Drake issues statement on blackface picture made viral by Pusha T

Drake has issued a statement on the picture of him in blackface used by Pusha T on his new single artwork. 

Ramping up the feud between the two rappers, Pusha T dropped a new diss track, The Story of Adinon, which he accompanied with cover art showing Drizzy, 31, wearing blackface and a Jim Crow t-shirt. 

The picture was taken as a part of a shoot by photographer David Leyes, with the image being removed from his website gallery following the image going viral with Pusha T’s diss track.

Please stop referring to this picture as “artwork”...I’m not an internet baby, I don’t edit images...this is a REAL picture...these are his truths, see for yourself https://t.co/gd6vRS3HM8 pic.twitter.com/2el58HEZ8F

— King Push (@PUSHA_T) May 30, 2018

It was claimed that the shoot was done in association with the brand Too Black Guys, with Drake previously wearing clothes from the label’s ‘Jim Crow Couture’ range. 

However, Drake has now broken his silence on the photo, and explained the concept behind the shoot. 

In a note shared to his Instagram story, the Nice For What star wrote: ‘I know everyone is enjoying the circus but I want to clarify this image in question. This was not from a clothing brand shoot or my music career. This picture is from 2007, a time in my life where I was an actor and I was working on a project that was about young black actors struggling to get roles, being stereotyped and typecast.

‘The photos represented how African Americans were once wrongfully portrayed in entertainment. Me and my best friend at the time Mazin Elsadig who is also an actor from Sudan were attempting to use our voice to bring awareness to the issues we dealt with all the time as black actors at auditions. 

‘This was to highlight and raise our frustrations with not always getting a fair chance in the industry and to make a point that the struggle for black actors had not changed much.’

While Drake addressed the blackface issue, he has not yet commented on Pusha T’s claims that the Canadian rapper fathered a son with an ex.