It’s official: ICEMAN—and a whole lot more Drake—is finally here, and it’s his most polarizing album to date. Across the hip-hop space, opinions are varied. Is it a miss? Is it a masterpiece? Time will tell.
But what we’ll tell you is the 10 coldest tracks on the album, and our reasons why.
Here are the top 10 best songs on Drake’s ICEMAN, definitively ranked.
10. “Make Them Know”
The rest of the “Make Them” tracks are a lot better, but “Make Them Know” serves as a solid outro. The production is lush and spacious—the Drizzy special—and he pictures his position in the game after dropping this album.
The outro to the outro, though? Beautiful.
9. “Burning Bridges”
You’d think the A$AP Rocky vs. Drake back-and-forth would’ve run out of steam by now, but “Your baby mama ain’t even post your single, damn, where she at?” instantly revived it—especially once Drake and his crew started hitting the taunting peek-a-boo dance in the music video.
The song’s infectious energy gets another boost from the Kodak Black-inspired flow Drake taps into, reminiscent of 2016’s “Skrt,” plus a subtle callback to his Meek Mill battle with the line: “You gettin’ bodied by a singin’ n***a.”
More than just a diss track, “Burning Bridges” feels built for the summer. It’s easy to picture DJs running this back while the crowd screams the hook and does the dance along with it.
8. “Ran To Atlanta” (ft. Future & Molly Santana)
While no one is sure exactly why they linked back up after Future (and Metro) dropped two full albums about him, they’re back at it again. And it’s looking like it’ll be another hit.
“Ran To Atlanta” has multiple parts, from Drake’s intro, to a beat switch where Future takes over, to giving Molly Santana her biggest moment to date. All in all, it’s the most varied song ICEMAN has to offer.
7. “Firm Friends”
It’s important to highlight the beats on this project. “Firm Friends” is a Conductor-produced deep cut, and on this one, Drake is very wary of his surroundings. He’s only keeping a few people close while questioning everyone who stayed quiet during the most chaotic point in his career.
Of course, there’s still some shots thrown here and there, but the overarching point feels more like a questioning than an indictment.
6. “Shabang”
“Shabang” sounds as Drake as it gets. Maneesh handles a few of the beats on this project, and he honestly went dumb. Paired with a simpler flow on this one, it makes for a very easy listen.
And rather than leaning away from that sparseness and simplicity, they sprinkled in some Migos ad-libs, showing that they’re going for a hit. If they have more tracks like “Shabang” on ice, Drake fans will definitely be glad to hear it.
5. “Plot Twist”
Some of the beats on ICEMAN are cold as hell, and this is one of them. Coupled with the lack of coded jabs and shots, aside from the overall concept of throwing up gang signs, it’s the least bothered Drake sounds on the project in its entirety.
When he goes into that accented flow on the second verse? It’s one of the high points of the album. “Plot Twist” probably has the most replay value on ICEMAN, and we can see it being a summer banger.
4. “National Treasures”
Another ridiculous beat. It’s not even a knock on Drake to say that the production could be the standout part of the album. Choosing good beats is part of the art, and he was definitely in his bag this time around.
Considering the track is called “National Treasures,” the shots he took towards Demar Derozan, former Toronto Raptors guard, for his decision to celebrate at Kendrick’s Pop-Out were fitting.
3. “Make Them Remember”
Originally leaked as “1AM in Albany,” “Make Them Remember” is the most direct re-ignition of 2024’s heated feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Damn near every line is pointed at the content of “Not Like Us,” the lawsuit, Kendrick’s affiliations and character, you name it.
But, even outside of the beef and subject matter, the beat and his rapping are in the exact pocket Drake fans want to hear. The AM/PM tracks stand alone in his discography for a reason.
2. “Make Them Pay”
Sampling Deniece Williams’ classic 1976 track “Free,” Drizzy details his longing to get out of his label deal with UMG. Considering he dropped three albums to drive it home, it’s obvious that he takes this point to heart.
Of course, as with the rest of the album, there are a ton of shots in every direction—Kendrick, J. Cole, and DJ Khaled all on the receiving end. But meshed with the production, some of them land better than they would otherwise.
1. “Make Them Cry”
The “Make Them” tracks are the true gems of the project, as indicated by the our top 3, but “Make Them Cry” is easily the best track on the project. With it being the intro, the 3 beat switches manage to catch you off guard (before it becomes the norm for the rest of the project).
It’s also the most vulnerable track on the project. Rather than sounding like he didn’t take any damage from the war, he sounds like he did some reflection on the impact it had on his perspective. He also lists off a variety of things that a rapper at his age should be focused on—a level of depth we haven’t heard since the NWTS days.
