Drake addresses photo of him in blackface that Pusha T used to promote diss track

Drake is facing the music.

The hip-hop star addressed a widely criticized photo showing him in blackface after fellow rapper Pusha T used the picture to promote his diss track, "The Story of Adidon."

"This was not from a clothing brand shoot or my music career," Drake, 31, wrote in a statement posted to his Instagram story. "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 stereotypes and type cast.

"The photos represented how African Americans were once wrongfully portrayed in entertainment," he added.

The controversial photo of Drake, which was snapped by professional photographer David Leyes, began to garner attention Tuesday when Pusha T posted it to his Twitter page with his new song's title inscribed on top of it.

Drake's father is African-American and his mother is white.

"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," Pusha T, 41, captioned the post.

In his response Wednesday evening, Drake said he collaborated with his former "Degrassi" co-star Mazin Elsadig on the photo project in an effort to bring attention to a systemic issue in the entertainment world.

"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 had not changed much," Drake said in the statement.

Pusha T and Drake's feud escalated last Friday when Pusha T released a new song "Daytona" _ which was produced by Kanye West _ that seemed to accuse Drake used a ghostwriter for his music. Another rapper, Meek Mill, previously accused Drake of using a ghostwriter, which led to a drawn-out feud of their own.

Drake then responded by taking shots at Pusha T in a song called "Duppy Freestyle," and Pusha T fired back with "The Story of Adidon." In that song, Pusha T accuses Drake of being a "deadbeat" dad to a child he allegedly fathered with adult film actress Sophie Brussaux. Drake's team has previously denied he is the father.