Drake Releases Three Albums Including References to Kendrick Lamar Feud

Drake released three albums on Thursday, exceeding expectations for a single anticipated record. The Canadian rapper dropped Iceman, his solo project, along with Habibti and Maid of Honour, for a total of 43 songs.

The albums feature collaborations with Central Cee, 21 Savage and PARTYNEXTDOOR. They mark Drake's first releases since his feud with Kendrick Lamar intensified in 2024. He addresses the beef directly in the new music.

Iceman focuses on rap and hip-hop. Habibti shifts toward R&B, and Maid of Honour draws from dance music. On one track, Drake accuses Lamar of handing out turkeys on camera in his Compton, Los Angeles neighborhood before retreating to the hills. "Handin' out turkeys on camera inside of your hood, then you go back to the hills," he raps.

The opener of Iceman, Make Them Cry, touches on the feud's peak. "Tell us how it felt to meet the grim reaper / This album better have some big features / Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm all alone for my mental [health]," Drake raps.

Drake also targets figures who backed Lamar, including Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who attended a Lamar concert during the dispute's height. Streaming services crashed and slowed as fans rushed to listen.

Music journalist and radio presenter Mary Mandefield told BBC Newsbeat that Drake had to address the feud. "He's a smart businessman, as well as a great musician," she said. "It would have been a massive miss to have three albums and not to mention Kendrick at all."

Fans awaited Drake's response to Lamar's diss track Not Like Us, performed at the Super Bowl halftime show last year. Mandefield said the battle benefited both. "It keeps people talking about it, it helps with streaming numbers," she said. "Externally it looks like beef, but on the whole, it helps both artists out."

The 43-track drop drew potential accusations of stream trolling to boost figures. Mandefield noted Drake's varied styles could aid that, but others have done similar. Rap group Migos released a 24-track album, and Chris Brown put out a 57-track deluxe edition of Heartbreak on a Full Moon.

"Other artists would do this in a way where they might have a remix album, or they might do an acoustic version," she said. Mandefield called the triple release excessive but predicted more such drops.

Drake built hype through Iceman livestreams with new tracks, guests and hints. Episode four ended with three hard drives signaling the drop. He torched a bot farm streaming Lamar's Grammy-winning Not Like Us. Both rappers have accused each other of bot use, referenced in Drake's dismissed lawsuit against Universal Music Group. He lit the CN Tower blue in Toronto during the broadcast.