From City Hall to the White House, reaction floods social media after Drake’s ‘ICEMAN’ drop

Late Thursday night, well into the early hours of the morning, the entire world had their eyes fixed on Toronto as homegrown rapper Drake launched his long-awaited “ICEMAN” album, which resulted in a flood of reaction online.

The release sparked responses from politicians, athletes, rappers, streamers and sports teams after Drake dropped a surprise total of three albums, including ICEMAN, Habibti and Maid of Honour.

Fans also flocked to the CN Tower, while more than a million watched the rapper’s live stream around the world. The broadcast included notable landmarks many Torontonians may recognize, including City Hall, the Brass Rail, Sotto Sotto and the University of Toronto Scarborough campus.

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Here’s a look at some of the most notable reactions online.

Toronto mayor: ‘Cro-livia Chow’

Mayor Olivia Chow leaned into the moment, sharing a signed letter from Drake on Instagram which read “thank you my crodi” alongside “Cro-livia Chow” and “ICEMAN 2026.”

“You’re welcome iceman,” Chow wrote. “Drake is a big booster of our city.”

Her office later confirmed to CP24 that the city organized permits for overnight filming at City Hall during Easter weekend, including some scenes filmed inside the mayor’s office and council chamber. One scene, in the chamber notably featured Toronto rapper Chromazz, while another one showed Drake wearing Toronto’s ceremonial Chain of Office.

“His team treated the Mayor’s office with care and respect,” Chow’s office added.

Even an X account belonging to the White House chimed in with a post of their own along the caption “iced out.”

Sports teams and celebrities

The viral album rollout also spread across the sports and entertainment industry from NBA teams, NFL teams and Olympians.

The Toronto Raptors posted a photo of Drake’s courtside seats appearing frozen over with the caption: “drake froze the city.”

Olympic sprinter Andre De Grasse shared an Instagram post captioned “freeze the world,” while NBA stars Tyrese Haliburton, Steph Curry and Bradley Beal posted reactions across their social platforms as the rollout unfolded.

The NFL’s Houston Texans also joined in, posting a Drake quote aimed at critics: “To the rest of you, the non-believers, the underachievers, the tweet and deleters,” followed by an image of an ice tray.

Even former Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt chimed in, posting: “To be number 1 you gotta lead the way” alongside an iceman emoji.

Meanwhile, Guy Fieri, an American media personality, posted a throwback photo of himself and Drake captioned “Iceman meet Iceguy,” followed by a “congrats on the new albums.”

Streamers, critics and online reaction

Hip-hop personality DJ Akademiks revealed during his livestream that Drake personally flew him to Toronto for the rollout and pitched him on appearing in a scene tied to the CN Tower’s broadcasting history.

Akademiks, who has millions of followers across Instagram and X, said Drake warned him he might “see some things” during the rollout that could “compromise” him as a fan.

Local Toronto streamer known as Kishka also became part of the viral frenzy after hosting a listening party last night with a massive speaker outside the CN Tower. This comes following his involvement in Drake’s ice-block scavenger hunt last month.

The critics: ‘Three mid projects’

While the rollout was largely appreciated by many, not everyone is a fan of the music.

American rapper Rick Ross took aim at Drake on his Instagram story a few hours after the release, calling the surprise drops “three mid projects” before claiming the Toronto rapper was “washed.”

Ross, who has more than 20 million followers, decided to read a series of hate comments under a social media post, adding that “it was fun while it lasted.” His comments come following the pair’s recent fallout and ongoing tension, which started during Drake’s beef with Kendrick Lamar two years ago.

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The criticism also follows a noticeably different tone Ross shared just days earlier, where he suggested that he wanted to see Drake “shine” and “win.”

Adding another level of criticism was low-cost airliner RyanAir.

In a post to social media, the airline replied “me when I lie” to a fan post claiming Drake is “the greatest rapper of all time.”