Drake stunned fans after using his latest music release to reveal a painful family battle happening behind the scenes.
The rapper dropped three new albums at once, but it was one emotional lyric on the opening track of “Iceman” that immediately grabbed attention online.
While Drake is known for turning personal struggles into music, listeners were caught off guard after he disclosed that his father, Dennis Graham, is currently battling cancer.
The biggest talking point from Drake’s latest release came from the opening track on “Iceman” titled “Make Them Cry.”
In the song, the 39-year-old unexpectedly opened up about his father Dennis Graham’s health struggles, delivering one of the project’s most emotional moments.
“My dad got cancer right now, we battlin’ stages,” Drake rapped on the track per the Daily Mail. “Trust me when I say there’s plenty things I’d rather be facing (For real)/And this time, ask me to dig deeper, I’ll gladly explain it,” he continued.
Elsewhere in the song, Drake reflected on watching his parents grow older while also confronting his own fears about aging.
“I know for sure that my parents, they look at me and see an overcomer,” he rapped, adding, “I’m looking back at them and these days, I see an older couple.”
Drake Opens Up About Fame, Aging, And Music Industry Pressure
While his father’s diagnosis became the emotional centerpiece of “Make Them Cry,” Drake also used the track to address the pressures surrounding his own life and career.
The Grammy award winner candidly admitted he is struggling with getting older while also dealing with criticism before his new music even officially dropped.
“I’m ‘bout to turn forty, dog, I’m battlin’ aging,” Drake confessed. He also took aim at critics and the music business itself.
“I’m battlin’ the fact that the album ain’t even drop and already they a**es complainin’/F*** it, I’ll battle the label/F*** it, I’ll battle the majors,” he sang.
Drake continued venting frustrations over radio play and fan expectations. “I’ll battle the stations ’til my a** is back in rotation/Shout out to the real fans that knew what I had in the basement/Shout out to the fake fans, I thought we had an arrangement,” the hip hop icon rapped.
Drake And Graham Have Shared A Close Musical Bond For Years
Long before Drake became one of the biggest stars in the world, music already connected him closely to his father.
Graham previously reflected on their relationship during a 2019 interview with Variety, where he revealed how much music shaped their bond.
“Yeah, he knows everything I know. He knows all the music that I came up with, he had to listen to,” Graham said.
He fondly remembered taking lengthy road trips with his son growing up, noting, “We used to take 18 hour drives down to Memphis every summer, we would take turns listening to his music and my music.”
Graham explained that the experience allowed them to introduce each other to different genres. According to him, “he turned me on to rap music and I turned him on to my music. We switched off in the car.”
Drake’s father also has his own history in entertainment, having worked as a drummer for legendary musician Jerry Lee Lewis before later releasing his own music.
Back in 2019, Graham dropped a song titled “That On That,” and proudly revealed Drake immediately supported it.
Drake And His Father Have Publicly Celebrated Their Relationship For Years
Despite Drake’s intensely private moments in his music, fans have also seen plenty of lighter moments between the rapper and his father over the years.
In a 2016 interview with The Fader, Graham proudly praised his son’s business instincts and humility.
“Drake is such an entrepreneur. He knows every in and out of the music business. I think he learned how to be humble, down to earth, to be real, or 100%,” Graham said.
Their close relationship has even become permanent through tattoos. Back in 2017, the singer’s father famously got a tattoo of Drake’s face inked onto his shoulder, though the artwork later became the subject of jokes online because fans thought it looked inaccurate.
Five years later, Drake playfully mocked the tattoo on Instagram, posting, “I was just sitting here thinking why you do me like this we family.”
Graham laughed off the criticism and replied warmly, “Hahaha I had 16 people to try and straighten this out, they’re hurting me.” He then added, “I love you and miss you.”
Drake Seemingly Disses LeBron James In Leaked Lyrics Ahead Of Album Release
On Thursday, Drake fueled controversy after appearing to take shots at LeBron James on music tied to his new album, “Iceman.”
As The Blast reported, the backlash began after a leaked track titled “1AM in Albany” surfaced online ahead of the album’s release, with fans quickly pointing to lyrics that seemed aimed directly at the NBA star.
Following the album’s release, there was no song titled “1AM in Albany.” Instead, the song with the lyrics seemingly aimed at James is titled, “Make Them Remember.”
In the song, Drake raps, “You always made your career off of switching teams up,” a line many interpreted as a jab at James’s moves from Cleveland to Miami and later Los Angeles.
Fans also focused on another lyric referencing “23 & me,” widely believed to reference LeBron’s jersey number.
The apparent diss comes after Drake and the former basketball player’s once-close friendship reportedly cooled amid Drake’s public feud with Kendrick Lamar, when James appeared to support Lamar.
