Drake responds after Pusha T shares image of Canadian rapper in blackface

Drake said the image was from a shoot in 2007

Drake has issued a statement addressing a photo that showed him in blackface.

Pusha T shared the image along with a diss track about Drake in the latest instalment of an ongoing feud between the two artists, insisting it was real when fans asked whether it was photoshopped.

He shared a link to photographer David Leyes' website and tweeted: "This is a REAL picture... these are his truths, see for yourself". In a since-deleted tweet Leyes asked Def Jam's EVP Steven Victor to "take the Drake photo down asap". The image has since been removed from Pusha's Instagram.

"I know everyone is enjoying the circus but I want to clarify this image in question," Drake wrote in a post shared on his social media accounts.

"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 type cast.

"The photos represent 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 has not changed much."

Tensions between Drake and Pusha, which began around 2012, flared up again after Pusha released his latest, Kanye West-produced album Daytona, which featured a subtle Drake diss track called "Infrared", which appeared to call out Drake's use of ghostwriters.

Drake responded with "Duppy Freestyle" which mocked Pusha for boasting about how he used to sell drugs, and promised to send an invoice for helping raise him publicity.

Pusha then dropped "The Story of Adidon" where he alleged that Drake is the father of former adult film star Sophie Brussaux's child, and taunted Drake's longtime collaborator Noah "40" Shebib for being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

A photo shared on former adult film star Sophie Brussaux's Instagram account - since made private. Pusha T has alleged that Drake fathered a child with her. (Sophie B/Instagram)

Shebib responded by pointing out that Pusha had ironically dropped the track the day before Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Day. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has since rebuked Pusha's lyrics.