Ebro Darden

Drake Fans Are Pretty Skeptical About ‘Certified Lover Boy’s Emoji-Laden Cover Art

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After months of delays — perhaps prompted by Drake and Kanye’s ongoing feud — Drake’s new album, Certified Lover Boy, officially got a release date when he made the announcement with an emoji-laden Instagram post. However, now fans are feeling skeptical about the album — or at least its ostensible cover art — after Ebro Darden confirmed on Twitter that the picture Drake posted is actually the album’s cover. Of course, Drake’s been roasted over questionable art before, but this picture — which features a grid of pregnant woman emojis in various skin tones and different colored shirts — doesn’t exactly scream “album of the year.”

Fans were quick to drag Drake’s decision to use, as one put it, such an “unserious” picture as his actual album cover. I’m old enough to remember the reaction to his Take Care album cover, which was derided for the exact opposite reason, so maybe this is Drake’s way of telling us this next album will be fun and lighthearted — or at least full of baby-making music that can be appreciated by people of all types. That hasn’t stopped some fans from being convinced that he’s “sabotaging his own rollout” and declaring that it’s “worse than the Donda artwork.” However, as Kanye recently proved with the chaotic release of his own recent release, these are two artists who exist in their own echelon, where rollout won’t matter as much as the music and the communal experience of streaming along with the rest of the word whenever the album drops. Check out more responses below.

Certified Lover Boy is due 9/3 via OVO and Republic.

J. Cole Advised Dave East To Make One Change To Improve His Rap Voice

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Harlem rapper Dave East has been around for a minute, but absent the big-name co-signs or signature hits that drove some of his peers’ careers, mainstream success has eluded him. With that said, his latest project, the Harry Fraud-produced Hoffa, is a masterclass in ignoring mass appeal in favor of crafting high-quality work and staying true to yourself — the album Dave East always needed in his catalog. However, it turns out one of East’s peers had some advice for him to improve his chances to gain traction on future projects.

Speaking with Apple Music 1’s Ebro, East recalled how J. Cole helped him make some adjustments to improve his rap voice — a key component in any rap artist’s success. “I got a chance to lock in with J. Cole, just me and him in the studio with the engineer, and he asked that same question, like, ‘Bro, I’m a fan of what you do, I really respect your pen, but you rap with one tone,’” he recounted. “And I really sat and listened to myself, and a lot of my sh*t is one tone.”

The rest of the session, he said, consisted of “me and him in the studio testing tones. He’s just really seeing how high I can take my voice, how low I can take it, and then he just was like, ‘Apply that to your music. Watch the difference. That’s just something I gotta keep working at, keep working at. I think it will be something dope to add to my music.” Listening to Hoffa, it’s clear the advice paid off, as Dave sounds more energized than ever, partly as a result of Harry Fraud’s complementary beat choices but also because his inflections bring a new-found dimension to his delivery, highlighting the emotional stakes of his rhymes.

Watch Dave East and Harry Fraud’s interview with Ebro below.

Big Sean Emphasized The Importance Of Educating The Youth About Mental Health

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For the past few years, Big Sean has increased his activism for mental health awareness. The Detroit native has experienced his own issues, which he opened up about shortly after the 2020 release of his album Detroit 2. Now, more than eight months later, Sean once again spoke about the topic during a recent sit-down with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden.

The interview is a part of the Apple Music host’s series The Message, and when the subject of mental health awareness came up, Sean explained why it is important to teach the youth about it. “It really needs to be just like how they teach us about STDs and sex in health class,” Sean said. “They need to make sure they teach us about how to deal with anxiety or how to breathe properly and all of that. It all should be together, because it’s all connected. It’s not like the head is separate from anything, it’s all together.”

As for the music side of things, Sean recently joined Sada Baby and Hit-Boy to throw a mansion party in the video for their new track, “Little While.”

You can watch Sean and Darden’s full interview on Apple Music here.

Sada Baby is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.