‘Diss track’ outs Drake love child, features him in blackface
Rapper Pusha T claims the Jewish-Canadian hip-hop artist has unknown son with a former porn star, plans to reveal child’s existence alongside an Adidas line named for him
Yaakov Schwartz is The Times of Israel's deputy Jewish World editor
In the latest round of what has become an increasingly sordid rap feud, hip-hop artist Terrence Thornton — better known by his stage name, Pusha T — released a song suggesting that Jewish-Canadian rapper Drake has a secret son with a former pornographic actress.
The song, entitled “The Story of Adidon,” was released on May 29.
Named in the song as “Sophie,” Vulture.com reported that the alleged mother of Drake’s secret love child is Sophie Brussaux, who used to work under the name Rosee Divine.
The “diss track” also alleged that Drake is leaving his endorsement deal with the Jordan brand and hopping over to Adidas, where he will soon release a new line — named in the title of the song — that combines the brand name with that of his secret son, Adonis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmwOMtkDxtk
The track was part of a tit-for-tat musical battle that has been occurring at a frenzied pace since Thornton released his new album “Daytona” on May 25. On that album was a song entitled “Infrared” which claimed Drake had behind-the-scenes help writing his lyrics. Drake responded in a matter of hours with a scathing track of his own called “Duppy Freestyle.”
Thornton further ignited fans across the internet by using a photo of Drake in blackface as the artwork for “The Story of Adidon.”
The photo, originally snapped by photographer David Leyes, is said to have been taken from a photo shoot for Toronto-based brand Too Black Guys in 2008, according to Billboard.com. Drake wears a shirt in the photo featuring a cartoon image of a crow, ostensibly part of a line called “Jim Crow Couture.”
In a call to “The Breakfast Club” morning radio show on a New York station, Thornton was critical of Drake’s supposed decision to reveal his son’s existence alongside his new clothing line.
“Who rolls out their child with a sweatsuit?” said Thornton.
If the song’s allegations are true, Thornton may have dealt a blow to Drake’s upcoming line of apparel before it has even come out. Thornton himself, along with rappers Kanye West and Pharrell Williams, are also signed with Adidas.
But Adidas might be the least of Drake’s worries. While the secret son revelation generated a fair amount of buzz, the brunt of the collective anger voiced on social media was directed at the photo of Drake in blackface. Some, however, argued that the photo was taken out of context and was part of a series intended to make a statement about race.
Billboard reported the Too Black Guys’ website as saying that the intention was to “graphically represent the black experience in an unapologetic way.”
“Please stop referring to this picture as ‘artwork,’” read a Tweet by Thornton. “I’m not an internet baby, I don’t edit images… this is a REAL picture… these are his truths, see for yourself.”
Amid the controversy, the photo was removed from Thornton’s Instagram account, with the social media platform citing copyright issues. Leyes reportedly had requested earlier that Thornton take down the photo himself, and after the photo’s removal, Thornton posted the copyright infringement notice.
Drake was born Aubrey Drake Graham to an African-American father who is still a practicing Catholic, and an Ashkenazi Jewish mother, was raised in Toronto, Ontario.
According to the star’s Wikipedia page, Drake’s parents divorced when he was 5, with his father returning to his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. The page says that the rapper attended Jewish day school growing up, and had a bar mitzvah ceremony.
