Drake was spotted driving an ice delivery truck around downtown Toronto

Amid one of the city’s hottest summers on record, Drake, the Prince of Toronto himself, was spotted driving around Sankofa Square in an Iceman delivery truck last Friday night. The windows were rolled down, and tunes were blaring—presumably from his forthcoming album, Iceman.

Many Torontonians will be familiar with the Iceman, a family-run ice delivery business with an iconic retro logo. Before the stunt, Drake had been slowly releasing album teasers on Instagram, including one on Friday that simply read: “9PM.” Not one for subtlety, Drake also alerted fans to “Stay Tuned” with a billboard above the Eaton Centre.

Sure enough, that evening, the rapper delivered on his promise with an hour-long YouTube livestream titled “Iceman Episode One.” The video opens with static shots of the Iceman facility under the hum of industrial lighting. Then Drake appears, dressed as an Iceman employee, watching vintage footage of himself on a wall-mounted TV in the break room. He then launches into a performance of new song “What Did I Miss?” to an audience of ice blocks.

Keen listeners may notice that the track appears to call out former friends like LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan for attending Kendrick Lamar’s Pop Out concert in June, with lyrics like, “You switched on the guys and supported a hater” and “Bro went to Pop Out with them.” In the last 30 minutes of the video, Drake hits the streets in an Iceman-branded truck, casually singing along to his new tracks. A title card at the end of the livestream reads, “Iceman Coming Soon.”

A collab with the Iceman, a company that’s been rooted in Toronto for more than 25 years, couldn’t be more on-brand for the Toronto-proud superstar. And it’s not the first time he’s elevated a local biz to international celebrity overnight: the Real Jerk, New Ho King, Sotto Sotto and Fring’s (RIP) have all benefited from the rapper’s lyrical shout-outs.

The record is Drake’s first since his beef with Lamar began last year, and fans can expect a revenge arc full of barbed lyrics, indignation at perceived betrayal and vocal side-eyes directed at former allies caught in the diss-track fallout. The preview suggests that Iceman may lean in to ’80s-inspired instrumentation. “What Did I Miss?” features rough sonic textures that evoke a worn-out cassette tape loaded with synth lines and long reverb tails. It’s a departure from the soft melodies and blown-out bass lines of the rapper’s 2023 album, For All the Dogs. It differs, too, from the controlled gloss of what is arguably Drake’s best-performing record, 2018’s Scorpion.

While the full album drop date is still on ice, Drake’s ability to stir up drama and anticipation in Toronto is as red-hot as ever.