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Drake performs live during day two of Wireless Festival 2025 at Finsbury Park on July 12, 2025, in London, England. A new Drake song \u201c1AM in Albany\u201d leaked on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Simone Joyner\/Getty Images for ABA<\/p>\n
Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome on Feb. 09, 2025, in New Orleans, La.<\/p>\n
Gregory Shamus\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Thanks to a leak, the internet may have gotten a peek at Drake\u2019s upcoming album \u201cIceman\u201d a little over a day before its planned release.<\/p>\n
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\u201c1AM in Albany<\/a>\u201d is yet another\u00a0diss track aimed at Drake\u2019s arch nemesis, Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar. The song has stirred up another round of \u201cwho is winning the battle\u201d discussions, and locally, the title has some fans wondering what role, if any, New York\u2019s capital plays in it all.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n When was \u20181AM in Albany\u2019 released?<\/p>\n 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\u2019s\u00a0Instagram post about \u201c1AM in Albany.\u201d<\/p>\n There is also fan speculation that \u201c1AM in Albany\u201d is a throwaway track and won\u2019t make \u201cIceman,\u201d Drake\u2019s ninth studio album. We\u2019ll know for sure in less than 24 hours, since \u201cIceman\u201d drops Friday.<\/p>\n Is \u20181AM in Albany\u2019 about Albany, N.Y.?<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, \u201c1AM in Albany\u201d 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.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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\u2019re out of luck. If you want a truly upstate rap experience, I suggest last year\u2019s viral \u201cTake Me Down to Stewy\u2019s.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0We also have an entire playlist dedicated to songs that mention the Capital Region<\/a>.<\/p>\n Make the Times Union a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s also highly doubtful Drake is throwing it back to either of his concerts at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (first in 2012,\u00a0then with\u00a0Lil Wayne in 2014) or\u00a0Lamar\u2019s\u00a02013 performance at Albany\u2019s Armory<\/a> or his 2018 SPAC concert<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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?\u00a0<\/p>\n If we want to try to tie this to our Albany, there is Drake\u2019s ongoing defamation\u00a0lawsuit against Universal Music Group for its alleged promotion of Lamar\u2019s Grammy-winning diss, \u201cNot Like Us.\u201d The suit was initially filed with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, located in Manhattan. Drake\u2019s case centered on the lyric \u201ccertified pedophile.\u201d District Judge Jeannette Vargas dismissed the matter, referring to song\u2019s \u201cbroader context\u201d as part of \u201ca heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by both participants.”`<\/p>\n Though the court systems involved are all physically based in New York City, it is possible the escalations brought at least someone from Drake\u2019s legal team to Albany (or at least passing through).<\/p>\n A more\u00a0popular fan theory is that it\u2019s a reference to Albany, an ultra-exclusive Bahamas resort <\/a>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<\/a> with nine of his FTX colleagues). There are tabloid reports of Drake staying at the luxury resort<\/a>, so maybe \u201c1AM in Albany\u201d was penned during a late-night burst of inspiration during a visit.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Another fan theory circling Reddit is that \u201c1AM in Albany\u201d 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\u2019d love to talk). Otherwise, fans are\u00a0stuck waiting for Drake to explain the Albany reference.<\/p>\n Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar feud, explained<\/p>\n The roots of the feud between Drake and Lamar are believed to go back to the song \u201cControl,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n The simmering feud escalated, however, when Lamar dropped \u201cLike That\u201d in response to J. Cole and Drake\u2019s 2023 song \u201cFirst Person Shooter,\u201d in which Drake refers to Cole, Lamar and himself as modern-day hip-hop\u2019s \u201cbig three.\u201d On \u201cLike That,\u201d Lamar said the top spot was \u201cjust big me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The lyrical retaliations mounted and eventually exploded with Drake\u2019s \u201cFamily Matters\u201d which accused Lamar of domestic abuse and infidelity. Lamar responded with \u201cMeet the Grahams\u201d just 20 minutes after \u201cFamily Matters\u201d dropped, and he accused Drake of sexual predation. Lamar released \u201cNot Like Us\u201d a day later, and it became one of the songs of the summer, was the centerpiece to Lamar\u2019s\u00a0acclaimed Super Bowl LIX halftime show<\/a> and won five Grammys, including Record of the Year.<\/p>\n Drake responded to the diss track with one of his own, as well as the aforementioned lawsuit. And that brings the timeline to \u201c1AM in Albany,\u201d which could very well be the next punch thrown in the long, lyrical brawl between the two hip-hop stars.<\/p>\n