Drake seemingly announced the release date for Certified Lover Boy on this morning’s (Aug. 27) SportsCenter broadcast. During the ESPN show, a hooded figure — purportedly the Toronto rapper — interrupted the program and held up a cardboard sign that read: “CLB. September 3.”
As fans caught wind of the fleeting announcement, multiple reports began to surface on social media that Drake “hacked” the network. Notably, Sept. 3 is also the release date that Apple Music currently lists for Kanye West’s album, Donda.
So far, Drake hasn’t commented on the “hack” or confirmed Certified Lover Boy’s release date on his own social media accounts. The 34-year-old has been teasing the album for months, most recently confirming to fans that the project is finished.
“Album’s cooked,” he said on a July episode of Sound 42’s “Fri Yiy” show. “Looking forward to delivering it to you. I hope everybody in the world is blessed. I hope everybody has their drinks, everyone’s locked in. Good vibes and good energy for this weekend.”
“And for the rest of you heathens, I wanna tell you, ‘cause I know you’re listening, ‘cause you’re always free. Don’t trouble people’s kids, don’t bother people’s souls,” he added. “Know what I’m sayin’? OVO, we aim for that head. We don’t aim to please. You see it. Certified Lover Boy on the way. And that’s for anyone in the way.”
The album’s alleged release date, which could be the same drop date as Donda, also arrives amidst a reignited feud between Drizzy and Kanye. Tensions between the pair were revived last week after Drake name-dropped Ye on Trippie Redd’s song, “Betrayal.” Ye later fired back by posting, and then deleting, Drake’s Toronto home address.
Rick Ross recently spoke on the situation and explained that neither jab was “personal.”
“I understand the genius to both of these artists and I understand this is nothing personal to them,” he said on SiriusXM’s “The Mike Muse Show.” “… This is two levels of creativity inspiring each other because they both are right now thinking of the artwork, thinking of the credits. Where do we place, what color is this, and to me, it only makes the game that much more genius — that much more valuable.”
See Drake’s subtle announcement about Certified Lover Boy on SportsCenter below.