Entertainment Music Drake Confirms Release Date for 'Certified Lover Boy' After Months-Long Delay of Sixth Studio Album Certified Lover Boy was originally scheduled to be released earlier this year in January but was postponed due to health issues Drake had been facing at the time By Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice Instagram Twitter Nicholas Rice is an Associate Editor for PEOPLE Magazine. He began working with the brand as an Editorial Intern in early 2020, before later transitioning to a freelance role, and then staff positions soon after. Nicholas writes and edits anywhere between 7 to 9 stories per day on average for PEOPLE, spanning across each vertical the brand covers. Nicholas has previous work experience with Billboard, POPSUGAR, Bustle and Elite Daily. When not working, Nicholas can be found playing with his 5 dogs, listening to pop music or eating mozzarella sticks. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 30, 2021 09:27 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage Drake is ready to drop new music. On Monday morning, the 34-year-old rapper teased that his upcoming sixth studio album, titled Certified Lover Boy, will be released later this week on Friday, Sept. 3, after a months-long delay. The "One Dance" hitmaker revealed the news on Instagram, sharing an image that featured an array of multiple pregnant women emojis holding their stomachs. "CERTIFIED LOVER BOY SEPTEMBER 3," Drake captioned the post, confirming the release date. The album marks the Canada native's first full-length project following 2018's Scorpion. Drake previously released other new material in between, including 2020's Dark Lane Demo Tapes and the EP Scary Hours 2, which was released in March. Drake Makes History as First Artist to Debut Tracks at No. 1, 2 and 3 on Billboard Hot 100 Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Certified Lover Boy was originally scheduled to be released earlier this year in January but was postponed due to health issues Drake had been facing at the time. "I was planning to release my album this month but between surgery and rehab my energy has been dedicated to recovery," Drake wrote in an Instagram Story post at the time, per Billboard. "I'm blessed to be back on my feet and feeling great and focused on the album, but CLB won't be dropping in January." Months later in June, the Grammy winner then gave an update on the status of the long-awaited project during an interview at the Ultimate Rap League's N.O.M.E. XI battle rap event. When asked about Certified Lover Boy's release, Drake confirmed the album would be out before the end of the summer. "Oh, yeah, I'll be there. My album will be out by then," he said. RELATED VIDEO: Drake Shares Sweet New Photos of Himself Getting Son Adonis, 3, Ready Fans began to speculate that Certified Lover Boy would get a Sept. 3 drop date after the album's release was teased during ESPN's SportsCenter last week. There, an ad that appeared to be a normal sports-focused spot played before it became glitch-filled with an unidentifiable man holding up a piece of cardboard with "CLB September 3" clearly written on it. "Did Drake hack Sports Center and just randomly drop the CLB date?" one user tweeted in response as another added, "Yo, @Drake is an absolute genius. So well done by his team and @SportsCenter." SportsCenter then teasingly replied to the ad after it began circulating online, writing, "We want to apologize for any interruptions viewers might have experienced during SportsCenter this morning. We had some technical difficulties that have since been resolved."