- Drake called for the release of imprisoned FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in a lyric on his new album Iceman, released Friday.
- The albums have been widely panned by critics, with The Guardian calling the collection a “boring, bloated disaster.”
- Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year sentence for fraud, and his family has aggressively sought a pardon from President Donald Trump, who has downplayed the possibility.
- Drake himself has been named in multiple lawsuits over his promotion of Stake, a crypto-fueled online casino.
Drake returned with three albums on Friday, using a song on Iceman to appeal for the release of the imprisoned founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. The lyric appears amid a broader, critically panned comeback attempt from the rapper following a hiatus.
On the track “Dust,” Drake directly references “Samuel Bankman, free all my guys up, yeah.” He later labels himself “a BTC crypto big-timer,” reaffirming his connection to the digital asset space. However, the new musical output has been poorly received, with multiple critics offering harsh reviews.
Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year sentence for fraud committed at his Bahamas-based exchange. Consequently, his family launched a mission to secure a pardon from the crypto-friendly President Trump after his return to power last year.
The convict has used social media to praise the president and celebrate crypto lobbying wins. Meanwhile, the industry and its allies in Congress have worked to distance themselves from his toxic reputation.
President Trump indicated in an interview with The New York Times that he had no pardon plans. Nevertheless, Drake’s endorsement adds a high-profile voice to the campaign, despite the rapper’s own legal controversies involving crypto.
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