DJ Akademiks' Latest Update Suggests Drake's "ICEMAN" Is Dropping Sooner Than You Think

BY Alexander Cole
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 24: DJ Akademiks attends Complex's inaugural List[ed] event at Zaytinya on October 24, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Complex)
The hype for Drake's "ICEMAN" album is off the charts right now, and DJ Akademiks cannot help himself with the updates.

DJ Akademiks is someone who seems reasonably connected to Drake. Since the beginning of his career, Ak has been banging the Drizzy drum, and he hasn't stopped. Even when the artist was going through a downturn in 2024, Akademiks stuck by him.

That appears to be paying dividends in 2026, as the hype for Drake's ICEMAN album is starting to pick up. There is a sense that the album could be released in the first quarter of the year. After all, if you're going to call your album ICEMAN, you should probably drop it while it's still cold outside.

Either way, the hype is off the charts right now. A$AP Rocky is going to be dropping this week, and from there, the runway has been cleared for an artist like Drake to take the reins.

Recently, Akademiks was on stream, where he was relistening to For All The Dogs, heralding the project as a classic breakup album. When Akademiks posted the clip on his X account, he made sure to give a detail that fans will be hanging their hats on for some time.

When Is Drake Dropping ICEMAN?

"ICEMAN SO SOON! MY GOAT ALWAYS DELIVERS!" Akademiks wrote on his X account. Clearly, he knows something we don't. Drake has not yet given a release date for his new album. However, Akademiks is comfortable enough saying that the album is dropping soon.

At the end of the day, nothing is confirmed until Drake himself comes through with an actual release date. Until then, everyone is just guessing and drumming up hype. However, where there is smoke, there is fire, and it does seem like a Drake album release is a real possibility in a week to a month from now.

2025 was an odd year for releases. There were some big albums that dropped, although it felt like the year belonged to the underground in many ways. With Drake, A$AP Rocky, Travis Scott, and even J. Cole looking to drop this year, it feels like 2026 might be the year mainstream hip-hop has needed.

About The Author
Alexander Cole is the current editor-in-chief of HotNewHipHop. He started at HotNewHipHop back in 2018 where he began as a Sports and Sneakers writer. It was here where he began to hone his craft, putting his journalism degree from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, to good use. Since that time, he has documented some of the biggest stories in the hip-hop world. From the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef to the disturbing allegations against Diddy, Alex has helped HotNewHipHop navigate large-scale stories as they happen. In 2021, he went to the Bahamas for the Big 3's Championship Game. It was here where he got to interview legendary figures like Ice Cube, Clyde Drexler, and Stephen Jackson. He has also interviewed other superstar athletes such as Antonio Brown, Damian Lillard, and Paul Pierce. This is in addition to conversations with social media provocateurs like Jake Paul, and younger respected artists like Kaycyy, Lil Tecca, and Jeleel!

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