{"id":2429567,"date":"2026-05-23T18:58:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T18:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2429567"},"modified":"2026-05-23T18:58:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T18:58:46","slug":"drakes-iceman-is-43-songs-of-sore-loser-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/drakes-iceman-is-43-songs-of-sore-loser-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"Drake’s ‘Iceman’ Is 43 Songs Of Sore Loser Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Unfortunately for all of us, Drake cannot get over losing a <\/span>rap battle he instigated<\/span><\/a> with Kendrick Lamar two years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In some ways, Drake is right to be already <\/span>swatting<\/span><\/a> away critiques of his long-teased solo release, which is now a 43-song project spanning three albums \u2014 \u201cIceman,\u201d \u201cHabibti\u201d and \u201cMaid of Honour\u201d \u2014 and compare those to the same negative reactions once received by \u201cTake Care\u201d more than a decade ago. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meanwhile, \u201cIceman\u201d is already <\/span>breaking streaming records<\/span><\/a>. The track \u201cRan To Atlanta,\u201d which reunites him with Future, is likely to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. Across the two and a half hours of new Drake music are more hits destined to take that No. 1 spot.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Here are the other bright spots: Drake is doing something interesting sonically on tracks like \u201cJanice STFU\u201d and displaying his knack for hit-making on \u201cShabang.\u201d And while it is not a personal favorite, the West Coast-sounding \u201c2 Hard 4 The Radio\u201d shows a defiant Drake when it comes to not being limited to the regional sounds he chooses to jump on. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Those positives get overshadowed by the general ethos of the album: Drake\u2019s ongoing grievances from yesteryear\u2019s rap battles.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I don\u2019t like when rappers remind me of President Donald Trump, and much of the subtext on \u201cIceman\u201d is that \u201cTHE ELECTION WAS RIGGED!!!\u201d For years, Trump has claimed he lost the 2020 election<\/a> due to alleged widespread voter fraud.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Three of the songs on \u201cIceman\u201d \u2014 \u201cMake Them Pay,\u201d \u201cFirst Friends\u201d and \u201cDust\u201d \u2014 feature Drake complaining about inflated streaming numbers. He has <\/span>his own similar allegations to worry over<\/span><\/a>, but hypocrisy never stops a man with a complaint and the funds to try and sue his way toward retribution. Sound familiar?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I don\u2019t know if Drake is political in any real sense, but this inability to let go of a loss is a noticeable similarity to Trump. They both cannot accept defeat and are incredibly whiny.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s no wonder the <\/span>White House\u2019s social media pages<\/span><\/a> decided to mimic the \u201cIceman\u201d cover and tie it to MAGA. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Drake also continues to be salty with A$AP Rocky, seemingly taunting the rapper-actor with \u201cWhere she at?\/Where she go\u201d on \u201cBurning Bridges.\u201d Drake seemingly never got over Rihanna daring to move on from him and create a family with Rocky, so in Drake\u2019s mind, pointing out that the mother of his children didn\u2019t post about his single is worth highlighting. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I will acknowledge that <\/span>Drake immediately called for a ceasefire in Gaza<\/span><\/a> in October 2023. Yet there\u2019s something icky about finally hearing a rapper of his stardom saying \u201cFree Palestine\u201d on \u201cMake Them Pay\u201d only for it to be used as a jab at DJ Khaled, one of the many betrayers Drake complains about all album long. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Then there is \u201cMake Them Remember,\u201d where \u201cIs it the fair skin or the Jewish roots\/Why people want to <\/span>not see<\/span><\/em> me on top of the mountain like I do the Dew?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As others quickly pointed out, he <\/span>whines<\/span><\/a> about streaming numbers once more right after saying that. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That doesn\u2019t make it a bad album, but sore loserdom is an acquired taste. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Drake is a former child star from Canada who has become the most successful rapper of this century, and it\u2019s still not enough for him. <\/span>Being light-skinned and half-Jewish has nothing to do with why some will always look at him as an outsider to \u201cthe culture.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When Mos Def was asked if Drake \u201cwas hip-hop\u201d and <\/span>compared him to Target<\/span><\/a>, I never found that as insulting as some Drake fans took it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Drake is pop, and that was by design, thanks to the efforts of his predecessors in the 1990s and 2000s. Frustrating as he can be, very few artists have the skillset to deliver this sort of fluid, genre-hopping offering. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Where Drake fails to impress on \u201cIceman,\u201d others may enjoy either the house-influenced and more experimental album \u201cMaid of Honour,\u201d or \u201cHabibti,\u201d which is more reflective of Drake\u2019s gift for melodies and his R&B ear. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Granted, he\u2019s still complaining \u2014 about women he can\u2019t trust, naturally \u2014 but I prefer the R&B tracks to the faux-tough act found on \u201cWhisper My Name.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He\u2019s been getting away with being a cooing misogynist with bars for much of his chart-topping career, yet the minute someone that triggers all his insecurities puts him in his place, he can\u2019t shut up about it. The worst part of it all is that for all the whining Drake does about being cheated and not accepted, who else but our culture would accept someone like him?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So long as he churns the hits, the masses have let him cook. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I\u2019m not surprised Drake hasn\u2019t shown more growth as an artist, but does that matter when he\u2019s too big to fail? So big that in spite of my objections, where some of us want better, others love him whining and complaining. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Even so, embarrassed as Drake must\u2019ve been following the success of \u201cNot Like Us,\u201d it never truly stifled Drake\u2019s success. If only he would just drop the ongoing lawsuit over a rap beef he started. (A judge threw out <\/span>Drake\u2019s lawsuit<\/span><\/a> over Lamar\u2019s allegedly defamatory record. He is appealing the case.)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Drake still sounds so haunted, and what a pity it is to see a 39-year-old man who still hasn\u2019t learned when to take his L in stride. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If he could just move on as an artist, he\u2019d sound happier and would be able to enjoy this comeback in peace.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n