Drake’s highly anticipated ninth solo studio album Iceman drops this Friday, but the rollout is already drenched in controversy. Late Wednesday night, a leaked track titled “1AM in Albany” surfaced online, taking direct aim at a familiar roster of rivals. Among the targets was podcaster and former rapper Joe Budden, who didn’t waste a single minute plotting his financial strategy.
Instead of firing back with a free diss track or public rant, Budden took to X Spaces to confirm he is actively monetizing the feud. He quickly announced that the upcoming episode of The Joe Budden Podcast dissecting the leaked lyrics will be strictly gatekept for his Patreon subscribers.
Budden laid out his business approach during the live audio broadcast, teasing the audience with exactly how he plans to handle the upcoming album release. “What if I want a call out Friday?” he challenged his listeners, according to a Sportskeeda summary. His immediate pivot to a paywall highlights exactly how modern media personalities are shifting the creator economy, turning high-profile celebrity beefs directly into subscription revenue rather than relying on standard ad-supported platforms.
The leaked audio reignites the volatile 2024 rap war just days before the official launch of Iceman. Budden isn’t the only name caught in the crossfire on the new track. The lyrics operate as a bitter victory lap, taking shots at Kendrick Lamar by mocking his height with a Muggsy Bogues comparison. The verse also takes aim at LeBron James for constantly “switching teams” and attending Kendrick’s “The Pop Out” concert, while dismissing J. Cole as the “married rapper” who stepped away from the feud, 99 Jamz Miami reported.
This fresh clash adds another chapter to the long-running animosity between Drake and Budden. Their history formally ignited in 2016 when Budden delivered a hyper-critical review of Drake’s Views album, and tensions previously escalated during the rollout of 2023’s For All The Dogs. Now, with Charlamagne tha God and members of Kendrick Lamar’s camp already weighing in on the leaked track across social media, Friday’s album release is setting up to be a highly lucrative event for everyone involved in the fallout.