iceman era2026

HABIBTI

HABIBTI is the R&B-leaning entry in Drake's May 15, 2026 same-day three-project rollout alongside ICEMAN and MAID OF HONOUR — his first solo releases since 2023's For All the Dogs and the first since the Kendrick Lamar feud cycle (Pitchfork, 'Drake Drops Three Albums at Once,' 2026-05-15). The reveal came during episode four of Drake's ICEMAN livestream, which premiered Toronto-shot videos with cameos including Drake's son Adonis (Pitchfork). Apple Music lists the album as 11 tracks, about 36 minutes, on OVO/Republic, carrying the subtitle '& other nicknames I call my dear city'; 'Habibti' (حبيبتي) is Arabic for 'my love'/'my darling' (Apple Music; Genius album page). Pitchfork's trilogy review characterizes HABIBTI as 'a watery rendition of Heartbreak Drake,' the slowest-paced and shortest of the three, fitted with classic R&B ('I'm Spent,' the on-the-nose 'Classic') and SWAG-style acoustics ('Rusty Intro'). Confirmed guests are Qendresa ('Slap The City'), Sexyy Red ('Hurrr Nor Thurrr'), Loe Shimmy ('I'm Spent'), and PARTYNEXTDOOR ('Fortworth'), all corroborated on the corresponding Genius track pages. Same-day chart outcomes and certifications are deliberately not asserted here pending settled databases.

Deep Dive

Background

Revealed during episode four of Drake's ICEMAN livestream series, HABIBTI dropped the same day as ICEMAN and MAID OF HONOUR (2026-05-15). Pitchfork frames the trio as Drake's first solo efforts since 2023's For All the Dogs and the first since the Kendrick Lamar battle, with a rollout that included ice installations in downtown Toronto and Toronto-shot music videos. Apple Music lists HABIBTI at 11 tracks / ~36 minutes on OVO/Republic with the subtitle '& other nicknames I call my dear city'; Genius notes it is both the slowest-paced (closer to R&B than the other two) and shortest of the trilogy.

Themes

Heartbreak Drake / late-night R&BICEMAN Triple ReleaseToronto and OVODistance, loyalty and the cost of intimacyCompanion-album sequencing

Production

Production is OVO/Republic under UMG. Across the verified Genius track credits, b4u recurs as a through-line collaborator (Rusty Intro, Slap The City, Hurrr Nor Thurrr, High Fives, I'm Spent, Gen 5, White Bone), alongside longtime Drake mainstays 40 (High Fives, Prioritizing) and named contributors including DJ Frisco954 (Rusty Intro), YMX Beats (Hurrr Nor Thurrr), Lucid (UK) and Noraware (Slap The City), and Mcevoy and Joseph L'Étranger (I'm Spent). Only collaborators explicitly credited on the corresponding pages are listed; broader credit reconciliation is deferred until official databases settle.

Legacy

Too soon for a settled legacy verdict two days post-release. Its immediate significance is structural: HABIBTI is the dedicated R&B/heartbreak panel of Drake's first post-Kendrick solo statement and his most ambitious same-day rollout, a sequencing choice critics read (Pitchfork) as part of an explicit, MJ-adjacent positioning across all three albums. Chart and certification outcomes are intentionally not asserted here.

Best For

Listeners who prefer Drake's vulnerable, melodic, late-night mode — Take Care / Honestly, Nevermind sympathizers — and anyone tracking the 2026 triple-release era as a single body of work.

Fun Fact

'Habibti' (حبيبتي) is Arabic for 'my love' or 'my darling'; Apple Music pairs it with the subtitle '& other nicknames I call my dear city,' framing the album as a love letter to Toronto (Genius album page; Apple Music).