Drake appeared to pay a nod to Michael Jackson on the cover of his new album, ICEMAN. He is seen wearing a jeweled glove in the cover, making an okay sign.
The Canadian rapper released three albums together on Thursday, May 14: ICEMAN, Maid of Honour, and Habibti. He did a livestream on Thursday and announced the release of three albums. He then shared the cover pictures on his social media accounts.
The cover for the much-awaited album, ICEMAN, shows a hand wearing a glove, making an “okay” sign. The glove has rhinestones or sequins on it, as it sparkles against a black background. This appeared to be a nod to Michael Jackson’s iconic jeweled gloves.
Users online have reacted to this tribute, as one wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
“That’s a statement to the industry telling them he is HIM”
Another tweeted,
Another commented,
Some users, however, slammed Drake for the gloves, as one wrote,
Another tweeted,
Another wrote,
Drake, notably, paid tribute to Jackson in one of his songs in his 2018 track, Don’t Matter to Me. The pop star died in June 2009, but he had a few unfinished songs. Drizzy used his vocals in Don’t Matter to Me, as Jackson’s voice sang:
“All of a sudden you say you don’t want me no more / All of a sudden you say that I closed the door / It don’t matter to me.”
A dance move also went viral from the video of that song, as Drizzy explained the reason behind it, saying on an Instagram Live (h/t Okayplayer):
“When I first made that song I was only talking about the moonwalk. But Toosie made a dance to that shit, I didn’t know it was gonna be a dance song like that.”
Meanwhile, Drake also surpassed Michael Jackson recently in becoming the first artist to have three albums charting on the Billboard 200 for 10 years. His three albums are Take Care (2011), Nothing Was the Same (2013), and Views (2016).
Also Read: “This is NOT a diss” – Internet reacts as Drake’s shoutout to BTS on ‘ICEMAN’ album sparks confusion
When Drake hailed Michael Jackson’s influence on the industry and the world
Michael Jackson is widely known as the ‘King of Pop,’ and he has had a massive impact on the music and performance industry. He has inspired generations of superstars, including Drake. In an interview with MTV, he spoke at length about Jackson and said (h/t Pop Crush):
“I remember having Moonwalker on cassette and I remember how religiously I used to watch it. Because I used to feel like, as a kid, this was the most amazing place to escape to. It was that world he created.”
“I just feel like he was the first artist that I ever experienced that made you get lost in Michael Jackson, his music, his imagery, the choices that he made for cover art. Now that I’m older, I can look back and be like, wow, he was one of the most consistent entertainers of all time,” he added.
Meanwhile, Jackson’s son, Prince Jackson, also spoke about the comparisons between Drake and his father in 2021. He said that while he acknowledged the rapper’s achievements, he said that Michael Jackson’s impact will “never be matched again”.
Also Read: “If you think this is good, you’re delusional”: Popular streamers react to Drake’s Iceman
Edited by Aditya Singh
