On May 15, 2026, after a long awaited album rollout that consisted of a series of episodes including snippets of new songs and a giant block of ice melting in the streets of Toronto, Canada, “ICEMAN” dropped. Drake came off of a hyped tour with PartyNextDoor following his presumed truce on the beef between him and Kendrick Lamar.
The diss track “Not Like Us” had blown millions of streams, appearing in the 2025 Super Bowl and became another anthem for the city of Los Angeles. Many critics felt the beef hadn’t been paused, but rather ended on the behalf of Kdot. However, this latest Drake release has been chilling in waiting for the last couple of months.
The first single released during mid 2025, “What Did I Miss?” came after a livestream titled “ICEMAN: Episode 1,” appeared on Drake’s youtube channel. In it, he drove around the city of Toronto in a truck labeled ICEMAN. Snippets of other songs would appear on future episodes, which highlighted his two other albums he’d release alongside “ICEMAN.” This created his H.I.M. Trilogy, “HABIBTI,” “ICEMAN,” and “MAID OF HONOUR.” One being R&B and the other being a more dance genre, with “ICEMAN” maintaining the most Hip Hop curated beats and styles shown.
Featuring production by Boi-1da who’s produced with Drake since the “Best I Ever Had” days and the song “Forever”, “ICEMAN” boasts an extensive list of respected producers who have had history working with Drake. Showcasing how much he values the loyalty of those who haven’t left his side amidst the beef. The album also features frequent collaborators 21 Savage, Central Cee, Sexyy Red, PartyNextDoor and even Future whose song “Like That” featuring Kendrick Lamar is what ignited the beef in 2024.
Within the first three tracks, Drake had already dissed a majority of passed artists who also began vendettas in early 2024. From Rick Ross, to Kendrick and Jay-Z, he serves plenty of lines offering disses for those that have crossed the 6 God. On “Janice STFU”, he raps “We know how you OGs rockin’ already, my n****, the jig is up”, acknowledging Jay-Z, since Roc Nation pushed for Kendrick to perform at the 2025 Super Bowl, and has had a history of siding with the opposition in beefs against Drake.
On the track “Make Them Pay,” Drake continues his onslaught against people who’ve crossed him or he’s sneak dissed in the past. Lines like, “I got all the chains that they ever repped in Virginia” both referencing the prized jewelry from Pharrell Williams Drake had bought, as well as a diss to Pharrell’s frequent collaborators Drake beefs with, Clipse. Other lines “Dog, I was aidin’ Ross with streams before Adin Ross had ever streamed,” calls out Rick Ross who also sided against Drake amidst the Kendrick beef.
Drake highlights he aided him since all three of Rick Ross’s #1 hits all have Drake as a feature. The line is also a play on words to shout out streamer Adin Ross who’s a well known supporter of Drake.
Sprinkled within the album are disses aimed at Kendrick, from “Janice STFU,” where he also disses the head of UMG that Drake has been suing since late 2024 to “Whisper My Name,” or “National Treasures,” where he acknowledges the heightened security and police presence to help escort him to the airport when Kendrick performed in Toronto during the Grand National Tour. Even A$AP Rocky caught strays on “Burning Bridges,” as he has been throwing shots at Drake since before releasing his recent album “DON’T BE DUMB.”
From humble beginnings of being featured on an Eminem song, to now being able to credit himself for starting up a lot of other people’s careers, Drake has really made his name iconic in the past over two decades he’s been performing. In his music video for “Make Them Remember,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow gave Drake permission to use her city hall office for footage. Even going as far as letting him wear her Chain of Office, as she states, “The world was watching, and he’s making us proud.”
Verdict: Despite the past beefs Drizzy has struggled against, no opponent has yet been able to put away the 6od, as he maintains his reign on the Billboard charts, and approval from fans once more. This album is an excellent solo release from The Boy, and is a great comeback after recent losses. Showing once more, it takes a lot more than witty punchlines and opposition streams blowing in his face to take out a champ.
