No More Mr. Nice Man
He takes aim at his everyone from Kendrick Lamar to A$AP Rocky to LeBron James
Drake isn’t big on forgiving or forgetting, but they say it isn’t healthy to hold onto anger. On Iceman, one of three albums the rapper delivered at midnight, he blows off steam and takes aim at his current roster of enemies and adversaries.
There are some recurring characters, though no one’s shadow looms quite like Kendrick Lamar’s as Drake addresses the aftermath of “Not Like Us.” The intense feud between the rappers burned bright in 2024, culminating with Lamar taking the Super Bowl halftime show stage and winning five Grammy Awards for the diss track. Meanwhile, Drake took stock of the scorched bridges and betrayal, even filing a lawsuit against UMG and alleging that they had harmed his reputation through the promotion of “Not Like Us.”
Across the album, Drake unloads his pent-up frustration at everyone from Lamar and A$AP Rocky to Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge. Here everyone Drake is mad at on Iceman — and all the backstories.
Drake goes in on the feud on “Make Them Pay,” spitting, “Fuck a big three anyway, there was too many chefs in the kitchen, it was a mess to begin with/And now they got a new GOAT and we gotta test the position.” (Lamar once rapped, “Motherfuck the Big Three, nigga, it’s just big me.”) But Drake is more scathing as he turns to the alleged streaming inflation he accused Lamar of in his lawsuit against Universal Music Group. “Damn, who is this guy for real? I guess a magician,” he raps. “Hundred million streams vanished, no one got questions for niggas.”
Another shot is fired on “Janice STFU,” where Drake raps, “White kids listen to you ’cause they feel some guilt and that’s how your soul gets fulfilled.” The rapperalso borrows a line from “Not Like Us” for the title of his Future and Molly Santana collaboration “Ran to Atlanta” and defends his ties to the city, and on “Make Them Cry,” he addresses the feud again” “Y’all keep on asking me what it did to me, that’s what it did to me,” he raps. “When I dig deep, they say dig deeper/Tell us how it felt to meet the grim reaper.” —Larisha Paul
In January 2025, Drake sued UMG, accusing the label of promoting Lamar’s “Not Like Us” in a way that “intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile.” The suit notably only named the record label, not Lamar himself, who is signed to Interscope Records under the UMG umbrella. The motion called out Lucian Grainge, who has helmed Universal Music Group as chairman and CEO for the last 15 years, for publicly celebrating Lamar’s Record of the Year win for “Not Like Us” at the Grammy Awards and alleged the CEO was critically involved in an attempt to “devalue Drake’s music and brand in order to gain leverage in negotiations for an extension” of his contract.
Drake evokes the conflict again on Iceman, bringing it up on “B’s on the Table:” “I’m fighting the man, not suing a rapper,” he raps. “You boys are not listening.” —L.P.
Playboi Carti catches a lyrical red dot to the forehead on “Whisper My Name,” a whoozy offering on Iceman that finds Drake questioning his former brodie’s street cred and checking his temperature. Inspired by Carti allegedly throwing smut on his name to an unnamed third party, Drizzy coyly references a track from the Atlanta rapper’s MUSIC album as a hint to the intended target, warning that all bets may be off whenever they next cross paths. “Baby boy please, I heard what you said to lil bro about me,” he raps. “Yeah, and when you run into the Iceman, what you gon’ do except freeze/ You not bout to squeeze/ You not in the streets.” —Preezy Brown
Drake and Rihanna had some history before ASAP Rocky and Rihanna found their happily ever after with three kids, and it appears to be the continued source of tension between both rappers. ASAP Rocky explained it in simple terms earlier this year. “This thing between us it’s not real smoke, but I just don’t f— with him,” he said. “We was once friends. I feel like it’s over females. I feel like he wasn’t happy and he expressed that.”
Fans thought ASAP was addressing Drake on “Stole Ya Flow” when he said, “Stole my flow, so I stole yo’ bi—/ If you stole my style, I need at least like 10 percent.” Now, Drake seems to strike back on “Burning Bridges:” “Your baby momma ain’t even post a single, damn, where she at?” he raps, coming back later with, “You saw my brother, you was tryna fix it, now you drop your album and you back dissing.”—Julyssa Lopez
Drake and DJ Khaled’s list of collaborations is a long one. There’s “Greece” and “Popstar,” plus “No New Friends,” “I’m on One,” and more. But on Iceman, the rapper gives him the cold shoulder.
“And, Khaled, you know what I mean/The beef was fully live, you went halal and got on your deen/And your people are still waitin’ for a free Palestine,” Drake raps on “Make Them Pay.” “But apparently everything isn’t black and white and red and green, damn/I’m seein’ everyone’s true colors, for real, I’m sensin’ a theme.” Khaled — whose parents are Palestinian immigrants — has received intense backlash for refusing to speak on Palestine. Fans noted that in October 2023, Drake’s name appeared on the list of musicians who signed Artists4Ceasefire‘s open letter to Joe Biden asking him to “call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost.” Khaled does not appear on the list. —L.P.
Though Drake and Lebron James had a seemingly close relationship in past years, things appeared to go south when James attended Kendrick Lamar’s The Pop Out: Ken & Friends at the Kia Forum back in 2024, at the height of the Drake-Kendrick feud. Apparently, it was enough to make Drake feel like the LA Lakers star had officially taken a side, and he lets it all out on Iceman.
On “Make Them Remember,” Drake brings up the concert and takes a jab at James: “I shouldn’t even be shocked to see you in that arena/ Because you always made your career off of switchin’ teams up.” Later, he makes a reference to James’ jersey number, rapping, ““Please stop askin’ about what’s goin’ on with 23 and me/ I’m a real n—a and he’s not, it’s in my DNA.” —J.L.
In the spirit of rekindling old beefs, Drake expresses his disdain for longtime nemesis Pusha T on “Make Them Pay.” Reveling in his ownership of items from Pharrell Williams’ famed jewelry collection — which he infamously purchased at auction and unveiled in 2023 — the rapper also references Pusha’s alleged ties to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein on “2 Hard 4 The Radio,” proving he’s not above highlighting his detractors’ own rumored transgressions. Ya’ll was island hopping back then now your name’s redacted,” he raps on the song. —P.B.
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