bad gal herself, Rihanna. “Why they make it sound like I’m still hung up on you?” he asks, before continuing: “That could never be/Gyal can’t run me/Better him than me/Better it’s not me/I’m anti, I’m anti/Yeah, and the sex was average with you”.

If referring to this mystery woman as “gyal” wasn’t obvious enough (Rihanna’s Instagram handle is famously @badgalriri), Drake adds that he’s “anti”, a reference to Ri’s eighth album Anti. Also, “the sex with you was average” is a direct rebuttal of Anti album track “Sex With Me”, where Rihanna opens with the line “Sex with me so amazing”.

There’s been no official confirmation from camp Fenty of who the lyrics are about, but just one day after the release Rihanna’s choreographer Parris Goebel posted a close-up pic of the Bajan singer swerving Drake’s kiss onstage at the 2016 VMAs. Quite brutal. No wonder his philosophy is anti.

TRACK 8, “7969 SANTA”

“I don’t like what you did to your lips”

In his Aesthetic Practitioner era. 1ml of dermal filler please, Drizzy!

TRACK 9, “SLIME YOU OUT”

“You need somebody who could micromanage you… Tell you right from wrong/Who’s smart from who’s the fool/Which utensil to use for which food”

On the record’s SZA-assisted lead single, Drake begins with an exasperated “I don’t know what’s wrong with you girls”, before launching into a patronising tirade about teaching women how to use cutlery. The whole thing is very Victorian governess of him. It’s giving Debrett’s Guide to Etiquette, it’s giving finishing school, it’s giving Ladette to Lady.

TRACK 10, “BAHAMAS PROMISES”

“You put the ‘no’ in ‘monogamy’”

Far from espousing his commitment to ethical non-monogamy, Drake informs a lover that their behaviours are so off-putting it makes him want to swear off faithfulness for good. Come on women, do better! In hindsight, I wish I could have put the “no” in “no, I will not write this article”, but we move.

TRACK 11, “TRIED OUR BEST”

“We in the club with your gay friends/Always put you on a straight flight”

Yes, he may have just hit the club with a couple of your circuit queen besties, but Drake will always be checking his Skyscanner app, nabbing you a straight flight with none of those bothersome layovers. Quite sweet really!

“I swear to God, you think I’m Shakespeare/That’s why you always wanna play, right?”

In this scathing attack on a lover, Drake accuses them of casting him as famed English dramatist William Shakespeare, as they always want to “play”. The line is very clever because Shakespeare did in fact write plays. Wordplay to rival the Bard himself.

TRACK 13, “DREW A PICASSO”

“I can’t picture you with him/That’s just so embarrassing/I want to diе”

This lowkey reads like an Olivia Rodrigo lyric, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Also, being so embarrassed you literally want to stop living is quite teenage girl-coded, so all things considered a fairly relatable one from Drizzy.

“In Miami and the owls with me like they just put my ass in Gryffindor”

Finally! Potterhead Drake makes an appearance!! Here, Aubrey is hanging out with “the owls”, members of his OVO Sound record label, of which the logo is a wise old owl. Just a couple Gryffindors, hanging out in Miami, cooking up some potions. They’re so crazy, I love them.

TRACK 14, “MEMBERS ONLY”

“Feel like I’m bi/cause you’re one of the guys, girl”

Drake is queer-coded (feels like he’s bi), neurodivergent (micromanages utensil usage), and POC (person of Canada), that’s why y’all don’t like him, just admit it.🙄

TRACK 15, “WHAT WOULD PLUTO DO?”

“Life is going just how I predicted, okay/Dropping two Cialis in her liquid, okay”

Like Viagra, Cialis is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction. There’s little proof it works on women, plus it’s unclear if Drizzy is watching his partner take the pills or doing the “dropping” himself. Quite a dicey line to leave ambiguous, but Drake is apparently living life on the edge of this record. Bottoms up, I guess.

“Get inside and bend a dick just like the Pope”

The track’s titular ‘Pluto’ is the nickname of fellow rapper Future – another man of toxic persuasion – so the questionable sex metaphors come as no surprise. Here, Drake avows to bend his dick like the late Pope Benedict, who passed away in December 2022, aged 95, surrounded by family. This tribute is what he would have wanted.

“Girl I wanna slide in your box like a vote”

Suffrage for all!

TRACK 16, “ALL THE PARTIES”

“Used to be a smarty/Used to wanna study… Girl, you need a hobby”

The Victorian governess jumped out. Maybe it’s his past on the teen high school drama Degrassi, but Drake is obsessed with women staying in the classroom. Not only this, the rapper is invested in his partners undertaking some enriching extra-curricular activities, too. The question is, are women real people capable of completing formal education without the help of Drake’s lyrics? Only time will tell.

“In this 6 side town, a dead end world/East End boys and West End girls”

Drake’s love of London culture is well documented, but this one took a few by surprise. Towards the end of “All The Parties”, the rapper slides into an interpolation of Pet Shop Boys “West End Girls”, changing the lyrics to “6 side town” in reference to Toronto’s nickname ‘the 6’. But the homage obviously didn’t go down too well. On hearing the track, Pet Shop Boys released a statement, letting the world know that Drake had neither asked permission or credited them for the sample. He’s just had a lot on, OK.

TRACK 18, “BBL LOVE INTERLUDE”

“They say love’s like a BBL, you won’t know if it’s real until you feel one”

A 36-year-old man wrote this.

TRACK 20, “RICH BABY DADDY”

“You ain't even know how to suck it right, I taught you right”

Sorry you taught what? At this point Drake is intentionally peppering his work with lyrics that could be deemed “sus” to troll his public image. And a lot of the comments made towards him (‘BBL Drake’, etc.) are just plain homophobia disguised as “jokes”, so fair play to him on this one.

TRACK 21, “ANOTHER LATE NIGHT”

“Weirdos in my comments talking ‘bout some Millie Bobby”

Drake takes aim at those who questioned his controversial friendship with Millie Bobby Brown, one that began in 2018 when she was 14 and he was 31. 

TRACK 23, “POLAR OPPOSITES”

“Bipolar baby, seems like it just went undiagnosed”

He’s an etiquette professor, he’s a cosmetic injectionist, and now he’s a diagnostician. There’s literally nothing this man can’t do. 

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