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Drake reveals father's cancer diagnosis on new song

Rapper Drake, in a medium shot, wears a black tuxedo and bow tie, with cornrows, a beard, and a diamond earring, facing right.

Published by Cover Media

15 May 2026

Drake has candidly revealed his father is battling cancer.

The Hotline Bling rapper had been teasing the release of his next album, Iceman, for months, however, during a livestream on Thursday, he surprised fans by giving them more music than expected.

Instead of just releasing one album, he put out three albums at midnight on Friday - Iceman, Maid of Honour and Habibti.

On Iceman's opening track, Make Them Cry, Drake dropped a shocking bombshell about his father, Dennis Graham.

The song, which addresses Drake's childhood and relationship with his parents, ends with the revelation.

"My dad got cancer right now, we battlin' stages," he sings. "Trust me when I say there's plenty things that I'd rather be facin' (for real)/ And this time, ask me to dig deeper, I'll gladly explain it."

Drake, real name Aubrey Graham, has yet to divulge further details about the 71-year-old's cancer battle.

Dennis is a drummer who once performed with Jerry Lee Lewis. After Drake's parents divorced when he was five, Dennis returned to his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, while Drake and his mum stayed in Toronto, Canada. Although he was largely absent during the rapper's childhood, they still saw each other occasionally.

Dennis, who also released the song That On That in 2019, posted a photo of himself hugging his son on Instagram on Thursday and wrote, "The Ice Man and The Nice Man just doing what we do, don't get it twisted," with "soon" and prayer emojis.

The trio of albums serve as a follow-up to Drake's 2025 collaborative album Some Sexy Songs 4 U, with PartyNextDoor, and his first solo release since 2023's For All the Dogs.

Across the three records, the 39-year-old has given fans 43 songs at the same time. They feature guest appearances from the likes of 21 Savage, PartyNextDoor, Future, Sexyy Red, Central Cee and Popcaan, among others.

Published by Cover Media

15 May 2026