Drake’s been moving like a man with a secret. Not just any secret — the cryptic kind that makes you post a Canadian ICEMAN machine to your burner account like it’s the Mona Lisa. Fans have been deep in detective mode ever since late last year, connecting the icy dots and wondering if Drake’s about to go full Sub-Zero on the rap game. So… what is ICEMAN? An album? A persona? A warning? A cry for help in the form of F1 driver helmets and Top Gun screenshots? Let’s break it all down.
It all started with Kimi Räikkönen
Drake has been treating his finsta @plottttwistttttt like a conspiracy corkboard — and Exhibit A is Kimi Räikkönen, aka The Iceman, who happens to be the most stoic Formula 1 driver in history. Räikkönen doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t show that he’s under pressure — and it obviously worked for him up until he retired in 2021.
He had “21 wins, 18 pole positions and 103 podiums in his career.” Basically, he’s who Drake thinks he is when he posts cryptic clues and sneak disses with no further context. Räikkönen’s all over Drake’s finsta, looking like the human version of a cold shoulder. During a livestream with Adin Ross in April 2025, Drake wore a hoodie that said “ICEMAN KIMI,” another nod to the F1 legend.
A Canadian ice machine—literally
Nothing says “coldest rapper in the game” like a heavy-duty industrial ice machine. Drizzy went ahead and posted a photo of one made by a Canadian company called — wait for it — The ICEMAN.
Is it a metaphor? A flex? A metaphorical flex?
We’re not sure, but we do know it was posted twice. The second time, it featured his Dark Lane Demo Tapes face and the word “ICEMAN” stamped on top, like a new superhero origin story.
“On a surface level, this doesn’t seem very significant, but it continues the ICEMAN pattern/theme Drake is trying to get across,” Drake theorist and X user realalmightee posted. He’s not just cold — he’s Cold™.
Top Gun references
Of course, it wouldn’t be a full Drake rollout without a movie reference. This time, it’s Val Kilmer who played the character Tom Kazansky (AKA Iceman) in Top Gun (you know, the one with the earworm track “Danger Zone” and Tom Cruise).
Kilmer’s character is the classic no-smiles, no-nonsense big time wingman who makes Cruise’s character Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (AKA Maverick) look like a saint. The Toronto native posted Kilmer’s character, completing the “random men with the same nickname” starter pack.
Marvel, Superman, NBA legends, and more
There are also deep cuts in Drake’s ICEMAN Cinematic Universe:
- Thanks to a comment from Boi-1da, one of Drake’s go-to producers, some fans think he’s channeling Bobby Drake, Marvel’s Iceman — a literal mutant with cryo powers. Coincidence? Maybe. On-brand? Definitely.
- Others are seeing Fortress of Solitude vibes in his recent moves, maybe hinting at Drake isolating himself before the comeback of the century and literally icing himself out with Pharrell’s jewelry.
- Drake posted a signed George Gervin jersey— the NBA’s original Iceman, known for finger rolls and staying cool under pressure.
- One theory even links it to the blues genre. There’s a 1991 album titled Iceman from blues legend Albert Collins that Champagne Papi might be pulling inspiration from. Drizzy’s dad, Dennis Graham, is also known for playing and performing the blues.
There’s drop date theories
Nothing confirmed, but Reddit detectives are circling August 24 like it’s Drake’s birthday (it’s not). The date lines up with OVO Fest season, and we’ve seen him tease/delete track drops before — like the “Get a Glass” collab with Central Cee that quickly disappeared off his finsta feed.
2.0 – ICEMAN
In case you still weren’t getting it, Drake took to his finsta to post Räikkönen’s racing helmet along with ice cubes. There was also random stories of things that looked like they belonged in Elsa’s freezer like the dimensions of ice walls. Really leaning into the whole “coldest era yet” vibe.
Maybe Drake’s entering his post-beef, post-feelings, emotionally unavailable king phase. Fans think he’s cooked up a new persona to counter the chaos of last year’s lyrical shootout with Kendrick Lamar. The timeline aligns with when he teased the second 100 GIGS drop on his burner account in August 2024, posting a folder of songs titled “2.0 – ICEMAN” which first sparked album theories.
