It was actually refreshing for an artist ... Put simply, "Certified Lover Boy" is swollen and boring, a watered-down collection of Drake tropes. I listened straight through the album exactly ...

Drake in 2010, standing in front of a plane advertising his debut Thank Me Later, a sound his new record revisits "Gimme a hug, Gimme a hug!," pleads Drake on one ...

pleads Drake ... "certified lover boy" persona that dominated Drake's initial breakthrough albums like Thank Me Later and 2011's Take Care. In the 2010s, Drake was the most-listened to Spotify ...

Drake in 2010, standing in front of a plane advertising his debut Thank Me Later, a sound his new record revisits [Getty Images] ...