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
The Internet and music world at large has been marveling at the incredible escalation done by Pusha T in response to a Drake freestyle with a diss track that was… the harshest thing ever rapped over a beat, maybe? In the track, amongst other things, Pusha T tells Drake he has to fix his relationship with his son, the son’s mother (who he shouldn’t push out of his life because she’s an adult entertainer) and his aging father. The entire thing was illustrated with a photo of Drake wearing blackface and wearing a Jim Crow shirt. The conversation then took… a much more serious shift. While original conceptions of the photo were that it was for a fashion shoot, the designers of the shirt, Too Black Guys, released a statement on the shirt putting their support behind Drake and calling the shirt a work of commentary meant to make a statement by being worn by an black man. The shirt is from their Jim Crow Couture/House of Crow collection. Their statement is written below.
here’s Too Black Guys, the Canadian streetwear brand Drake is wearing in the blackface photos, on those blackface photos… pic.twitter.com/IJ5SzizaSz
— Joe Coscarelli (@joecoscarelli) May 31, 2018
Drake then released a statement as well. He explained the photo to be part of his history as an actor from 2008 and was meant to explore the specter of blackface rather than celebrate it. Drake’s statement explains that the photo was part of a film exploring the kinds of roles that black men are often offered that are marginalizing, stereotypical or demeaning. The role and the photo were meant to show how little times have changed from the era of blackface. You can read Drake’s statement below.
Drake finally gives an explanation for that blackface image… pic.twitter.com/XrXLrQChTf
— Martha Tesema (@martesema) May 31, 2018
So, it sounds like Drake was temporarily in a movie a little deeper and more complex than his typical fare. Still, with the Internet so entranced with the conflict, will they accept this explanation? Even more surprising, in one Twitter user’s point of view, is the idea that the Degrassi star had this much to say about race to begin with.
I figured that's what Drake's picture was about but even a mature response ain't really gonna change shit.
That being said I find it interesting he seems so anti addressing racial issues NOW but was making a statement in 2007 about racism in the industry.
— M’BlockU (@rodimusprime) May 31, 2018
At some point he definitely made a decision not to step into the arena of race. Even as the world became more racial around dude. The rise of BLM, Kaepernick taking a knee, Trump installed as President and Drake pretty much stays out of all that shit.
— M’BlockU (@rodimusprime) May 31, 2018
I'm not asking him to. I just always sort of assumed he didn't care about that shit. Then here you have him making a bold statement with that black face about Jim Crow and racism in acting… didn't see that coming.
— M’BlockU (@rodimusprime) May 31, 2018
What do you think though? Does Drake’s explanation make his photo okay, or is this unacceptable even if done to make a point? Let us know in the comments, or on Twitter at @WhatsTrending.
