- Drake announced the release date of his sixth album, "Certified Lover Boy," on Instagram Monday.
- He also revealed the cover, which features 12 pregnant-woman emojis with various skin tones.
- Many fans are disappointed with the artwork, calling it "ugly," "abysmal," and "offensively bad."
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Drake has announced that his long-awaited sixth album, "Certified Lover Boy," will be released on Friday — but the reveal was met with mixed reactions.
After months of delays and a cryptic ad on ESPN's "SportsCenter" on Friday, Drake confirmed his album's release date with an Instagram post on Monday.
The caption reads simply, "CERTIFIED LOVER BOY SEPTEMBER 3," while the image shows 12 pregnant-woman emojis with various skin tones.
Tidal's chief content officer Elliott Wilson confirmed the image as the album's official cover on Twitter. It was also shared by OVO Sound, the record label cofounded by Drake and his longtime producer, Noah "40" Shebib.
The artwork was apparently created or inspired by contemporary artist Damien Hirst, whom Drake tagged in his Instagram post.
It marks a distinct aesthetic shift from Drake's previous five albums, which mostly feature his own face; "Views" is the only exception, showing the rapper sitting on top of Toronto's CN Tower.
While plenty of fans expressed excitement about the new album's imminent arrival, many are repulsed by the cover, which has been described as "ugly," "abysmal," and "offensively bad" on Twitter.
Fans compared it to a "bad joke," speculated that Drake lost a bet, or said it makes them less eager to hear the music.
Some compared the disappointing artwork to Kanye West's "Donda," which dropped on Sunday after much anticipation. The cover is just a black square.
Lil Nas X even capitalized on the hostility to promote his own forthcoming album, "Montero," sharing an edited version of Drake's cover with 12 pregnant men instead of women.
However, some fans praised the artwork as "genius," noting how the album was originally meant to be released in January — making it nine months late, the typical length of a pregnancy.
The new release date is also the day before Labor Day weekend, pointing to a childbirth pun that may or may not have been intentional.
