He addressed fans’ criticism of his new album, “Honestly, Nevermind,” just a day prior.
Despite the harsh feedback, Drake seemed unbothered during his recent outing.
The 35-year-old Toronto-born artist, whose real nаme is Aubrey Drake Graham, was spotted leaving the celebrity-favorite restaurant Prime 112 in Miami Beach, Florida, on Saturday night.
He looked ready for a night out in South Beach, dressed in an all-white outfit.
Drake’s light attire featured a polo shirt with the buttons open, loose-fitting trousers, and a pair of pristine Air Jordan IV sneakers in the “pure money” colorway.
Clearly, he was gearing up for a busy night in Miami, as he was seen chatting on his mobile phone.
This came after he responded to criticism of his seventh studio album, which was released as a surprise on Friday.
The musician appeared in a video posted to Twitter, stating, “That’s what we do. We wait for you to catch up.”
Fans had taken to social media to give mixed and surprised reactions to the dance-themed album.
The twelve-second video, shared by the Twitter account Rap Alert, showed the artist in a dimly lit room, barely visible.
One of the tracks from the 14-song album played in the background as he shared his thoughts.
He began the snippet with, “It’s all good if you don’t get it yet,” and concluded with, “We caught up already. On to the next.”
Drake, whose real nаme is Aubrey Graham, surprised fans with the announcement of new music at midnight on Thursday, with only a few hours’ notice.
However, after staying up to listen, many fans expressed disappointment, questioning his decision to release a house music album.
On Twitter, fans wrote comments such as: “Honestly Nevermind is quite frankly what Drake should have done before releasing whatever this album is”; “Drake is in his laziest era, and it will impact his legacy, prioritizing relevance over high-quality work.”
“Agreeing with people that Drake’s ‘surprise’ album is actually good is exhausting. It’s terrible”; “Drake dropped Scorpion, which I thought was his worst album, but I never imagined the next ones would be even worse. Unbelievable.”
On Saturday, Graham shared a carousel of new photos on Instagram, showing how unbothered he was by the negаtive reviews.
He captioned the post “Sympathetic 22,” which matched his camouflaged shirt that had “sympathy” written on it in large orange letters.
In one photo, the father-of-one sipped from a wine glass and flashed his middle finger.
The hitmaker shared candid shots with various friends, including DJ Khaled.
Other friends were also present, some wearing the same shirt as him and sporting flashy jewelry.
Another photo showed him enjoying a private jet flight, occupied with his phone, with silver balloons spelling out his album’s title floating nearby.
While many listeners were unhappy, some appreciated the new music, tweeting: “Drake did something new. Respect the artist and the boundaries he pushed with this one”; “Is Drake’s new album good, or was I just in a great mood this morning?”
The buzz followed Drake’s announcement of the cover art for his seventh studio album, which came after last year’s “Certified Lover Boy.”
“7th studio album ‘HONESTLY, NEVERMIND’ out at midnight,” the Canadian star captioned the photo, which simply displayed the album’s nаme.
Drake also released the album’s tracklist, featuring 14 songs including “Falling Back,” “Calling My Nаme,” and “Jimmy Cooks,” a nod to Jimmy Brooks, the character he played on the Canadian teen show “Degrassi.”
The album’s release was a total surprise, with no prior promotion from the artist.
The announcement quickly garnered nearly 2 million likes from followers, including his former rap rival Kanye West, 45.
The swift release of the project might be linked to Drake’s recent $400 million recording contract signed earlier this year.
On May 3, Sir Lucian Grainge, head of Universal Music Group, confirmed Drake’s massive “expansive, multi-faceted deal” with the label, as reported by Variety.
The deal includes recordings, publishing, merchandise, and visual media projects.
Drake’s previous album, “Certified Lover Boy,” was released through his own label OVO Sound under a license to Republic Records (a UMG subsidiary).
The album earned him nominations for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance at the 2022 Grammy Awards.
However, despite winning four Grammys in the past, Drake withdrew himself from the awards race.
