Explosions, Frozen Seats, Live Streams

Last night, there was a massive explosion in Toronto, and it looks like it was related to Drake‘s long-awaited album Iceman. The rapper posted a cryptic Instagram story late Thursday night that at first glance looked like news footage from a disaster site. Far out in the distance in the Toronto skyline, you could see a giant cloud of smoke. The explosions took place at Downsview Park, the site of the EDM festival Veld, opposite the temporary Rogers Stadium. On April 13, the park’s website posted a public notice alerting the community to the “planned pyrotechnic effects.”

“During the week of April 13th, in the evening, residents and visitors may notice loud noises, flashes of light, and/or smoke in the area for short periods of time,” it states. “These effects are part of a pre-approved controlled activity occurring at Downsview Park and will be conducted by licensed professionals in coordination with Toronto Police and Fire Services. There is no risk to public safety.”

A filming notification for “project bot” alerted the residents and businesses in the area, indicating the prep day was April 15 and wrap days were April 17. Ashley Visser, media relations officer for the Toronto Police Service, confirmed to Rolling Stone that it was for a movie shoot, not a music video. “We can advise you that this was a part of a movie shoot. This was a controlled incident,” she wrote.

No one would confirm Drake’s involvement outright, but the posts on Instagram suggest the shoot had something to do with Iceman. It wouldn’t be the first cryptic teaser Drake’s given fans about the album, either. Last summer, he announced the official album title via live streams on YouTube. Each episode of his Iceman series came with a new single, starting with “What Did I Miss?” which incidentally was the last hip-hop single to reach the Top 10 on the charts. He followed up with “Which One,” featuring Central Cee. In September, just ahead of his third live stream, Drake appeared on Bobbi Althoff’s podcast Not This Again, where he said very little about the new album except that it was on the way. Episode Iceman stream previewed more material, including “Dog House” with Yeat and Julia Wolf, plus “Somebody Loves Me Pt. 2,” which received an official release.

Save for a smattering of Stake gambling streams, Drake went quiet for the rest of last year. In March, he re-emerged with an Instagram carousel post including a “Warning Iceman” poster. Later that month, during a video tribute to Nelly Furtado at the Juno Awards, he closed by saying, “Iceman coming soon.” Earlier this week, ahead of the Toronto explosion, Drake’s courtside Raptors seats were turned into an icy promo display in another, more overt, album teaser.

This, coupled with statements all week from names like DJ Akademiks and Anthony Fantano (infamously not a friend of Drake’s), would suggest that the Iceman indeed cometh.

Additional reporting by Karen Bliss

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