Drake 'disgusted' Rolling Stone gave front cover to late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman

The rapper said "the press is evil" after Rolling Stone decided to use their cover as a tribute for the Oscar winner

Drake performs in New York City. The rapper has said he is "disgusted" that Rolling Stone magazine gave his cover to the recently deceased actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

When Rolling Stone revealed its new cover featuring a portrait of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman on Wednesday, praise poured in from online users for the US magazine’s tasteful tribute.

Rapper Drake, however, was less than pleased with the teaser, and said he was “disgusted” that the fortnightly magazine chose to replace him with a photograph of Hoffman, with“1967-2014” captioned under the deceased actor’s name.

Having seen the changed cover, Drake took to Twitter to slam Rolling Stone.

“They took my cover from me last minute and ran the issue,” he posted on the social media website, adding: “I'm disgusted with that. RIP to Philip Seymour Hoffman. All respect due. But the press is evil.”

Drake’s tweets come after Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman died of a suspected drug overdose in early February. His friends and family paid their respects at his funeral last week.

The 'Started from the Bottom' rapper also complained that the magazine published a preview of its upcoming feature with him online, in which he allegedly made negative comments about Kanye West’s latest album Yeezus - remarks he claims were said off the record.

Rolling Stone also reported on comments that Drake made regarding texts between rappers Macklemore and Kendrick Lamar.

After Macklemore and Ryan Lewis controversially won the Best Rap Album award at the Grammys, Macklemore texted Lamar to say: “You got robbed. I wanted you to win. You should have. It's weird and sucks that I robbed you," later posting the message on his Instagram.

Lamar replied the duo’s win was: “well deserved”.

Wading into the debate, Drake told the magazine: “I was like, 'You won. Why are you posting your text message? Just chill. It didn't feel genuine. Why do that? Why feel guilt? You think those guys would pay homage to you if they won?"

He added:“This is how the world works: He made a brand of music that appealed to more people than me, Hov [Jay-Z], Kanye and Kendrick.

"Whether people wanna say it's racial, or whether it's just the fact that he tapped into something we can't tap into. That's just how the cards fall. Own your s**t,” he told the publication.

So angered by Rolling Stone’s decisions, the 27-year-old Canadian told his Twitter followers: “I'm done doing interviews for magazines. I just want to give my music to the people. That's the only way my message gets across accurately.”

The magazine's front page also caused controversy last year, when it featured a photo of suspected Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a move criticised as being in poor taste.