Drake's 'Iceman' Album: The Biggest Disses, Subliminals, and More

Drake’s Iceman—one of the year’s most anticipated releases—is here.

The days leading up to the drop (a three-way affair also including new projects Habibti and Maid of Honour) led many, including the very publication you’re reading right now, to wonder whether they might be made targets of outright disses or subtly shrouded subliminals.

Prominent voices in the podcast space actively debated such possibilities before Iceman eve. Jamil "Mal" Clay, for example, posited that “some of y’all out there” should be “nervous,” while Joe Budden expressed confidence that he wouldn’t be dissed on the long-teased new album.

Admittedly, a Complex diss also felt like a very real possibility given the volume of post-beef news coverage we’ve amassed, although my previous full-hearted requests for a “Summer Games” sequel, arguably, appears to have helped quell any would-be resentment.

Below, we take a closer look below at some of the biggest disses and subs (and general grievances) that wound up on the final Iceman tracklist.

The obvious one. You don’t need us to run back any of what transpired between Kendrick and Drake, nor is there any real benefit in further emphasizing just how long the narratives spurred by their beef have persisted on social media.

One could argue, however, that a shrewd move here would been to ignore the proverbial elephant in the room entirely and instead change the conversation by delivering a tight and focused album that even the naysayers are forced to admit is great. That was a very real possibility here, but Drake ultimately split the difference, more or less, by giving fans three separate projects, with the bulk of the rap-focused material housed on Iceman.

Don’t Be Dumb, which Rocky finally let loose into the world earlier this year, finds the former Drake collaborator seemingly digging at the 6 god on “Stole Ya Flow.”

As many predicted, including Charlamagne Tha God, Rocky has now found himself the apparent subject of some choice Iceman lines, including on “Burning Bridges” (“Your baby mama ain’t even post your single”) and “Firm Friends” (“KYS ASAP, that’s some shit that you could do for me”).

While Budden ultimately expressed confidence in his stance that he was unlikely to be mentioned on the final tracklist, he did claim that “somebody that I can’t say publicly” informed him of a scrapped track in which he was referenced.

Well, it appears that same track, or at least a version of it, did make it onto Iceman after all. “Make Them Remember,” previous discussion of which was carried out under a different name, is, presumably, the same track Budden mentioned on the podcast. It features an apparent nod to a lewdness case Budden ultimately beat.

Charlamagne Tha God’s predictions were on point, as DJ Khaled (and Rocky) did wind up amid the larger lyrical infrastructure of Iceman.

“That’s what I was told,” Charlamagne teased on a pre-Iceman episode of The Breakfast Club, adding that he had “no idea” whether he himself would also get hit with a diss.

Rozay had the audience sing Drake’s parts to “Aston Martin Music” at his and French Montana’s recent VERZUZ event, later saying that he doesn’t “want to see [Drake] lose.”

That said, Ross very actively trolled Drizzy at the height of the Kendrick beef, including via his “Champagne Moments” diss.

“Make Them Pay” sees Drake taking credit for “aiding” Rozay’s streaming numbers.

On the more nuanced front, we have some vulnerable and heartbreaking Cole-directed bars from Drake on “Make Them Pay.”

While Cole isn’t mentioned by name, it’s clear that Drake is rapping about his “First Person Shooter” collaborator’s much-debated decision to bow out of the Kendrick beef. Still, the feelings are complicated.

“I love you ‘cause of the history, but if we bein’ real, I could never forgive ya,” Drake raps, later emphasizing his point by sending out a middle finger to the idea of “a big three” in rap.