After months of mysterious promotion — from an almost eight-metre-tall pile of ice blocks in downtown Toronto to a full CN Tower takeover — Drake finally released his highly anticipated ninth studio album, Iceman. Alongside it, he surprised fans with two additional albums, Habibti and Maid of Honour.
The projects were unveiled at midnight during the finale of his livestream, Iceman Episode 4. Altogether, Drake dropped 43 tracks spanning roughly two and a half hours, with Iceman positioned as the main event.
Drake had been teasing Iceman for quite some time. He first mentioned the project in August 2024 after his widely discussed rap feud with Kendrick Lamar. While touring Australia in 2025, he described the album as a “one-on-one conversation with y’all that you need to hear.”
Although Drake teamed up with PartyNextDoor for the collaborative album Some Sexy Songs 4 U earlier in 2025, these releases mark his first solo projects since 2023’s For All the Dogs. The stakes were high. Following his public battle with Lamar, questions lingered around Drake’s standing in hip-hop and whether he could reclaim chart dominance. He currently sits just one No. 1 hit away from surpassing Michael Jackson’s record.
Drake revisits the Kendrick Lamar feud
On Iceman, Drake immediately addresses the fallout from his conflict with Lamar. The album opens with Make Them Cry, where he reflects on the emotional toll of the feud.
“I came here to turn a new leaf and maybe finally get some sleep,” he raps. “With Dot back in 2024 was a big piece.… Y’all keep on asking me what it did to me, that’s what it did to me.”
Across the album, Drake revisits the rivalry while also taking aim at several others, including DJ Khaled, A$AP Rocky, DeMar DeRozan, LeBron James, Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge and even longtime collaborator J. Cole.
On Make Them Pay, Drake references the “Big 3” debate that helped ignite tensions between him, Lamar and Cole. “F–k a Big 3 anyway, there was too many chefs in the kitchen,” he raps. The line nods to J. Cole’s verse on the 2023 track First Person Shooter, where Cole famously said: “Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? We the Big 3 like we started a league.” Lamar later responded on Future’s Like That with the now-famous line: “Motherf–k the big three, n—a, it’s just big me,” escalating the feud that eventually culminated in Not Like Us.
One of Iceman’s standout tracks, 2 Hard 4 the Radio, sees Drake borrowing heavily from Bay Area hip-hop influences. He raps over an Oakland-inspired beat while interpolating Mac Dre’s 2 Hard 4 the F–kin’ Radio. “Imma show you what to do, lil’ boy,” Drake says, in what appears to be another jab at Lamar. Mac Dre has long been an influence on Drake’s music, dating back to The Motto in 2011.
The album also revisits Drake’s fractured relationship with Future. Ran to Atlanta references Lamar’s accusation on Not Like Us that Drake appropriates regional sounds. The track reunites Drake with Future after tensions emerged when Future collaborated with Lamar on Like That. Future hints at strained friendships on the song, rapping: “Cuttin’ ties with all my friends. Ho went down that road, I can’t go again.”
Toronto and Canada take centre stage
Toronto plays a major role in the visuals surrounding Iceman. Several music videos highlight recognizable city landmarks, including Yorkville restaurant Sotto Sotto and the Brass Rail strip club.
In the video for What Did I Miss, Drake rides through downtown Toronto atop a truck carrying giant ice blocks, passing locations like King Taps and the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. Fans are shown filming him as he moves through Union Station’s underpass.
The 2 Hard 4 the Radio video features Drake dancing inside the iconic white ring beneath the CN Tower observation deck.
Fans also noticed scenes filmed inside Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s office at City Hall, where Drake wears the city’s ceremonial Chain of Office while sitting at her desk. Chow later confirmed the arrangement, saying, “He borrowed [my office] one evening, and we had an arrangement, and put it back in, and so all is good.”
One of the album’s most overtly Canadian moments comes in the Slap the City video, where Drake wears a fur jacket decorated with logos from Canadian brands such as Canadian Tire, Sleep Country, Manchu Wok, RBC and Molson Canadian. The track also includes the lyric: “You went to Queen’s University, now you a graduate, shout-out your family them.”
Canadian references appear throughout the album, including lines like: “Out in the 6, I’m a national treasure” (National Treasures), “From Vancouver you a BC baby” (Janice STFU), and “Took a jet ski from Windsor to Michigan” (Make Them Know).
Three albums, three different moods
While Iceman focuses heavily on conflict, reflection and revenge, Drake uses the two surprise albums to experiment with different sounds and themes.
Habibti — Arabic for “my love” or “my darling” — leans into Drake’s emotional and romantic side, though the relationships he describes remain troubled and transactional. On I’m Spent, featuring Florida rapper Loe Shimmy, Drake sings through pitched vocals: “What if I go broke and I got no more racks to spend on you? / F–k on me and they just get out of dodge.”
The project marks a return to melodic, R&B-heavy Drake. Longtime producer Noah “40” Shebib contributes to High Fives, while newer collaborators, including Edmonton producer rl, also shape the album’s sound.
Meanwhile, Maid of Honour embraces dance and party music, blending dancehall, house, Afro-swing and U.K. rap influences. Featuring artists such as Central Cee, Sexyy Red, Popcaan, Stunna Sandy and Iconic Savvy, the album is clearly aimed at summer parties and club playlists.
Tracks like New Bestie, with its playful lyrics and rhythmic drums, evoke the vibe of Drake’s 2016 hit One Dance.
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving diaspora communities across 44 languages. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, Unifor, NEPMCC, and the Canada Freelance Union. He holds CAVCO Personnel Number SINH0106. Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
