Drake’s new album, Iceman, was released on May 15, 2026. It featured 18 tracks with a total runtime of 1 hour and 8 minutes, including features from 21 Savage and Future. To many fans’ surprise, two additional albums were released at the same time. The first one, Maid of Honour, features big collaborations with artists like Central Cee, Sexyy Red and Popcaan and more. The second one, Habibti, consists of 11 tracks and two collaborations, including Loe Shimmy, Sexyy Red and PartyNextDoor. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how Drake turned the Iceman rollout into a full marketing masterclass.
The first signs of Iceman
Drake has long teased a ninth studio album. It started back in 2024 when he released 100 Gigs, a compilation of files consisting of unreleased tracks, behind-the-scenes videos, studio footage, tour recordings and more. The release helped fuel speculation about Drake’s upcoming solo album, which later would become known as Iceman.
The three Iceman livestreams
As time went by, Drake started teasing Iceman more and more. In July 2025, a livestream called “ICEMAN EPISODE 1” was uploaded to Drake’s YouTube channel. It was a 58-minute video featuring Drake riding around in an Iceman-branded truck in central Toronto, as well as a teaser for a new music video. Just a few days later, the first single from the album, “What Did I Miss?”, was released.
A month later, the second livestream, titled “ICEMAN EPISODE 2”, was released. It featured a new song with British rapper Central Cee. In addition, another song was teased, which we now know by the name of “National Treasure”. The livestream took place in London.
The third and final livestream, “ICEMAN EPISODE 3 – CUTDOWN”, was released in late October 2025 and took place in Milan. It featured three new songs, including a collaboration with rapper Yeat. The livestream ends with three figures in Pinocchio-styled outfits walking towards Drake. Some fans interpreted the three Pinocchios as a loose hint toward the three-album release. Another interpretation is that they referenced the lies Drake believes have followed him since the Kendrick Lamar and UMG feud.
The ice stunts which the three albums
In the beginning of April 2026, Drake attended the last regular-season Toronto Raptors game against the Brooklyn Nets. But apart from the usual, his courtside seat was covered with ice. A video of the ice-covered seat quickly spread across major basketball platforms such as ESPN and Bleacher Report. It left fans questioning whether the Iceman drop was closer than expected.
A week later, a 25-foot ice sculpture consisting of 3,500 blocks of ice could be seen in downtown Toronto. Drake uploaded the location of the sculpture on Instagram with a sidenote saying “release date inside”. Fans gathered around the sculpture with sledgehammers trying to break through, which gained huge traction through clips on social media. But what gained even more attention was that the giant sculpture had to be sprayed down with hot water by the Toronto fire crew due to “safety concerns”.
True to his word, the Iceman release date was found in a bag inside the ice sculpture. The release date was set for May 15.
The day before Iceman
Just a day before the scheduled release date, a fourth Iceman livestream was uploaded to Drake’s YouTube channel. It featured several new songs, including “Ran to Atlanta” with longtime collaborator Future. The same night, the iconic CN Tower in Toronto could slowly be seen turning blue, starting from the bottom and moving all the way to the top.
Drake’s three-album release made the rollout impossible to ignore
And so finally, it was released: the 18-track album fans had been anticipating for years. But to everyone’s surprise, two additional albums were released at the same time. The three-album release, consisting of Iceman, Maid of Honour and Habibti, amounted to a total of 43 songs with a combined runtime of 2 hours and 29 minutes.
At the time of writing, the album(s) haven’t even been out for 24 hours but have already made a noticeable impact online. Many reported issues with Apple Music and Spotify at the time of the release, causing even more chaos around the already massive rollout.
Why Drake’s new album rollout worked so well
Whether you love or hate Drake, the Iceman rollout was difficult to ignore. He created momentum around the promotion in a way few artists manage to do in today’s music climate. It is still too early to know how the albums will be remembered, but the rollout did what a rollout is supposed to do: it made people pay attention.