Following a two year hiatus since the release of his previous mixtape, Larger than Life in 2023. Faiyaz would appear as a feature on American rapper Loe Shimmy's November 2024 remix of "For Me".[2] In May 2025, controversy erupted between Halle Bailey and DDG, alleging Faiyaz had an affair with Bailey.[3] Faiyaz's team would confirm that Faiyaz "had Icon recorded and scheduled to release on September 19, 2025. The night before, Brent sent us a group text pulling the plug on the album,” “He also had another lead single and music video. He scrapped those too, then sent us this,” it concluded, with ‘this’ being “have to.”[4] In an interview with Rolling Stone, Faiyaz noted, “Everything I’m creating right now is about showing [a] range of concepts, principles, emotions, and experiences. Innocence versus Indecency. Vulnerability versus guardedness. These tracks capture the core of that.”[4]
Release and promotion
On July 3, 2025, Faiyaz wiped his Instagram page, suggesting that he was preparing for an album before posting a picture of what was interpreted as a promotional cover for the album.[5] The cover featured the name "Icon" alongside its release date caption, September 19.[6] Immediately after the announcement, fans compared its release date to rapper Cardi B's upcoming album, Am I the Drama?, set to drop on the same date.[5] On July 4, Faiyaz dropped the album's two lead singles, "Tony Soprano" and "Peter Pan",[7] immediately after the album's announcement.[8] Both named after fictional characters, Tony Soprano and Peter Pan.[8]
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Faiyaz stated that with the two-pack, he's "embracing duality" as the former is about "tapping into that leader mentality" while the latter is "outside of all that, free from limits" and is "full of wonder".[9] On August 11, Faiyaz teased a collaboration with fellow American rapper Doechii on August 11 and a song titled "Movie Star".[10] On October 31, Faiyaz would release the album's lead single "Have To",[4] and announce the delay the release of the album the night before its initial release date of September 19.[4] "Have To" would peak at number twenty on the BillboardBubbling Under Hot 100 chart. On February 3, 2026, Faiyaz shared multiple posts on Instagram, and the trailer revealing the release date of the album for February 13.[11] Later that day, Faiyaz shared Icon's official tracklist, alongside its producer and personnel list.[12]
↑Despite streaming platforms labelling the album as licensed to UnitedMasters, sources note the company as a distributor for Faiyaz's label, ISO Supremacy.[1]
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