What to know
- Livestreamer Kishka has allegedly found the release date, May 15, for Canadian rapper Drake’s new album, ‘ICEMAN.’
- On Monday, Canadian rapper Drake put up an ice block installation in a parking lot near Bond Street in Toronto.
- In the day since the ice blocks were put up, fans in Toronto have aimed to melt it with flamethrowers, hairdryers, and campfires.
Drake’s ice sculpture hasn’t even been up for a day, and a streamer has already found the alleged release date for his new album ICEMAN.
A Twitch streamer named Kishka found a blue bag within the ice block structure that allegedly contained a bunch of cash and the release date for Drake’s album — May 15, which has seemingly been confirmed by the rapper’s label OVO Sound.
On Monday afternoon, Canadian rapper Drake unveiled a massive 15 by 20-feet ice block structure near St. Michael’s Cathedral at Bond Street to promote his upcoming album ICEMAN. Supposedly, the album’s release date will be revealed once the ice melts.
But instead of patiently waiting, eager fans have taken to climbing the structure, hitting it with pickaxes, and aiming blowtorches and flamethrowers at it. One social media video even shows a group of fans crowded around a campfire on top of the structure.
Popular mental health advocacy YouTuber Zachery Dereniowski, known online as MDMotivator, joined in on the fun, hiding keys to a new car on top of the ice blocks.
“The first person who gets this key gets a brand new car,” he dared.
In a joyful video posted to his Instagram, Dereniowski is seen interviewing an ecstatic young man who found the keys to what appears to be a Honda Civic. The winner jumps on the car’s hood and joyfully says the first person he’s calling is his mom.
The fun and chaos eventually came to an end late Monday evening at 11 p.m. when the Toronto Police Service (TPS) were called for crowd control.
In a statement to Now Toronto, a spokesperson for the TPS wrote, “It was reported that there were people on top of a 25-foot-high ice sculpture refusing to come down. They were breaking off chunks of the ice with pickaxes and hammers and throwing them. A fire was also set atop the structure.”
“Large pieces of ice began falling, creating a dangerous situation for people on the ground, as well as those who climbed the structure. Officers attended and remained on scene out of concern for public safety and to assist with crowd and traffic control.”
Day two reactions
On Tuesday afternoon, Now Toronto headed over to Drake’s ice block structure to chat with excited fans.
Safeeah R and Aria M are huge Drake fans and explain their reason for living in Toronto is due to the rapper’s influence. They’re originally from Bangladesh, India.
“We came here because we love Drake. That’s the reason we live in Toronto.”
Aria thinks ICEMAN will be released soon and will feature rapper Young Thug, who posted about the album on X.
“I’ve been waiting for ICEMAN for the last year. I’ve been listening to ‘What Did I Miss’ for one year straight.”
When asked if they’d participate in similar activities involving flamethrowers and pickaxes, Safeeah instantly responded, “Hell yeah” while Aria was more hesitant.
“No, because Drake put so much effort into this.”
Meanwhile, coworkers Ammad Qureshi and Nicholas Lachhman checked out the ice structure on their lunch break.
“It’s crazy. I didn’t think it would be that blue,” Qureshi remarked. As a Torontonian, he says he’s obviously a big fan of Drake.
“We just came here on our lunch break. I don’t know what we were expecting but it’s a block of ice.” “We were trying to pick at it to help it melt faster but we weren’t doing much.”
Lachhman doesn’t think people will use blowtorches and flamethrowers again on the second night.
“Security is roaming around quite a bit, but I think people will definitely come around and hit the ice with whatever they have just to do their part. Just to have fun.
When will the ice melt?
Dan Weaver, an Associate Professor in the department of physical and environmental sciences at the University of Toronto, Scarborough, says under ideal conditions, he thinks the ice blocks will last “roughly three to six weeks, depending on the weather and on how much the sculpture is disturbed.”
“My best estimate is that the sculpture will last a few weeks. It will last more than just a few days. The timeline depends strongly on weather and on how the structure behaves as it weakens. It will also depend on how people interact with it,” he explains.
Rather than a few large blocks of ice — which melts relatively slowly because its mass is larger compared with its exposed surface area — Drake’s ice structure is built from many smaller blocks rather than one solid piece. He says the smaller surface speeds up melting because “water can run through the gaps and seams between blocks, exposing more surfaces and weakening the structure.”
Lastly, weather is also critical. He says warmer temperatures speed melting, but temperature is not the whole story.
“Direct sun, wind, and rain can all accelerate melting, while cooler or cloudier conditions could let it last noticeably longer. This could push the timeline by weeks in either direction.”
But, here’s some good news for those who have little patience.
According to an Instagram post by The Iceman Toronto, who dubs themselves “Toronto’s Ice Experts,” the best way to melt ice is with salt, hot water, and an ice scraper.
“Melt responsibly,” the caption says.
