Drake's 'Iceman' album promo stunt in Toronto descends into chaos

· Toronto Sun

Police say officers were forced to do “crowd control” after hooligans tried to set fire to Drake’s ice sculpture Monday night in downtown Toronto.

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Erected to promote his upcoming album, Iceman , a giant ice block appeared at a parking lot at 81 Bond St., just east of Yonge and Dundas Sts., on Monday.

The rapper, who visited the site in a Green Bay Packers jacket, shared the co-ordinates to the structure to his Instagram Story and captioned it, “Release date inside.”

Fans immediately descended to the location in an effort to reveal the date.

Shortly before midnight, police were called to the scene after some of the gatherers posted photos and videos that showed throngs of people taking pickaxes and setting fire to the towering sculpture.

“ At 11:05 p.m. [Monday] night police were called to a parking lot on Bond St. for crowd control ,” Const. Laura Brabant said in a statement to Postmedia. “ It was reported that there were people on top of a 25-foot-high ice sculpture refusing to come down .”

Brabant added that people were breaking off chunks of the ice pile with pickaxes and hammers and throwing them. A fire was also set atop the edifice.

“Large pieces of ice began falling, creating a dangerous situation for people on the ground, as well as those who climbed the structure,” Brabant told Postmedia. “ Officers attended and remained on scene out of concern for public safety and to assist with crowd and traffic control.”

There were no reported injuries.

Maurie Sherman, from Kiss 92.5’s The Roz & Mocha Show , visited the location Tuesday afternoon, after the area had been blocked off.

“We’re watching ice melt,” Sherman said on social media, asking a passerby if this was “the first time” they’ve ever literally watched ice defrost.

“I’m from northern Ontario, so no. We watch ice melt all the time, but it’s like in June,” Stephen Cipollone told Sherman. “I’m upset with the people who caused the barricades. That’s all I’m going to say.”

Sherman later managed to get a piece of ice from the sculpture, which he unsuccessfully tried to sell for $20.

Content creator MD Motivator, a.k.a. Zachery Dereniowski, placed a key in one of the blocks of ice promising a brand-new car to whoever retrieved it.

“Drake means so much to me, to this city. He’s all about giving back and spreading love and that’s what I love too,” Dereniowski said on Instagram .

The God’s Plan hitmaker commented on Dereniowski’s post after he awarded the vehicle to one lucky Torontonian, writing, “MD THE F***ING GOAT.”

Following his beef with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar two summers ago, Drake has promised Iceman will be packed with hits.

“THIS ALBUM BOUT TO PLAY INFINITESIMALLY KNOW DAT,” Drake wrote on Instagram.

Later, Drake handed over stacks of cash to Kishka after the Twitch streamer found a blue bag that contained Iceman’s release date — May 15 — and was urged by internet personality Adin Ross to visit the hip-hop star’s mansion on the Bridle Path.

Installation the latest in a series of headline-grabbing stunts to plug new LP

Last week, Drake alarmed residents near Downsview Park in North York while filming a music video for a track off of Iceman that involved a large explosion.

The 6 God reposted footage of the blast to his Instagram Story. Police later confirmed the detonation was tied to the film shoot.

Following 2023’s For All the Dogs , Drake has been teasing Iceman — his ninth studio LP — since last year when he released the first single, What Did I Miss?

“I have been dying to act and have been dying for a challenge,” Drake told Complex in November after he plugged the record in a series of livestreams. “I love the opportunity for a clean slate of thoughts and excitement and messaging when it comes to the music. What I hate is the redundancy of this formulaic approach that’s ingrained in our brains from early label days. Single, video, single, video, album cover post, etc.”

Drake also said he was enjoying stoking fan anticipation and reading the conspiracy theories surrounding the album.

“I watch murder docs a lot and as you get invested you start to try and solve things before you even know where it’s headed or what the answers are. It’s like this sleuth energy — ‘What did I learn? What did I miss?’ No pun intended,” he said. “It’s crazy to see people make two-, three-hour videos on their thoughts and building conspiracies. It’s interactive content and that adds such a desirable element, more so than a music video with cars and things. Not that those aren’t lovely sometimes.”

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