After his feud with Kendrick Lamar, Drake has alienated many female fans. With his ninth album, Iceman, he is aiming to reclaim the top of the charts. The rollout has included stunts such as iced-out courtside seats at the Toronto Raptors arena and a large block of ice downtown for the public to chip away to reveal the album date. A quirky YouTube series has also accompanied the release.
The feud with Lamar, which culminated in the diss track 'Not Like Us', saw Drake accused of being a hip-hop 'colonizer' who chases young women. The consensus holds that Drake lost the battle, but backlash had been building before Lamar's first diss. Fans who once loved Drake for his sensual R&B turned against him as his music grew lonelier and more bitter.
Drake initially appealed to women, according to music critic Clover Hope, with songs like 'Jungle' and Aaliyah samples. 'He made it clear that rap was for women,' she said. However, recent years have seen him embrace a more hypermasculine persona, with misogynistic lyrics on the 2022 album Her Loss and appearances on podcasts hosted by Adin Ross, a fan of Andrew Tate. His line about Megan Thee Stallion on 'Circo Loco' was a turning point for many female fans.
Whether Iceman can repair Drake's relationship with his audience remains uncertain. The album's cheeky, defiant tone suggests an attempt to recapture the light-heartedness of earlier hits like 'Hotline Bling', but the damage from the beef may be long-lasting.
