Drake’s latest Iceman cover features Michael Jackson’s crystal-studded glove, which he had reportedly purchased a couple of years ago for $120,000. The rapper attempts to blend luxury branding with pop culture homage as he seeks to tie into his milestone of reaching Michael Jackson’s record for having the most No. 1 hits.
He dropped three albums simultaneously- Iceman, Habibti, and Maid of Honor, making him the first artist to ever do so. Moreover, this project also spans multiple genres, and while it promises to be a marketing spectacle, the reaction online has been far less celebratory.
While there are sections of the community that have been hailing him for continuing MJ’s legacy, others have just bombarded the decision with memes and criticism across all social media platforms.
Fans questioned the intent behind the cover imagery, while the White House has been making its own versions to symbolize something completely different with the gloves.
Dedicated Michael Jackson fans are not happy with the Iceman cover
Dedicated Michael Jackson fans are not happy with the Iceman cover. Many feel that the attempt itself is an act of reducing what is a “cultural artifact “, into a propagandist marketing tool.
The gloves are one of the most famous accessories in music history, which is not just a defining part of Michael Jackson’s own performance identity, but also personifies the significance of the Motown 25 era in the music industry.
This is one of the biggest reasons behind the backlash, as fans feel that this is downright disrespectful towards the legacy that the King of Pop left behind.
So while Drkae may have positioned the idea of this cover art as a tribute, audiences feel that this is just another marketing gimmick that seeks to draw more attention than to be something meaningful.
Hence, with the growing discontent, much of the discourse has shifted away from actually discussing the music in the three albums, and now it’s all about the memes and the criticisms.
What’s even funnier is that the talking point behind Iceman is not the tracks themselves but the $120k price tag of what is shown in the album cover.
