Drake bathed Toronto’s iconic CN Tower in an icy blue glow late Thursday to promote his new album “Iceman,” and tease two more, drawing crowds of eager fans who gathered at its base.
The 553-metre landmark appeared encased in ice, washed in a projection as part of a livestream leading up to the project’s release.
Near the end of the broadcast, a caption appeared announcing that not one, but three projects — “Habibti” and “Maid of Honour” — would also drop that evening.
The stream featured clips of the Toronto-born rapper performing at various Toronto sites, including inside City Hall and atop the CN Tower, culminating in a massive fireworks display over the water at Harbourfront Centre.
It opened with shots of an “Iceman”-branded truck travelling along the Don Valley Parkway en route to the CN Tower while a track from “Iceman” played, featuring Drake reflecting on the past couple of years following his high-profile feud with L.A. rapper Kendrick Lamar.
On the song, he shares that his father, Dennis Graham, has been diagnosed with cancer.
Several music videos played during the livestream, including one clip of Drake recording inside an empty Toronto City Hall — at one point sitting at Mayor Olivia Chow’s desk while wearing her chain of office — as well as multiple scenes of the rapper appearing inside and atop the CN Tower.
Chow spoke with with Breakfast Television on Friday morning, confirming he “borrowed” her office for one evening.
“Drake has done so much for the city, the world was watching, and he’s making us proud,” said Chow. “He borrowed [my office] one evening, and we had an arrangement, and put it back in, and so all is good. But think about how many people outside Toronto are watching that, so it’s a promotion for the city, and his music, it’s not just Canadians, it’s worldwide.”
Elsewhere, the “God’s Plan” artist is shown rapping inside Toronto’s Brass Rail Tavern strip club.
The stream also included a car-chase skit with American comedian Shane Gillis and Drake’s son Adonis Graham, as well as a track featuring Atlanta rapper Future — whom Drake was believed to have been estranged from.
The event caps off a weeks-long, headline-grabbing album-release campaign that saw the rapper erect a massive formation of ice blocks in a downtown Toronto parking lot with the album’s release date hidden inside.
Days earlier, a thunderous explosion lit up the skies over North York, with pictures later shared on Drake’s Instagram. Toronto police said the blaze was tied to a film shoot.
The City of Toronto issued a notice of the fireworks display, confirming it’s part of a private video shoot.