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Drake has suggested his hit Hotline Bling shouldn't have snapped up awards at the 2017 Grammys and implied the organisers pigeon-holed him because he's black.
In a wide-ranging interview broadcast on Apple Music's OVO Sound Radio, the former Degressi: The Next Generation star questioned why Hotline Bling was up for best rap song when there wasn't any rapping in the lead single.
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"The only category they can manage to fit me in is in a rap category, maybe because I've rapped in the past or because I'm black," he said.
Drake was the world's most streamed artist of 2016. Photo: JAE C. HONG
While Drake was noticeably absent from the 59th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles earlier this month, he still managed to take home two awards. Hotline Bling snapped up both Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap Song, beating other notable performers including Kanye West and Beyonce.
Despite these victories, Drake said the awards feel "weird for some reason".
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"It just doesn't feel right to me," he said.
"I feel almost alienated, or [like the Grammys are] trying to purposely alienate me by making me win rap awards or pacify me by handing me something and putting me in that category because it's the only place where you can figure out where to put me."
Beyonce's Lemonade missed out on Album of the Year, causing an uproar. Photo: Kevork Djansezian
During the interview, Drake also opened up about how he has to battle stereotypes not only during awards season, but every time he releases new music. The breadth of his music, along with the fact he's Canadian and Jewish, makes him feel like an "outsider" in the American market.
"I want to be like Michael Jackson," he said. "I want to be like artists that I looked up to. Those are pop songs, but I never get any credit for that."
Drake's comments come after the Grammys received intense scrutiny over perceived racial bias, with Beyonce's politically-conscious album Lemonade overlooked in favour of Adele's 25 when it came time to announce Album of the Year.
Hotline Bling shot to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and is Drake's highest charting single in the United States.
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