Toronto police were forced to intervene after fans of rapper Drake took pickaxes, blowtorches and sledgehammers to a giant ice block installation designed to reveal the release date of his new album, Iceman.
The 25-foot ice sculpture was erected in a downtown Toronto parking lot on Monday, with the rapper posting its location on Instagram and writing: “Release Date Inside.” The plan was for the date to be revealed once the ice melted naturally, but impatient fans resorted to chipping away at the block.
Police blocked public access on Monday evening after reports that people were climbing the sculpture. Despite warnings, a Twitch streamer named Kishka used a sledgehammer the following day to extract a vacuum-sealed bag containing the date May 15, a book and several Canadian $100 bills.
Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop issued a statement on Tuesday, warning that large crowds were using flammable liquids and open flames to melt the ice, creating “an immediate threat to life.” He said measures under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act were being taken to mitigate risks. By Wednesday, Toronto Fire Services were using warm water to melt the sculpture.
The album marks Drake's first solo project since 2023's For All the Dogs. The stunt comes amid ongoing legal disputes between Drake and his rap rival Kendrick Lamar over Lamar's 2024 diss track “Not Like Us,” which Drake unsuccessfully sued to have removed, claiming it falsely accused him of being a sex offender.
