REVIEW | Freeze the World Because It's ICEMAN Season
Photo Credit: Universal
On May 15, Drake’s latest album, ICEMAN, dropped, and the whole world stopped. Ears were blessed, and a review was made.
“Make Them Cry”
Drake opens up ICEMAN with his struggles of being an only child raised by a single mother lacking a father figure. “Make Them Cry” sets the tone for the album, touching on his battle with his record label. He puts the man in manifestation and manipulation like the REAL GOAT he is. With the number of bars that occur in this song, someone would have thought he was spitting about a jail cell.
“Dust”
The Big T, also known as Tung Tung Tung Sahur, gets dissed as the tone shifts halfway through the song. Drake takes shots at Triple T, telling him to go blow the dust off his plaques and that his raps are irrelevant and unrememberable. The big Sahur better be sending that cease-and-desist ASAP, no Rocky.
“Whisper My Name”
Upon whispering his name, Drake seemingly takes shots at Jordan Carter — aka Baby Boi, aka Guapo, aka King Vamp, aka Mr. Anti Himself, aka Mr. Narcissist, aka Playboi Carti — attempting to put him in the food chain. Speak poorly of the Iceman's name, and he WILL make you freeze.
“Janice STFU”
As the new number one Vancouver anthem, “Janice STFU” is for the beautiful Vancouverites of our city. Again, he critiques many individuals while having the most relatable flow. The theme of wanting to be let go from his label is evident in the chorus, as he says, “swear my label gotta free me, baby.” Drake really gave Vancouver an egoboost by name-dropping our city in this song.
“Run to Atlanta”
Drake, Future, and Molly Santana might be one of the best co-signs of 2026. “Run to Atlanta” is top tier for hyping up for a test or a sports game. When Drake says, “I went Laurie Lynn Stark on my pants,” he's got Chrome Hearts jeans on, as the company’s co-owner is Laurie Lynn Stark. Owning Chrome Hearts pants/jeans is seen as a financial flex, especially having the co-owner on speed dial, as they sell for upwards of $30,000. Plus, the addition of Molly Santana on this track is phenomenal.
“Shabang”
One of the zestier songs on ICEMAN, “Shabang” is all summer vibes. Need something for prom, grad, and just transitions in general? “Shabang” is it. What is he saying? Who knows? But is it fire? Yes. Drake makes so many good allusions over this beat, like Bryson Tiller’s “Don’t” and Polymarket.
“Make Them Pay”
Aubrey flows from notion to notion like it's the motion of the ocean. In the line “I rack up a tab in Chanel 'cause I do buy everything like I'm Middle Eastern,” Drake raps a triple entendre. As many know, Chanel is expensive fashion, and he's saying he racks up a bill because he spends big. Eyes were opened on the first listen.
“Burning Bridges”
Drake paints more on the idea that he, in fact, is a modern-day Kris Kringle in the song. As one never beats the situationship final boss allegations, he mentions his decade-long situationship with Rihanna. Where she at?
“National Treasure”
The most anticipated song off of ICEMAN, as it was leaked in 2025, “National Treasure” is the Toronto anthem of ICEMAN, being spiritually Canadian with references to Canadian culture. With all the hype surrounding the song, some of the lyrics are corny: “ICEMAN was a nice man now I'm hot and cold.” Drake’s the typa guy to say “no more Mr. Nice guy.”
“B’s on the Table”
Drake and 21 Savage are put into the Bee Movie, as they find themselves on the table of Vanessa Bloome. The song navigates them trying to flee, which they explain is difficult. They have lots of motion, flapping their little bee wings, finding a way to escape this fantasy world where they spawned.
“What Did I Miss?”
This began the ICEMAN era as the lead single for the album. “What Did I Miss?” was a monumental drop in summer 2025. It signals his comeback era, saying, “I was gone, so what did I miss?” Classic flow, great for a comeback post on social media after a long hiatus.
“Plot Twist”
Is he playing Twister? The only good part of this song was the feature of Twitch streamer Yonna Jay and her conversation with BenDaDonnn. Yonna Jay is one of the funniest streamers on the internet right now, and her feature on ICEMAN is just the beginning of a legendary career.
“2 Hard 4 the Radio”
Out of all the songs on this album, this will be THE summer anthem. Windows down, volume on, this song is too hard for the radio. Influx of performative Chrome Hearts fit pics will be seen, and Mr. Stark will be wondering why everyone's wearing his brand when he’s only sold ten shirts.
“Make Them Remember”
The owl only wakes up to seize the day, carpe diem; he is a fan of the Dead Poets Society. The whole song is just him spitting bars, trying to meet the word count of his research paper. Some lyrics are poetic like: “No wonder why they been ducking Drake.” His opps are ducking him, and a male duck is called a drake, so they're avoiding him.
“Lil Birdie”
Finally, Drake is able to get out of being an insect, but is still transformed into a little bird. A little birdie did him dirty because when he was a bee. He got eaten by a small sparrow. Super unfortunate for Drizzy, yet now he gets to go up vertically because he's a bird.
“Don't Worry”
As one of the most relatable songs off of ICEMAN, Drake gives his best daily affirmation: “I WANNA SEE A BOY BEG ON THE PAVEMENT,” telling us to never settle for less. Also, this will be another summer anthem as “Please stop askin' me, ‘When are we linkin'?’ It's ICEMAN season.”
“Firm Friends”
Narrating his struggle with friends after the Rap Civil War, he disses his fake allies. This is an ode to the individuals who stuck with him through the trenches.
“Make Them Know”
In the fourth and final “Make Them” song title of ICEMAN, Drake begins to end the album off on a more serious note. “Til the R switched place with the I,” he says. He’s getting tired of being in the spotlight as he's getting older. People want the old Drake, yet he's grown from being a 22-year-old spitting poetry about failed relationships. Chills were experienced, and tears were shed when “Iceman baby why you so cold” was first heard. Drake did his big one and made them know.