Drake Addresses Blackface Photo From Pusha-T’s ‘Story of Adidon’

Drake has issued a statement regarding the photo Pusha-T used as the cover art for his diss track “The Story of Adidon.” The picture, taken by photographer David Leyes, depicts Drake in blackface. In an Instagram story that was shared via Drake fansite Word On Road, the rapper said he wanted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the photo, which was taken in 2007 when he was an actor.

“I was working on a project that was about young black actors struggling to get roles, being stereotyped and type cast,” he wrote. “The photos represented how African Americans were once wrongfully portrayed in entertainment.”

Drake added that he and Mazin Elsadig (the pair worked together on Degrassi: the Next Generation) “were attempting to use our voice to bring awareness to the issues we dealt with all the time as black actors at auditions.”

Following Pusha-T releasing his diss track in response to Drake’s “Duppy Freestyle,” which was in turn a response to Pusha-T’s Daytona track “Infrared,” Pusha-T took to Twitter and linked to Leyes’ website to show the photo was not doctored. “Please stop referring to this picture as ‘artwork,'” he posted. “This is a REAL picture… these are his truths, see for yourself.”

“This was to highlight and raise our frustrations with not always getting a fair chance in the industry,” Drake concluded in his statement. “And to make a point that the struggle for black actors had not changed much.”

Drake speaks on “blackface” photos circulating. pic.twitter.com/y3SrOl9DcQ

— Word On Road (@WordOnRd) May 31, 2018