Drake, who has maintained a cryptic, mostly online presence since his 2024 battle with Kendrick Lamar, delivered “Iceman,” an anticipated new solo album, on Friday.
In an unexpected move, he simultaneously released two companion albums, “Habibti” and “Maid of Honour,” announcing the flood of new music — 43 tracks across 149 minutes — in a YouTube livestream Thursday night that showcased new videos.
They are the first full-length offerings from the chart-topping Canadian rapper since last year’s “Some Sexy Songs 4 U,” a collaboration with PartyNextDoor that went No. 1 and marked his return to the spotlight. Ahead of “Iceman,” an album he’d teased in appearances with streamers and in a series of hourlong episodes on his YouTube channel, Drake had released a handful of songs that took aim at participants in the beef and tested the waters for a rap-heavy re-emergence for an artist who has been at the forefront of hip-hop’s melodic era.
Here’s what to know about Drake’s voluminous return.
What has Drake been up to?
The beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake got deeply personal. In the two years since Lamar delivered the knockout blow, the Grammy-winning “Not Like Us,” which helped score Lamar a Super Bowl halftime performance, Drake filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group, accusing it of artificially boosting the song’s airplay.
After UMG argued that Drake “lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated” and is suing “his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds,” a judge dismissed the lawsuit against the label, which is home to both artists, in late 2025. Drake, who turns 40 this year, has appealed the dismissal.
After the release of “Some Sexy Songs 4 U,” Drake performed sold-out shows as part of his Anita Max Win Tour, a series of dates in Australia and New Zealand that was cut short and then canceled, and headlined the three-day Wireless Festival in London last summer.
Though quiet in traditional media avenues and as a live performer, Drake has maintained a visible online presence, speaking directly to fans on his Kick channel and going live with popular streamers including Adin Ross, who receives a shout-out on “Iceman” and with whom Drake has gambled at online casinos.
How did Drake roll out the albums?
In a perfectly pedestrian way by dropping a single here and there and giving a couple of high-profile interviews with traditional media outlets?
No, not exactly. Drake eschewed a typical rollout and instead created a ruckus as the albums approached. In April, two courtside seats typically assigned to Drake at the Toronto Raptors’ arena were covered in ice. He released a cryptic episodic series on YouTube featuring “the Iceman’s warehouse” that offered Easter eggs about the material. And to the chagrin of Toronto officials, a 25-foot-tall ice sculpture went up in Toronto that caused safety concerns as fans mounted the structure with hammers and blowtorches to unearth the album’s hidden release date.
Ahead of the album, unofficial releases surfaced online, including “Fighting Irish Freestyle” and “1 A.M. in Albany,” which each took aim at former friends like LeBron James and J. Cole. “What Did I Miss?,” the lead single from “Iceman,” strikes an incredulous tone at perceived betrayals with lyrics like, “What did I miss? / When I was looking at y’all and cooking with y’all / And giving out verses and bookings to y’all? / Making sure wires were hit, man, what did I miss?” It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 after its release last July.
On Thursday night, Drake shared videos from several songs from “Iceman” that included cameos from his son, Adonis, the comedian Shane Gillis and the online commentator DJ Akademiks.
Who is featured on the albums?
Future, who collaborated in 2024 with Lamar on “Like That,” one of the opening salvos of the Drake-Lamar beef, is featured on “Ran to Atlanta” — a reference to a criticism Lamar aired in the final verse of “Not Like Us” that Drake frequently visited Atlanta, a hip-hop epicenter, to bolster his credibility.
Future had been a frequent collaborator of Drake’s, with the pair having released a popular mixtape, “What a Time to Be Alive,” in 2015, and their reunion proves that not all rap friction is insurmountable.
Sexyy Red, another repeat collaborator, appears on songs from “Habibti” (an Arabic expression meaning “my love”) and “Maid of Honour.” Central Cee and 21 Savage, who also work often with Drake, make appearances on the three albums, as does Popcaan, a dancehall artist who had been signed to Drake’s sublabel, and Loe Shimmy, an Florida-born rapper affiliated with Future.
Does Drake leave the beef in the past?
Absolutely not. In “Make Them Remember,” Drake belittles Lamar for his height (a frequent line of attack at the apex of their song war), comparing him to one of the N.B.A.’s shortest players: “And Muggsy Bogues dunked for once / even I’m a bit amazed. / Yeah, someone give the kid a raise.”
On the same track, Drake seems to reference James: “I shouldn’t even be shocked to see you in that arena / because you always made your career off of switching teams up.” The Lakers star had been a longtime friend, with Drake going so far as tattooing James on his arm. But the relationship seems to have turned acrimonious after James appeared at “The Pop Out: Ken and Friends,” Lamar’s victory lap concert.
On “Make Them Pay,” Drake delivers criticism seemingly aimed at DJ Khaled, a son of Palestinian immigrants, for his lack of support for the region. Khaled, a cross-pollinator of hip-hop, had remained neutral throughout the rappers’ feud.
Jonathan Abrams is a Times reporter who writes about the intersections of sports and culture and the changing cultural scenes in the South.
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