Drake, di Canadian rap superstar, don set Friday, May 15, as release date for im ninth studio album wey dem call Iceman. Di album don dey generate plenty buzz since August 2024, when Drake start to tease di project for livestreams and social media. E don already drop three singles—What Did I Miss?, Which One, and Dog House—for di summer wey just pass.
As one of di world most popular recording artists, Drake fans dey wait with belle full for di album. But di anticipation don reach another level: prediction market platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi don allow users to bet on which words or phrases Drake go include for Iceman. Di options range from “Drizzy,” one of im nicknames, to “Crypto / Bitcoin,” “Nike,” and “Trump.”
Because rappers get history of mentioning sports terms and athletes for dem lyrics, people dey expect Drake—wey be known Toronto sports fan—to follow dat trend. Di 39-year-old don often weave sports references into im music, name-dropping athletes like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry, and even dedicating one whole track to former college football star Johnny Manziel.
For Kalshi, “Super Bowl” get 14 percent chance to appear for Iceman, while “Raptors” dey at 11 percent. For athlete mentions, “MJ / Jordan” dey priced at 16 percent, small ahead of “LeBron” at 14 percent. Over for Polymarket, “Caleb” get 69 percent chance, as some users expect shoutout to Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, wey don call imself Iceman after clutch performances last NFL season. About $1,500 don trade on whether “Caleb” go show for di album.
Even “Polymarket” itself get 51 percent probability of being mentioned, with more than $12,000 in volume for dat yes/no market. Nearly $3,000 don stake on whether “Super Bowl” go appear. “Curry” and “Luka” dey list as potential lyrics for Polymarket, but low liquidity make e hard to draw actual probabilities. For Kalshi, exact trading volumes no dey disclosed, but more than $224,000 don trade for di “What will Drake say in Iceman?” market.
Di Toronto Raptors don cover Drake im reserved seats for ice, dem don show support for di album release. Meanwhile, one open letter to Drake from writer Skyler Saunders dey urge di rapper to use Iceman as comeback opportunity, to respond to rivals like Kendrick Lamar and to perform di whole album live.
