Drake's surprise collab album with PARTYNEXTDOOR has been met with mixed reviews, here's the only one that matters.
On February 14th, 2025, Drake was everyone’s Valentine; In true Drake fashion, instead of flowers and chocolates, we got the surprise collaboration album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PARTYNEXTDOOR.
The slow, dreamlike R&B album is a patient listen, 21-song project full of autotuned love ballads with an at-times dark, gloomy atmosphere. The heavy use of auto-tuned vocals sets a great, unique tone for the album, but at times, it becomes one-dimensional. Drake has an underrated singing voice and a strong ability to convey emotion, but with this vocal mix, that ability is limited. I believe Drake sounds best when his voice is as close to natural sounding as possible, so to me, For All The Dogs was mixed perfectly. Despite not loving this sound on my initial listen, it did grow on me, and overall I think it’s a worthy entry into both Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR’S discography.
Sonically, this 21-song album is very cohesive, but to me it plays more like a compilation album, similar to More Life, rather than a standalone studio album. It’s a collection of vibes you’re meant to pick and choose from, so don’t take it too seriously.
So far this collaboration has been met with mixed reviews and generally low-rated reception. Many circles have given it the career-dampening label mids, and it’s easy to see why with the slow, uninspired first track, "CN Tower." When I first heard the introduction line "the city is pretty when it’s dead like a flower," I immediately debated sending a cease and desist to Drake for copying a poem I wrote in the third grade. Honestly, I thought in 2025 we banned rhyming city with pretty, but here we are.
If you manage to get past this first song, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find some gems. One track that sticks out is "Die Trying," where Drake hops in his acoustic indie singer-songwriter bag. Following the "Hey Ya" method of sad lyrics over an easy listening, uplifting melody, the Canadian artists delivered an undeniable jam. Though on the surface Drake seems torn between staying or leaving a woman he once loved, I can’t shake this eerie feeling he’s really singing to his lost love for the music business. After losing one of the most notorious rap feuds of all time and practically being humiliated on national television, it’s not hard to believe Drake is questioning his relationship with the music industry entirely. With lyrics like "Why won't my tears work? It's been a decade since I've cried; I got no dog left in the fight, The bark don't match the bite," Drake almost seems like he's trying to tell us after such a long, draining battle he’s losing passion. After seeing people who were once Drake's friends now dancing with Kendrick Lamar on stage to "Not Like Us" in LA, that simple line, "Son, these hoes just don't love you" I said, ‘I'll keep that in mind’" seems to make a bit more sense.
Speaking of “Not Like Us,” at one point Drake references it directly, and it happens to be on one of the more classic songs on the album; The track “Celibacy” is pretty much about what it sounds like. Sonically, a full Drake ballad over a simple piano is all we needed. Lyrically, Drake walks that fine line of sincerity and almost corny, resulting in that nose-type Drake song that only he could deliver. "Pour me a shotty, let it flow through my body; Flow through my body, flow through my body" is just enough to make you crack a smile and remember that even on such a sincere love song Drake still has that signature self-aware humor. Of course, Drake references Kendrick on this track, though it was almost in passing and much more tongue and cheek than anger-fueled. In the line “Like these men you know you can't trust or these girls that just don't give mе enough; Fuck, I guess it's up and it's stuck We're not like them, baby, and they're not like us” The Kendrick reference acts more like a cherry on top or a nod. Drake is pretty much acknowledging that the beef happened, and he’s at a point where he can talk about it but he’s also pretty much over it.
Despite Drake having a heavy presence in this album and admittedly most of the spotlight on him, vocally PARTYNEXTDOOR does not disappoint. PARTYNEXTDOOR shines on “Deeper,” where he goes on one of his best vocal runs in recent memory.
PARTYNEXTDOOR really fed the fans on this one; it’s a must-listen for any R&B fan and an instant addition to my late-night drive playlist. It’s also the only solo PARTYNEXTDOOR song on the album, and I wish there were more.
No Drake album is complete without a dance single and $ome $exy $ongs 4 U has “Nokia.” The disco-inspired dance track is a carefree groove that for four minutes and one second will make you forget any sort of rap beef and have you dancing in the bar like Jared McCain making a TikTok.
Overall I’d equate this album to the 2025 NBA All-Star game. It was a step in the right direction, but by no means was it an overwhelming success. This project had its fun moments, and I see the potential. If I could give any advice, I’d say don’t let negative media reception rob you of finding a couple of great jams on this timely collaboration.