BTS React to Drake Name-Dropping Them on ‘Iceman’

You know you’ve made it when Drake puts your name in a verse. And when he does, apparently even the people being mentioned can’t quite believe it.

On Friday (May 15), Drake dropped not one but three surprise albums — Iceman, Habibti, and Maid of Honour — a 43-song release that reportedly crashed Spotify as fans scrambled to tune in. Buried inside Iceman was a moment that had a completely different corner of the internet losing its mind: a BTS shoutout. On the track “Make Them Cry,” Drizzy raps, “I’m feeling like BTS, ’cause it took the whole career for me to be so discovered.”

BTS members J-Hope and V were listening — and their reaction said everything.

In an Instagram Stories clip posted by V on Friday, the two K-pop stars are hanging out together, dancing freely while the track plays in the background. The moment Drake spits that line, they both freeze. Dead stop. They turn to the camera simultaneously, faces blank with disbelief, then slowly look at each other like they need confirmation that they just heard what they think they heard. V didn’t bother with a caption — just tagged Drake’s account and let the video do the talking.

Fans Can’t Agree on What Drake Actually Meant

While J-Hope and V’s reaction was priceless and pure, the internet had a much messier response. Pop Base posted the lyric on X, and the replies immediately split into two camps: those who read it as a compliment, and those who genuinely had no idea what Drake was saying.

@abcdvee asked, “What the f*ck does that even mean? Like what do the lyrics mean? What the f*ck is drake writing??” @Livloxy echoed that confusion: “I can’t tell if he’s saying something good or bad about BTS.” And one ARMY member put it plainly: “Before I get my claws out is this a diss or nah?”

Others had no doubt. @alertarcade wrote, “Speak on it!! They fought their way to the top for YEARS.” @epipeny added, “exactly, everybody knows BTS’ rags to riches journey and actual, organic success.” The reading most fans landed on: Drake is comparing his own long road to recognition with BTS’s 13-year grind from underground K-pop act to the biggest band on the planet — a journey that, by most accounts, is one of the more remarkable stories in modern music history.

Drake and BTS Have Been in Each Other’s Orbit Before

This isn’t the first time the two worlds have collided. Back in 2018, Drake included footage of J-Hope doing his wildly viral “In My Feelings” Shiggy challenge in the song’s official music video — a moment that connected the two acts long before any formal collaboration ever happened. They’ve never recorded together, but there’s clearly mutual awareness there.

As for BTS, they’re hardly hurting for attention right now. Their March album ARIRANG spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and lead single “SWIM” debuted at the top of the Hot 100. The Bangtan Boys are currently deep into a stadium world tour — they just wrapped three nights at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City.

Drake, meanwhile, is rolling out Iceman alongside its two companion albums, a project featuring guest appearances from Future, 21 Savage, Central Cee, PartyNextDoor, Popcaan, and more. Less than two years after his very public feud with Kendrick Lamar, he’s clearly back in full swing — 43 songs in a single day, and one of them already has a different fandom talking just as loudly as his own.

J-Hope and V’s stunned, wordless look at each other might be the most relatable response to all of it.