Drake has issued an explanation on his official Instagram account for the controversial photos in which he appears in blackface (click here to view the images). The photos went viral on the internet after rapper Pusha T used them for the artwork of his Drake diss track, “The Story of Adidon.” Drake was criticized for his decision to appear in blackface during a photo shoot, but the rapper said the decision was made with an important struggle in mind.

“I know everyone is enjoying the circus but I want to clarify this image in question,” Drake wrote on Instagram. “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 represented...