Drake appeared on the fourth and final episode of his ongoing ICEMAN promotional series live on YouTube and revealed his father, Dennis Graham, has cancer. However, he didn’t just discuss it in the episode. Instead, the Toronto native played the lyrics:
“My dad got cancer right now/ We battling stage/ Trust me when I say there’s plenty things that I’d rather be facin’/ For real/ And this time, ask me to dig deeper, I’ll gladly explain it…”
Turns out, these are also the final few lines from Drake’s song Make Them Cry, which is the inaugural track on his brand-new studio album, ICEMAN, slated for a May 15 release.
Over the years, Drake and his dad have shared a difficult relationship as Dennis had been absent for a significant part of the rapper’s life. However, they have since reconciled.
In fact, on Thursday, Graham Sr posted a picture of himself and his son hugging on Instagram and captioned it:
“The Ice Man and The Nice Man just doing what we do, don’t get it twisted.”
Several OVO members sent their love to Drizzy’s father, as did streamer Adin Ross.
Earlier, during an interview with Van Lathan, Dennis Graham noted:
“I always tell people, ‘That’s my son.’ And people say, ‘We know, Dennis! We know he’s your son!’ But I’m just so proud of him.”
Exploring further the lyrics of Drake’s ‘Make Them Cry’
Drake’s Make Them Cry has the same intro and outro that goes, “Yeah, Ice, Yeah.” He immediately begins rapping about his parents and how he’s the “only child” of Dennis and Sandi Graham, who are now getting older and have medical issues stemming from their old age.
“I’m an only child, no one could’ve made another/ I have to father my mother and treat my son’s grandfather like my older brother…”
Drizzy then goes on to compare BTS’ rise to fame and stardom following an initial spell of hardships, much like his own career.
“The skies are grey in Toronto, they not a golden color/ I’m feeling like BTS ’cause it took the whole career for me to be so discovered/ I know for sure that my parents, they look at me and see an overcomer/ I’m looking back at them and these days, I see an older couple.”
Drake then discusses his strained equation with his uncle, rapping:
“I see my only uncle lookin’ like that sh*t that I ain’t ownin’ up to/ And if he said the way he really felt, I’d probably see his side because I’m old enough to…”
Drizzy namedrops his primary record producer and OVO Sound co-founder Noah “40” Shebib:
“I’m looking at all my n***as, they say, “Bro, we love you”/ But all my words really the sh*t that they be goin’ up to/ Feel like 40 won’t even listen to my words when he knows I’m in a load of trouble/ I’m in the cut just loadin’ rebuttals/ And I got a bunch of hits on my hand, see the swollen knuckles?”
The Canadian icon continues:
“I try to tell him it’s working out for me now, he say, “Then show your muscles/ Prove to me that you’re still as strong when it’s only us two/ They know you thorough with bread, but there’s some shit you gotta pony up to”/ Basically he’s sayin’ I got growin’ up to do, I gotta dig deep/ I really hate those two words, they never bring peace…”
Elsewhere, Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, speaks about turning a “new lead” with his woman at a Turkish Bulgari store, but still being distracted about all the “conversations surrounding my music” and the mountains left to “climb.”
He then raps about his publicized infamous rap feud with Kendrick Lamar and how it affected him while also denying the American rapper’s claims about his character (K-Dot called Drizzy a p*dophile, among other things). In fact, Drake calls his rival a “grim reaper” in his new single.
“With Dot back in 2024 was a big piece/ So it’s like, this sh*t is me, but it isn’t me/ Y’all keep on asking me what it did to me, that’s what it did to me/ When I dig deep, they say dig deeper/ Tell us how it felt to meet the grim reaper…”
Aubrey continues by saying how there were expectations that his new album would have “big features,” from the hip-hop/ music world, but confesses that he had to burst the bubble of his fandom as this was a solo affair.
“And I’ve been tryna end so many people, I almost forgot the intro/ Been so sure of my words that I haven’t used a pencil/ Been so paranoid that nothing in this world seems coincidental,” the lyrics adds.
6 God goes back to discussing his family and how his brother pretended that his chain got snatched, when in fact him, his “baby mama,” and other family members knew he “pawned it for cash” and was “movin’ backwards,” meaning he is in some financial crisis.
“To me, he sold the only thing that has ever mattered/ I could never forgive such a nefarious action/ I’m still healin’ my own traumas, I’ve barely adapted…”
Next, Drake takes a subtle dig at J. Cole and uses “radioactive” to describe his latest work, just as Cole did back in the day for his own album. Champagne Papi also agrees it’s a “new toxic sh*t” but says that it’s something that helps him move through the “roughest days in life” looking “very relaxing.”
Drake also speaks about going to therapy, not doing psychedelics as he is “too scared” of how they would affect him, putting the “man” in manipulation, helping family, friends, and associates with their rents, fashion, Mercedes, and more.
“Sis, you gotta be kiddin’ like nephews and nieces/ I keep on rescuin’ leeches, I can’t believe it, I really can’t believe it/… Too many wire transfers bound to have a good girl’s morals tangled/ The rent-free penthouse and the Van Cleef floral bangles/ … While I turned a blind eye ’cause it’s more than painful, yeah/ I think I also put the “man” in “manifestation”/ Either I’m too numb to this sh*t or the city is changin’.”
Towards the end, before revealing his dad’s cancer, Drake speaks about his “random intrusive thoughts,” battling patience, frustration, and ageing (he’s about to turn 40 this October).
“I’m battlin’ the fact that the album ain’t even drop and already they a**es complainin’/ F**k it, I’ll battle the label/ F**k it, I’ll battle the majors, I’ll battle the stations ’til my a** is back in rotation/ Shout out to the real fans that knew what I had in the basement/ Shout out to the fake fans, I thought we had an arrangement/ How many times have you tried to tell me I had a replacement?”
Drake concluded by saying it’s him who always gets asked about whether he had a vacation or was using ghostwriters, when he witnessed other artists “do bad imitations,” without getting “all bent out of shape, rattled, and shaken” like him, but then again, none of them was living his life.
Genius cites Maneesh and Ovrkast as the producers on Make Them Cry.
There has been a lot of anticipation surrounding Drake’s ICEMAN. For instance, fans and streamers alike have predicted that many were going to get dissed. Charlamagne Tha God warned ASAP Rocky and DJ Khaled of the same. Meanwhile, Joe Budden predicted LeBron James and J. Cole were among the ones who might be shaded.
Meanwhile, Drake unveiled an ice sculpture in his hometown and asked fans to dig into it to find out the release date. One indeed went through the trouble and used fire and other tools. However, when it melted and caused a danger to the public, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow took it down, all while admitting she too was excited for the rapper’s new release.
A track titled 1 AM in Albany was allegedly leaked earlier this week. Drizzy is yet to address it. It also remains to be seen if the song is indeed part of ICEMAN or is a fake drop.
Edited by Pallavi K