Drake performs live during day two of Wireless Festival 2025 at Finsbury Park on July 12, 2025, in London, England. A new Drake song “1AM in Albany” leaked on Wednesday.
Simone Joyner/Getty Images for ABA
Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome on Feb. 09, 2025, in New Orleans, La.
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Thanks to a leak, the internet may have gotten a peek at Drake’s upcoming album “Iceman” a little over a day before its planned release.
“1AM in Albany” is yet another diss track aimed at Drake’s arch nemesis, Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar. The song has stirred up another round of “who is winning the battle” discussions, and locally, the title has some fans wondering what role, if any, New York’s capital plays in it all.
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When was ‘1AM in Albany’ released?
The song leaked yesterday, though there is some debate over whether it was planned, an accident or even an AI-produced fake. Given that YouTube videos of the song and streamers reacting to it have been taken down, though, smart money is on it being an unintentional release, even if Drake himself liked a fan’s Instagram post about “1AM in Albany.”
There is also fan speculation that “1AM in Albany” is a throwaway track and won’t make “Iceman,” Drake’s ninth studio album. We’ll know for sure in less than 24 hours, since “Iceman” drops Friday.
Is ‘1AM in Albany’ about Albany, N.Y.?
Unsurprisingly, “1AM in Albany” continues the ongoing feud between rappers Drake and Lamar (more on that later). The song takes hits at Lamar, as well as basketball star LeBron James and musician J. Cole. Drake also makes references to Steve Martin, Issa Rae, the Bible, Dean Martin and the Rat Pack, and antisemitism.
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But beyond the title, there is no direct mention of Albany, its iconography or anything even vaguely related to the Capital Region. Sorry folks, if you were hoping for some Melba-based lyrics or a guest spot from Nipper, you’re out of luck. If you want a truly upstate rap experience, I suggest last year’s viral “Take Me Down to Stewy’s.” We also have an entire playlist dedicated to songs that mention the Capital Region.
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It’s also highly doubtful Drake is throwing it back to either of his concerts at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (first in 2012, then with Lil Wayne in 2014) or Lamar’s 2013 performance at Albany’s Armory or his 2018 SPAC concert.
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So, what is the title referencing? Could it be one of the other cities named Albany in Ohio, Georgia or California? Maybe the smattering of Albany-named incorporated villages and towns scattered across the nation?
If we want to try to tie this to our Albany, there is Drake’s ongoing defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group for its alleged promotion of Lamar’s Grammy-winning diss, “Not Like Us.” The suit was initially filed with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, located in Manhattan. Drake’s case centered on the lyric “certified pedophile.” District Judge Jeannette Vargas dismissed the matter, referring to song’s “broader context” as part of “a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by both participants.”`
Though the court systems involved are all physically based in New York City, it is possible the escalations brought at least someone from Drake’s legal team to Albany (or at least passing through).
A more popular fan theory is that it’s a reference to Albany, an ultra-exclusive Bahamas resort co-owned by golfers Tiger Woods and Ernie Els (and, weirdly, where disgraced poster boy of cryptocurrency and convicted felon Sam Bankman-Fried lived for a year with nine of his FTX colleagues). There are tabloid reports of Drake staying at the luxury resort, so maybe “1AM in Albany” was penned during a late-night burst of inspiration during a visit.
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Another fan theory circling Reddit is that “1AM in Albany” was the work of a ghostwriter. If it is a ghostwriter, and that ghostwriter happens to be from Albany, it could explain a lot (and we’d love to talk). Otherwise, fans are stuck waiting for Drake to explain the Albany reference.
Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar feud, explained
The roots of the feud between Drake and Lamar are believed to go back to the song “Control,” released by Big Sean in 2013. In the song, Lamar took shots at Drake and various other musicians, despite denying any animosity in the decade that followed its release.
The simmering feud escalated, however, when Lamar dropped “Like That” in response to J. Cole and Drake’s 2023 song “First Person Shooter,” in which Drake refers to Cole, Lamar and himself as modern-day hip-hop’s “big three.” On “Like That,” Lamar said the top spot was “just big me.”
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The lyrical retaliations mounted and eventually exploded with Drake’s “Family Matters” which accused Lamar of domestic abuse and infidelity. Lamar responded with “Meet the Grahams” just 20 minutes after “Family Matters” dropped, and he accused Drake of sexual predation. Lamar released “Not Like Us” a day later, and it became one of the songs of the summer, was the centerpiece to Lamar’s acclaimed Super Bowl LIX halftime show and won five Grammys, including Record of the Year.
Drake responded to the diss track with one of his own, as well as the aforementioned lawsuit. And that brings the timeline to “1AM in Albany,” which could very well be the next punch thrown in the long, lyrical brawl between the two hip-hop stars.