TMZ recently claimed that Dennis Graham, Drake’s father, did not have cancer despite his son saying otherwise in one of his songs on ICEMAN, resulting in many wondering whether the rapper was being misleading in the song.
For those uninformed, Drake revealed that his dad had cancer in the song Make Them Cry from ICEMAN, released on May 15, 2026. That same day, TMZ posted a video of paparazzi speaking to Dennis Graham at the Jubilee in West Hollywood and asking after his health. The post was captioned, “Drake’s dad says he doesn’t have cancer despite the claim on his “Iceman” album.”
However, the caption appears to be misleading as Dennis Graham clarified in the video that he had cancer “a while back” and was currently “okay.” He also revealed that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, adding that his “phone’s been going off all night” after Drake spoke about his diagnosis on ICEMAN. Graham also thanked fans for their well-wishes, adding:
“No, that was a while back… I’m okay now… I’m wonderful… Thank you, guys, for your concern. I love you all. And from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it… It was lung cancer at first, but, fortunately, I got a message that it disappeared.”
Additionally, when asked whether he had quit smoking following the cancer diagnosis, Dennis Graham replied that he hadn’t, but he wasn’t smoking as much as he used to.
Meanwhile, Drake mentioned his father a few times in his new album ICEMAN, revealing the cancer diagnosis and discussing their relationship on Make Them Cry. The Canadian rapper, who released three new albums on May 15, rapped that he was an “only child” and had to “father my mother” and “treat my son’s grandfather like my older brother.”
Elsewhere in the song, he vulnerably admitted he’d rather be facing other things when speaking about his dad battling cancer, rapping:
“My dad got cancer right now, we battlin’ stages / 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.”
Exploring Drake’s Make Them Cry
Rumors that one of the songs from Drake’s highly anticipated ICEMAN was titled Make Them Cry circulated on social media after Mal, one of the hosts of the New Rory & Mal podcast, posted the title on his X account on May 10, months after Drake posted the same title in February.
ICEMAN, released on May 15, opened with Make Them Cry, which saw Drake introspect on his family, career, and life after the 2024 beef with Kendrick Lamar. The Canadian rapper name-dropped popular K-Pop group BTS in the first verse, rapping, “I’m feeling like BTS ’cause it took the whole career for me to be so discovered.”
Elsewhere in the song, the rapper shared his experience of going toe to toe with Kendrick Lamar amid their highly publicized rap beef in 2024, saying people kept asking him what the beef did to him and seemingly likening Lamar to the Grim Reaper.
“With Dot back in 2024 was a big piece/ So it’s like, this s**t is me, but it isn’t me/ Y’all keep on asking me what it did to me, that’s what it did to me/ When I dig deep, they say dig deeper/ Tell us how it felt to meet the grim reaper,” he rapped.
The rapper also spoke about healing his traumas and being paranoid, rapping that he didn’t do psychedelics because he was ” too scared of unpacking.” Additionally, he noted that he was turning 40 soon and said he was battling aging, while seemingly alluding to his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group, rapping:
“I’m ’bout to turn forty, dog, I’m battlin’ agin’/ I’m battlin’ the fact that the album ain’t even drop and already they a**es complainin’/ F**k it, I’ll battle the label/ F**k it, I’ll battle the majors, I’ll battle the stations ’til my a** is back in rotation.”
In addition to ICEMAN, Drake also surprise released two other albums, MAID OF HONOUR and HABIBTI, on May 15, 2026.
Edited by Juhi Marzia
