Iceculture Inc., the family business behind Drake’s promo stunt for ICEMAN, revealed the incredible logistics behind his massive ice block installation that took over downtown Toronto this week.
The Hensall, Ontario-based company manufactured over 3,500 individual ice blocks, each weighing approximately 300 pounds, which were transported on 20 trucks to create the 25-foot structure that displayed the release date of his ninth studio album.
Heidi Bayley, president of the family-run operation her father started back in 1991, explained that the crystal-clear ice required a specialized directional freezing process that pushes air out during production, making the blocks incredibly hard and visually stunning.
The installation attracted massive crowds to 81 Bond Street in downtown Toronto on April 20, with fans using unconventional methods to discover what was hidden inside.
Some showed up with pickaxes, sledgehammers, and blowtorches, while others started fires directly on top of the structure in their desperation to find the album’s release date.
The chaos escalated so quickly that the Toronto Police Service had to respond around 11:30 p.m. that first night to manage the dangerous situation and prevent injuries from falling ice chunks.
By Tuesday evening, Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop made the decision to intervene under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, citing “dangerous and unsafe activities” and “an immediate threat to life” as his reasoning.
Fire crews arrived with aerial trucks and began spraying warm water on the blocks throughout the night and into Wednesday morning, according to CBC News.
The fire department’s early removal disappointed Bayley, who said it was “hard to watch it being melted” and that she’d “never seen anything like this before” in her decades working with ice installations.
An industrial cleaning company, Prime Mobile Wash, eventually took over the removal process after the fire crews finished their operations.
Michael Gingerich, owner of Mawg Design, the marketing firm that collaborated with Drake’s team on the project, acknowledged that the massive turnout exceeded their expectations.
He noted that while the intention was to make a bold statement for the album release, the scale of fan enthusiasm caught everyone off guard.
Bayley emphasized that Iceculture’s reputation for handling large-scale projects and maintaining large quantities of ice made them the perfect partner for this high-profile activation.
The company has previously created ice lounges in Thailand and Greece, as well as a drivable ice truck for Canadian Tire to promote cold-weather batteries, using tools such as chainsaws, chisels, CNC machines, and bandsaws.
A streamer named Kishka discovered a blue folder hidden inside one of the ice blocks on Tuesday afternoon, revealing that Drake’s Iceman album is scheduled to drop on May 15, 2026, marking his first solo project since 2023’s For All the Dogs.
Drake confirmed the date on his Instagram that same evening.