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Rb Hip Hop

Drake Reboots 'Iceman' Rollout with Instagram Post, DJ Akademiks Shares Update

Could Iceman be around the corner?

Drake
Drake
Courtesy Photo

Drake is still in album mode.

The rapper continued teasing his long-promised new studio album in an Instagram post last week (March 3) captioned "What I Was Doing When You Thought I Was Crying." The post features a carousel of images including a t-shirt saying "They Doubted Me," a poster stating "Warning Iceman" and a photo of several athletes snowmobiling.


Media personality DJ Akademiks updated fans on the Toronto rapper's recording process for the album during a recent Twitch livestream on March 7.

“I think there’s three versions of the cookup, in my opinion, and the third version of the cookup came after he came off tour," he said. "That's the only thing he told me."

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The months long rollout for Iceman kicked off in July with the first episode of three livestreams for the album which featured new music. The first installment premiered "What Did I Miss?" which notched a No. 2 debut on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100. The following week, he delivered a star-studded multi-night headline show at London's Wireless Festival, where he previewed his Central Cee collaboration "Which One," which went on to reach the top 5 in Canada.

Drake then embarked on tour with PartyNextDoor in Europe and the U.K. and confirmed the album's title during his Birmingham show (July 22). A second Iceman livestream followed days later (July 24), debuting "Which One" in full as well as Central Cee's "Iceman Freestyle." The British rapper's freestyle hit the Canadian Hot 100 a few weeks ago after being released in February 2026.

A third Iceman episode came in September 2025 with previews of two collaborations — the Yeat and Julia Wolf-assisted "Dog House" and the Cash Cobain remix of "Somebody Loves Me." The rollout has been quieter since, outside of a few similarly cryptic carousel posts. According to Akademiks, Drake's busy schedule overseas pushed him to hone in on the album again upon having more time.

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"He said ‘AK, when I was doing this episode s—t, I had to really get all these things done and get in between me doing these shows in all these countries, which is pretty tough. Now I’m home, I’m locked in. I’m working. Now is work.’ I think that’s the last official cookup to whatever the album is.”

With new hints coming from The Boy himself, the rollout seems to be back in motion.

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Tate McRae photographed by Heather Hazzan on February 20, 2026 in New York. Motion Stills by Grayson Kohs. Styling by Chloe & Chenelle. Hair by Joey George at Streeters. Makeup by Kennedy at Streeters. Manicure by Juan Alvear. Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello jacket and shoes.
Tate McRae photographed by Heather Hazzan on February 20, 2026 in New York. Motion Stills by Grayson Kohs. Styling by Chloe & Chenelle. Hair by Joey George at Streeters. Makeup by Kennedy at Streeters. Manicure by Juan Alvear. Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello jacket and shoes.
Awards

How Tate McRae Leveled Up To Main Pop Girl Status

Billboard's Women in Music Hitmaker is known for her stunning performances — but her pen has always been her secret weapon, and it's yielding pop bangers.

Before there was Tate McRae, ultra-polished pop performer, there was Tate McRae, preteen from Calgary, Alberta, writing songs at home and uploading them to YouTube.

And while McRae’s high-caliber, intricately choreographed performances and visually striking, maximalist music videos have arguably become the focal points of her public image today (manifesting in a fierce alter ego she calls Tatiana), it’s her other side that Billboard is honoring as this year’s Women in Music Hitmaker — the one who used to take solace in crafting lyrics to sing not in front of more than 10,000 screaming fans but alone in her bedroom. The 22-year-old’s underappreciated pen is just as lethal as her performance capabilities. After a modest debut in the familiar lane of Gen Z pop melancholia — making her first Billboard Hot 100 appearance in 2020 with “You Broke Me First” — McRae enlisted fellow hit-makers Ryan Tedder and Amy Allen to help craft pristine, radio-­friendly pop bangers that she could actually move to, tapping into her upbringing as a competitive dancer onstage and channeling past pop icons such as Britney Spears (to whom she’s now ­frequently compared).

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