Iceman

Background

Drake began teasing his ninth album in August 2024, which was rumored to be titled Iceman, by releasing the EP 100 Gigs (2024) and cryptic messages on his social media accounts. This was followed by OVO artist Smiley claiming Drake was doing "hard work" for the album in a June 2025 interview discussing the release of their collaboration "2 Mazza". Drake brought Gordo to work on the album's production by August 2025, and, in the same month, a possible U.S. tour for the album was teased on social media.

Promotion

On July 4, 2025, nearly five months after the release of his collaborative studio album Some Sexy Songs 4 U with PartyNextDoor, Drake began teasing solo material; the single "What Did I Miss?" was released a day later, following a YouTube livestream titled "Iceman: Episode 1". On the livestream, Drake drives an Iceman-branded truck around Toronto, drawing a crowd of fans, and eventually arrives to an Iceman-branded warehouse, where he eats food and watches old videos of himself. It then transitions to a performance of the song.

Another song, rumored to be titled "Supermax", was also previewed during the livestream. On the song, Drake mentions reporter Taylor Rooks, rapping, "Losin' all these friends really got to me/ I was talking to Taylor over drinks, and it was getting deep/ 'Not everyone can handle this pressure and, in thе city, you're the national treasurе', that's what she said to me". According to Michael Saponara of Billboard, this depicts Drake "looking inward and vulnerably [opening] up about fractured relationships and keeping his focus." Possible collaborations with British-American rapper 21 Savage and American rapper Playboi Carti were also previewed during the livestream: 21 Savage collaborated with Drake on numerous songs and on a joint-album in 2022, while Carti previously collaborated with Drake on 2020's "Pain 1993" and 2024's "No Face", however he was ultimately removed from the latter upon its streaming release. DJ Swamp Izzo, who provided ad-libs on Carti's 2025 album Music, also previewed the collaboration on social media. "Supermax" was not included on the album.

A second livestream, titled "Iceman: Episode 2", aired on July 24. Three tracks were previewed during the livestream: "Which One" with British rapper Central Cee, which had been previewed at Drake's 2025 Wireless Festival set and during the first livestream, in addition to two untitled songs that are expected to feature on the album. "Which One" was released as a single a day later, marking Drake's second collaboration with Central Cee following 2023's "On the Radar Freestyle". The song was not included on Iceman, but featured on its companion album Maid of Honour. The second episode depicted Drake being chased by Pinocchio throughout Manchester until he eventually escapes to Manchester Piccadilly station. The livestream concluded with a graphic that read "COMING SOON", with Pinocchio's head in place of the letter "I". According to Srosh Khan of the BBC, the character's presence in the livestream was interpreted to represent the lies "following Drake around" in the aftermath of his feud with Lamar.

Internet memes

In the lead-up to the release of Iceman, fans spread Internet memes about a hypothetical title track featuring lyrics that rhyme the word "Iceman" with "nice man", as well as lines such as "I'll cook some rice, man". Unexpectedly, the track "National Treasures" did contain the humorous rhyme: "Ironic 'cause the Iceman was a nice man, now I'm hot and cold." Complex speculated that the lyric may be inspired by the meme.

Upon the reveal of Iceman's release date, Internet memes emerged featuring other artists releasing albums with the suffix "-man" on the same date (a notable example being Fireman by Kendrick Lamar). AI-generated album covers and parody songs with AI-generated vocals of Drake, Lamar and other artists also went viral, with Complex labelling it as a "cinematic universe" of fake album titles and covers.

Iceman's album cover was parodied by the second Trump administration, digitally superimposing a chain necklace with letters "MAGA". The post was criticized by users. Billboard noted the second administration's trend of repurposing popular music across their social media accounts.

Lyrics and themes

In "What Did I Miss?", Drake addresses the aftermath of his feud with Kendrick Lamar, calling out those who attempted to "play both sides" rather than support him. The song includes references to Lamar's Pop Out concert and other nods to their conflict. The song features Drake's blend of "slick melodies and razor-sharp raps", as he addresses people he believes betrayed him and questions the authenticity of past friendships by rapping, "I saw bro went to Pop Out with them, but been dick riding gang since 'Headlines'". This lyric was interpreted to refer to NBA players DeMar DeRozan and LeBron James.

According to Jeff Ihaza of Rolling Stone, Drake is "in a familiar register" by referencing his 2024 feuds with other artists on the album, rapping, "All those summers of slappers, you owe me" on an untitled song, which features a "sped-up" beat switch, while on another song, speculated to be a freestyle with a "moody, lo-fi jerk-inspired" beat, Drake raps, "[I] ain't even know how bad they wanna see me go". This was echoed by Malcolm Trapp of Rap-Up, who said, "it's hard not to connect [these] lines to his very public feud with Lamar".

Several outlets and writers offered explanations of the meanings behind the album's title: Michael Saponara of Billboard said it could refer to Drake's "icy" jewelry, the impact of Canada's snowy winters, and former NBA player George Gervin and former mixed martial artist Chuck Liddell, who are both nicknamed "the Iceman". Iceman shares its name with the Marvel Comics superhero, who is a founding member of the X-Men and whose real name is Bobby Drake. According to comic book writer Mike Carey, Iceman is "devastatingly honest [and] very up-front with his emotions and his thoughts all the time". In his analysis of "Iceman: Episode 4", Vulture's Craig Jenkins said the title is a reference to criminal hitman Richard Kuklinski, whose nickname "the Iceman" was derived from freezing the body of one of his victims to conceal the time of death.

Commercial performance

In the United States, Iceman debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 463,000 album-equivalent units. This consisted of 449,000 streaming equivalent units (equaling 462.2 million on-demand official streams of the album's 18 tracks), 13,000 pure album sales and 1,000 track equivalent units; cumulatively, Drake amassed 687,000 album equivalent album units sold for the three albums in their first week. Iceman marked his 15th number-one album on the chart, tying him with Taylor Swift for the most US number-one albums among solo acts. With Habibti and Maid of Honour debuting at number two and three, respectively, Drake became the first artist ever to hold the top three spots on the Billboard 200 concurrently. In its second week, Iceman sold 225,000 album equivalent units, retaining its number one status on the Billboard 200. It retained a third straight week at number one after selling 171,000 album-equivalent units in the subsequent week.

In the United Kingdom, Iceman debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Drake seventh UK number one album. Along with the other albums, Drake became the first artist to debut three studio albums inside the top-ten simultaneously, and brought his total number of albums to debut in the UK top ten to seventeen.

In Australia, Iceman debuted atop the ARIA Albums Chart, making Drake the first act to debut three studio albums in the top ten in the same week, with Maid of Honour at five and Habibti at six. The album also debuted at number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart.

Reception

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Iceman received "mixed or average reviews" based on a weighted average score of 51 out of 100 from 12 (3 positive, 8 mixed, 1 negative) critic scores.

Writing for The Arts Desk, Thomas H. Green wrote that on the record, "the backing tracks are gloopy slow-mo' over which Drake mainly chats about how he's 'flippin' dough' and how people don't appreciate his magnificence". In a review for Clash, Joe Simpson wrote that Iceman "makes it evident from kick off that the scars of [Drake's feuds] are still painful for [him]". Simpson praised "Make Them Cry" for its "real, refreshing moments of vulnerability" and positively compared it to Drake's earlier releases, as well as Future's performance. Simpson also praised the "masterful wordplay and stellar delivery" on "Make Them Pay", "Make Them Remember" and "National Treasures", calling Iceman Drake's best album since Her Loss. However, he criticized the album for its length. Kiana Fitzgerald for Consequence wrote that "Drake hasn't absorbed the trauma of what he's been through" and that she "can understand why, the poor thing, but it's becoming a bit of a problem. His output is mirroring his lack of self-reflection". Fitzgerald concluded her review noting that "Iceman is Drake's unearned victory lap". The Guardian's Alexis Petridis praised the production on "Ran to Atlanta", "Burning Bridges" and "National Treasures" (and singled out Molly Santana's feature as an "impressive turn") but said Iceman's "great moments are adrift amid a lot of underwhelming stuff [and] filler".

Ed Power for The Irish Times wrote that "for all the background heat, Iceman amounts to little more than a po-faced portrait of an artist adrift and with little to cling to beyond an enthusiastically nurtured sense of victimhood" and that "hell has frozen over, and nothing can melt the walls of self‑pity Drake has built around himself". In a positive review for Variety, Peter A. Berry labeled Iceman "the fun and vindictive comeback record [Drake] needed", commending its writing as "incisive as [it] is tidy" and highlighted its soul-inspired and maximalist trap production. He also praised its tone for its "direct bloodthirstiness" and honesty, stating that, despite its length, it has "enough sonic and tonal variance [to avoid] the monochromatic purgatory of [Drake's] last three solo releases". Pitchfork writer Jayson Greene called Iceman "a missed opportunity", saying Drake's lyrical content "picks up some weapons-grade plutonium here and there, only to gingerly set it back down", and concluded the album is "a long platter of cold, lumpy self-pity". In a mixed review of the three-album release, Roisin O'Connor of The Independent said that "some of [Drake's] best work in years is present [on Iceman]", praising "Make Them Cry" in particular, but added that "it's obscured by the bad", concluding, "Iceman starts strong [but] quickly melts into a soggy mess of erratic beat switches, misogyny, autotune and a rehashing of old gripes".

Industry response

Reactions among commentators were mixed. Some praised the album's production, experimentation, and cohesion, with GQ describing Iceman as Drake's strongest solo effort in several years, while other reviewers criticized its emphasis on revisiting past conflicts and personal grievances. In contrast to critical reviews, several artists and industry figures responded more positively to the album.

Rapper Jack Harlow described Iceman as his favorite release from Drake's 2026 album trilogy and noted that he particularly enjoyed Drake's rap-focused performances. Producer Timbaland praised the track "Janice STFU", describing it as "timeless", while actor and rapper O'Shea Jackson Jr. stated that the song had become "stuck in [his] head", with both reactions contributing to discussion surrounding the track online. Rapper Russ praised the project's replay value, while The Game publicly expressed support for the album amid broader discussion surrounding Drake's return. Rapper and comedian Lil Dicky also reacted positively following the album's release.

Track listing

All tracks are principally written by Aubrey Graham. Full credits are not available at this time.

Sample and interpolation credits

"Make Them Cry" contains samples of "Who Am I", written and performed by Roger Ridley, "The Pressure Is on Me", written by Jaylen Mauti and performed by Muchi, and "Sounds Like a Love Song", written by Douglas Gibbs and Ralph Johnson, and performed by Bobby Glenn.

"Janice STFU" contains an interpolation of "I Follow Rivers", written by Lykke Li, Björn Yttling and Rick Nowels, and performed by Li.

"Make Them Pay" contains elements of "Free", written by Deniece Williams, Hank Redd, Nathan Watts and Susaye Greene, and performed by Williams.

"National Treasures" contains a sample of "This Is What I Believe", written by Luther Vandross and John Anderson, and performed by Gregory Hines.

"2 Hard 4 the Radio" contains an interpolation of "2 Hard 4 the Fuckin' Radio", written and performed by Mac Dre, and a sample of "That's What I Need", written by Brian Alexander Morgan and Wayman Tisdale, and performed by SWV.