As Hip-Hop fans have seen over the past week, Drake’s Certified Lover Boy has been met with mixed reception. Pitchfork has deemed the “You Only Live Twice” rapper’s sixth studio album a 6.6 out of 10, and Anthony Fantano really ripped the project to shreds with a 3/10 rating. Regardless, Certified Lover Boy appears to be continuing to perform well commercially. According to one Zimbabwean artist, who operates on Instagram under the handle @huliodraws, Certified Lover Boy is a certified classic.
HulioDraws recently shared some nostalgic artwork that features a mantle that reads “Certified classics” and displays framed album covers of Thank Me Later, Take Care, Nothing Was The Same, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, Views, More Life, Scorpion, Dark Lane Demo Tapes, and Certified Lover Boy.
Rich Fury/Getty Images
Underneath the “certified classics,” eight different versions of Drake, and each with their own style relative to the eras of the projects shown above them. In the forefront of the piece, the Thank Me Later-era Drake is about to shake hands with the current heart haircut Certified Lover Boy-era Drake, and it is awe-inspiring to see how far he has come.
See the Zimbabwean artist’s stunning work, which has also already been reposted by Drake and Young Money, below.
When reposting the artwork to his timeline, Drake tagged HulioDraws and left the simple, yet optimistic caption, “What’s Next?”
The artwork not only gives himself and his fans a moment to reflect on his discography over the past decade, but also opens the floor for a debate on how many classic albums the Toronto-bred artist actually boasts in his catalog. Since the HulioDraws artwork notably leaves off So Far Gone, which is often regarded as a classic mixtape, out of the “Certified Classics” mantle, are there any projects featured in the piece that you think deserve to be considered a classic? Let us know in the comments.