8am in Charlotte
8AM in Charlotte is track 17 of For All the Dogs (2023) and was released October 5, 2023 as the album's second single, one day before the LP. Produced by Conductor Williams and Mario Luciano (with Jason Wool as an additional producer) and built on a soulful 'A Faithful Spirit' sample with chopped choir vocals and piano, it continues Drake's long-running '[time] in [city]' freestyle series (5AM in Toronto, 9AM in Dallas, 4PM in Calabasas). The accompanying music video opens with a skit in which Drake's son Adonis explains the For All the Dogs cover — clarifying the drawn figure is a 'GOAT' (greatest of all time) — before Drake raps alongside his son and team. Critics broadly received it as the album's strongest rap performance: Billboard ranked it #6 of 23 and called it 'the proper return to old Drake,' and Clash framed it as a winding confessional about legacy rather than a diss. It peaked at #17 on the Hot 100 with no formal single push beyond the early release.
Sources & verification
Citations below were matched specifically to "8am in Charlotte" and For All the Dogs. Drake Universe catalogs songs by album placement, verified collaborators, producers, samples, and themes, and avoids unsupported lyric-level claims.
- Billboard Canada: For All the Dogs Hot 100 chart weekBillboard Canada · 2023-10-21 chart — Dated reference for the first artist with at least 300 Hot 100 entries claim.
- Billboard: For All the Dogs debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200Billboard · 2023-10-15 — Dated chart report for For All the Dogs debuting at No. 1 — Drake's 13th No. 1 album.
- Complex 360 with Speedy Morman: Drake (2024)Complex / YouTube · 2024-02-28 — YouTube upload of Drake's For All The Dogs Scary Hours Edition Complex feature.
- Wikipedia: 9AM in Dallas (Drake time-in-place freestyle series)Wikipedia · 2026-05-18 — Source confirming Drake's recurring 'time in place' freestyle series (9AM in Dallas, 5AM in Toronto, 4PM in Calabasas, 8AM in Charlotte), context for framing '6PM in New York' as an entry in that franchise.
- Wikipedia: For All the DogsWikipedia · 2026-05-18 — Primary reference for For All the Dogs release date, rollout, per-track producer and sample credits, BARK Radio guest outros, reception aggregates, and chart/streaming records.
- Wikipedia: 8AM in CharlotteWikipedia · 2026-05-18 — Reference for 8AM in Charlotte release as second single, Conductor Williams/Mario Luciano production and 'A Faithful Spirit' sample, the Adonis 'GOAT' video skit, critical reception and chart peak.
- Wikipedia — For All the Dogs (incl. Scary Hours Edition)Wikipedia · 2023-11-17 — Scary Hours Edition release date (Nov 17, 2023), six-track listing, per-track producer/sample credits, and reception (Clash 6/10, HipHopDX 2.7/5, The Independent) used for Scary Hours 3 ground truth.
- Drake Releases New For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition: ListenPitchfork · 2023-11-17 — Dated confirmation of the surprise Scary Hours Edition release on November 17, 2023.
