Drake is stirring up conversation again, and this time Rihanna and A$AP Rocky appear to be front and center in the drama unfolding across his new album, ICEMAN.
The Toronto rapper used several tracks on the project to throw pointed shots at Rocky while also revisiting his complicated history with Rihanna, reigniting a storyline fans have followed for years. Although Drake and Rihanna ended their romantic relationship nearly a decade ago, his latest lyrics suggest the tension surrounding her current relationship with Rocky has never fully disappeared.
Rihanna is now firmly settled into family life with Rocky. The couple share three children together and have even sparked rumors of a secret marriage. Still, Drake appears to reference both their relationship and Rocky’s music career throughout multiple songs on the album.
One of the most talked-about moments comes during the chorus of “Burning Bridges,” where Drake questions Rihanna’s support for Rocky’s latest release.
“Your baby mama ain’t even post your single, damn / Where she at? Yeah, where she at?” he raps.
The line quickly caught fans’ attention online because it appeared to mock Rocky’s recent music rollout while dragging Rihanna into the conversation. However, Rihanna had publicly shown support for Rocky’s album Don’t Be Dumb on social media and also attended the project’s release party.
The tension between Drake and Rocky did not appear overnight. Back in the early 2010s, the two rappers were close collaborators and friends. Over time, though, fans began speculating that their friendship had collapsed, especially after Rocky seemingly fired shots at Drake on Don’t Be Dumb earlier this year.
Rocky later confirmed during an interview with Apple Music that he and Drake were no longer on good terms.
“I just don’t f*ck with him,” Rocky said plainly. “We was once friends. I feel like it’s over, females. I feel like he wasn’t happy, and he expressed that.”
Rocky also criticized Drake for continuing to mention Rihanna publicly years later, adding, “For you to still be picking at a female and all that, that’s soft to me.”
Drake and Rihanna’s own history dates back years before Rocky entered the picture. The pair were last romantically linked in 2016, when Drake famously declared his love for Rihanna during the MTV Video Music Awards.
“She’s someone I’ve been in love with since I was 22 years old,” Drake said onstage while presenting Rihanna with an award.
But by 2018, Rihanna revealed in an interview with Vogue that the public moment made her uncomfortable and confirmed that the two had drifted apart.
“We don’t have a friendship now, but we’re not enemies either,” Rihanna said at the time. “It is what it is.”
Now, years later, Drake appears to revisit those unresolved feelings across several songs on ICEMAN. On “Firm Friends,” he takes an even harsher approach toward Rocky, while “Ran to Atlanta” includes lyrics about “sharing women” with rappers he no longer respects.
Another lyric that caught listeners’ attention referenced questions about Rihanna and Rocky’s relationship timeline. “Tell ’em why you really hate me and what year did she date me?” Drake raps on the album.
Despite the years that have passed since Drake and Rihanna’s relationship ended, the latest album makes it clear that the connection and the tension surrounding it still remain a major source of inspiration in his music.
