“[Drake’s] Being Jewish Is Just A By-Product”

A week after Drake crowned himself as the "Best Jew To Ever To Do It",  Jewish rap/reggae musician Matisyahu has stepped forward to share his reaction to the proclamation.

While he respects the Young Money artist, in Matis’ eyes, Drake has not fully embraced his Jewish roots.

“Drake is a pretty good man. He’s got his thing, but it’s different than what I do.” Continuing, he says of Drake: “He’s Jewish, but he’s not representing Judaism. He happens to be Jewish just like Bob Dylan happened to be Jewish, but what I’m doing is really tapping into my roots and culture, and trying to blend that with the mainstream…[Drake’s] being Jewish is just a by-product.” (The Jewish Daily)

When last week, Drizzy spoke on his Jeconfronted by paparazziwish pride.

Sandy Koufax … Albert Einstein … Moses … and now Drake?!? D*mn right. “[Would I get criticized for messing up the Canadian national anthem in public?] Yes. [laughs] Because I’m a patriotic Canadian,” Drake told paparazzi. “Yeah. [Who’s a better Jew, me or TMZ creator Harvey Levin?] I don’t know. I’m one of the best Jews to ever do it. Ever in life. [laughs]” (TMZ)

After his parents separated when he was younger, Drake was raised in a Jewish household.

Drake was born to an African-American father and a Jewish mother, who divorced when he was five. Raised by his mother in Forest Hill, a heavily Jewish neighborhood of Toronto, he attended a Jewish day school, and was even Bar Mitzvah’d (the song of the night was Backstreet Boys‘s “I Want It That Way”). All of which is to say that, whatever else happens, Drake is already the first-ever black Jewish rap star. (Heeb Magazine)

Drake also reportedly takes pride in his Jewish heritage.

“I went to a Jewish school, where nobody understood what it was like to be black and Jewish,” he told Heeb. “When kids are young it’s hard for them to understand the make-up of religion and race.” He told the magazine he was often called a schvartze: “But the same kids that made fun of me are super proud [of me] now. And they act as if nothing happened.” He does however, display signs of Jewish pride. According to Heeb, he wears a diamond-studded Chai and wants to travel to Israel. (Jewish Journal)

Check out a recent Drake interview below: