Remember when every movie had an ARG attached to build hype, and you couldn’t call yourself a real cinephile if you didn’t go geocaching to find like, a Cloverfield bobblehead in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego? Well, that energy has transferred over to album releases. Hot on the heels of Tyler, the Creator’s billboard campaign for Call Me If You Get Lost and Taylor Swift’s cryptograms, Drake is teasing the Certified Lover Boy features with electronic billboards across the country. Billboards have been spotted in Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Memphis, and Los Angeles — each one alluding to different artists being on CLB. New York’s announced “the GOAT†(Jay-Z); Atlanta’s gave us Young Thug, Future, 21 Savage, and Lil Baby; Giveon and Ty Dolla $ign were announced on a LA billboard; Yebba and Project Pat were announced in Memphis; and Lil Durk was announced in Chicago.
This billboard campaign is being viewed by many as a riposte to Kanye’s Donda release style. Rather than do big arena listening parties, Drake is playing it comparatively low key. Except for buying a billboard in Chicago, that’s drama.
Update, September 2, 9:15 a.m.: The plot continues! Drake also purchased a billboard in Houston — not to tease a Beyoncé feature, sadly, but to promote his collaboration with Travis Scott, “the hometown hero.â€
Update, September 2, 9:30 a.m.: Turns out Drake’s billboards go international, too. The rapper looks to also have purchased one in Nigeria, teasing a feature from singer Tems.
Update, September 2, 6 p.m.: But wait, there’s more! Drake has also reportedly revealed features by Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, and Kid Cudi via billboards in Toronto, Miami, and Cleveland, per Complex. At this rate, can’t the rappers who aren’t on CLB just speak up?