Iceman (stylized in all caps) is the ninth studio album by Canadian rapper Drake, released through OVO Sound and Republic Records on May 15, 2026 alongside his surprise tenth and eleventh studio albums Maid of Honour and Habibti. The albums are a follow-up to Drake's collaborative album Some Sexy Songs 4 U (2025) and mark his first solo albums since For All the Dogs (2023).
Production for Iceman was handled by Drake's frequent collaborators, including 40, Boi-1da, and Tay Keith, among others, and features guest appearances from Future, Molly Santana, and 21 Savage. Iceman was supported by the singles "What Did I Miss?", "Janice STFU", and "2 Hard 4 the Radio". "Janice STFU" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (his fourteenth overall), breaking Michael Jackson's record for most US number ones by a male artist since the chart's 1958 inception. Iceman received generally mixed critical reception, with praise for its production and lyrics, but criticism for its length and themes.
Iceman opened with first-week sales of 463,000 album-equivalent units in the United States and topped the US Billboard 200, with Drake setting the record for most US number-one albums by a male artist and tying Taylor Swift for the most US number-one albums by a solo artist (15). 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. Iceman also reached number one in his home country of Canada, as well as in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, and debuted in top 20 in numerous territories.
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.
A third livestream, "Iceman: Episode 3", aired on September 4, taking place in Milan. Several songs were previewed during the livestream, including the tentatively titled "That's Just How I Feel", as well as "Dog House". "That's Just How I Feel" was repurposed into "Janice STFU" on the album, while the latter features American singer Julia Wolf and American rapper Yeat, who appeared in the livestream. The episode was also noted for its continued depiction of Pinocchio, who appeared in previous episodes. In one scene, four Pinocchio characters sit at a restaurant table, with one writing "LEGACY" on the table in red paint before tossing ice cubes onto it. At the end of the stream, Drake is seen confronting three of the Pinocchio characters. Following the livestream, one of the previewed tracks, "Somebody Loves Me Pt. 2" was released; it is a remix of "Somebody Loves Me" from Some Sexy Songs 4 U and features American rapper Cash Cobain.
On September 13, a snippet of a track from Iceman leaked online during a livestream; the track's instrumental was previously previewed at the end of "Iceman: Episode 2". The snippet contains lyrics referencing former Toronto Raptors players DeMar DeRozan and Kawhi Leonard, with Drake rapping "When you was a part of the team we used to be planning our Mexico trips in the spring, we must've been dealing with the spur of the moment 'cause why (Kawhi) did we think you could get us a ring?". Drake takes aim at DeRozan, referencing his playoff losses with the Raptors and his 2018 trade to the San Antonio Spurs for Leonard (who won the 2019 NBA Finals with Toronto). Following the leak, Drake stated to streamer Adin Ross "I don't even know who the fuck those kids are", referring to the streamers that leaked the track. The song was eventually included on the album, titled "National Treasures". The leaked version of the track included a feature from Canadian rapper Pressa which was removed from the released version on the album.
On April 12, 2026, when Drake attended the Toronto Raptors final regular-season game against the Brooklyn Nets at Scotiabank Arena, his courtside seats were covered in faux ice, as a teaser for the album. Four days later, a music video was filmed near Downsview Airport, featuring an explosion. On April 20, a 25 foot tall ice sculpture in downtown Toronto was installed, with Drake revealing that the album's release date was hidden within the sculpture. The area was sealed off by Toronto police due to safety concerns after fans hacked at the statue with pickaxes and hammers, and lit it on fire. On April 21, the release date for Iceman was revealed to be May 15, after online streamer Kishka found a bag in the ice sculpture: the bag contained a magazine and a pin-up depicting Pachinko character Pachio-kun, which listed the release date.
On May 13, 2026, a song tentatively titled "1AM in Albany" was leaked on social media, which includes disses to Kendrick Lamar and LeBron James; the track is included on Iceman under the title "Make Them Remember". That night, the CN Tower was lit up with various patterns and text with projectors, which was speculated to be related to the album. A day later, "Iceman: Episode 4" was livestreamed on YouTube by CTV News, CP24 and Drake, registering over 458,000 concurrent viewers at its peak. The episode depicted several songs and accompanying music videos from the album and concluded by stating that three albums would be releasing on May 15: Iceman, Habibti, and Maid of Honour.
The jewel-encrusted glove featured on the album cover carries additional significance given Drake's history with Michael Jackson memorabilia. In October 2023, Drake celebrated tying Jackson's record for most number-one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 by a male soloist by posting photos of himself wearing a glove resembling Jackson's famous crystal-studded accessory, which Jackson wore performing "Billie Jean" at the 1983 Grammy Awards and during his 1984 Victory Tour.
Jackson's original rhinestone glove is described by KTLA as "one of the most recognizable objects in the history of pop culture"; the glove was put up for auction in April 2026, coinciding with the release of the Michael Jackson biopic Michael.
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 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 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".