Drake reveals ‘Certified Lover Boy’ release date in cryptic ‘SportsCenter’ video
The album was originally scheduled to come out in January 2021 but was delayed
After several months of waiting for Drake’s Certified Lover Boy album, could the rapper have finally dropped the release date for the highly anticipated project?
Friday morning, Drake devotees woke up to the news that their favorite artist had dropped the release date they’d been waiting on since January. But many are still scratching their heads at the subtle and incredibly cryptic way he chose to make the announcement.
In what may be a publicity stunt unlike anything we’ve ever seen, Drizzy shared the September 3 drop date through what was meant to look like a “hack” of SportsCenter’s morning show.
Earlier today, in the middle of the intro to the ESPN broadcast, a montage of college football and MLB baseball clips was interrupted by low-res footage cutting in and out. The video, which is akin to what you’d see in a thriller about someone being taken hostage, showed a hooded figure with a bandana over their face holding up a cardboard sign that read “CLB SEPTEMBER 3.”
Given Drake is an avid and incredibly outspoken sports fans, viewers quickly surmised that CLB stood for “Certified Lover Boy” and took to social media to rejoice and mull over the delivery of the news.
“Did Drake just announce Certified Lover Boy’s release date of next Friday on SportsCenter?” XXL inquired via a tweet on their official page which accompanied by a clip of the now-viral moment.
The record was originally scheduled to come out in Jan. 2021, but was delayed to Drake’s knee injury among other things. Then earlier this week, the rapper came forward to share that he’d battled COVID-19 and had lingering side effects.
As theGrio previously reported, the Toronto native recently popped up in the comments section of a fan’s Instagram post, to revealed that he not only contracted COVID-19 but also suffered from lingering hair loss afterward.
The Drake fan account @Drizzy_Drake_Vids shared pictures of the rapper rocking his signature “Certified Lover Boy” look. Since announcing his upcoming album, the rapper has rocked a heart on his hairline. The post showed how the heart has faded and changed shape as time has gone on, with the caption reading, “That heart is stressed ??.”
Drake clearly saw the post and took to the comments to clarify. He said that he “had Covid that sh-t grew in weird I had to start again ? it’s coming back don’t diss.” The comment has over 2,000 likes with many fans commenting underneath to send well wishes and love to the rapper.
Per the American Academy of Dermatology Association, hair loss is “normal” after fever or illness. The AAD reads, “…a few months after having a high fever or recovering from an illness, many people see noticeable hair loss. While many people think of this as hair loss, it’s actually hair shedding.”
SportsCenter took to social media on Friday afternoon to “apologize for any interruptions” from the incident earlier in the morning.
While fans are overjoyed about new music from the 6ix God, many on social media can’t help but notice the coincidence that CLB will be coming out on the exact same day as Kanye West’s equally anticipated DONDA, further fueling speculations that the rappers intend to battle it out on the charts.
We’ll just have to wait until September 3 to see.
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