Most of the world is paying close attention to the ongoing Israel–Hamas war. Numerous celebrities and corporations have issued statements about the deadly Middle East conflict. However, Jewish-Canadian rapper Aubrey Drake Graham has not commented on the situation.
Media personality DJ Vlad recently called out Drake for not using his global platform to bring awareness to the bloodshed taking place in Israel and Gaza. Vlad also criticized Palestinian-American DJ Khaled for not quickly speaking out.
TMZ caught up with Drake’s father to ask him about his son’s silence on the hostilities between Israel and Hamas. Dennis Graham defended the For All the Dogs album creator’s right to remain silent on the matter.
“If you say something about this one, you’re going to get criticized. If you say something about someone else, you’re going to get criticized,” stated Dennis Graham. He also added, “So just stay out of it. Especially if you’re somebody that’s well known.”
Drake has been very vocal about his Jewish heritage throughout his entertainment career. For example, the official music video for the “HYFR (Hell Ya F###### Right)” single off 2011’s Take Care album centered around Jewish customs.
The “HYFR” visuals opened with a message that read, “On October 24th 2011 Aubrey ‘Drake’ Graham chose to get re-bar mitzvah’d as a re-commitment to the Jewish religion.” Footage of the now-36-year-old superstar’s actual bar mitzvah appears in the video as well.
While Drake caught heat from people like DJ Vlad for not addressing the Israel–Hamas war, the Toronto-raised musician also faced negative reactions for what some critics, like podcaster Joe Budden, see as a lack of maturity in the content presented on For All the Dogs.