Drake: I stand for positivity

Drake wasn't going to let J. Cole "sink by himself" in the wake of his autism lyric controversy.

The rappers collaborated on Drake's track Jodeci Freestyle and during the song J. Cole refers to people with autism.

Both stars issued an apology following the backlash that ensued as a result of some listeners becoming incensed by the verse.

Drake believes J. Cole is a standup guy and he couldn't allow his friend to get pummeled by negative press.
"I think we're just both genuinely good guys. I don't want anybody to be offended, and Cole is the nicest guy in the world, so I'm sure it was the worst day ever for him, as far as being attacked by people," he told the outlet.
"It's a shame that he got attacked like that because he's such a great guy and that's why I chose to step in and say sorry as well because I felt like — I'm not gonna let him sink by himself, like, 'Oh that wasn't me'. It was my song and at the end of the day, I think everybody knows me and Cole are both young guys that stand for something positive."

Drake commiserates with the uproar and decided to take action immediately before things got out of hand.

He felt compelled to make his moral code clear.

"It was just important to reinforce that. A lot of people see it as a cop-out — 'oh, you're apologising' — but sometimes it doesn't pay to be that rebellious," he explained.

"If an apology is what it takes, then [fine]."

Drake isn't artistically impacted by the scandal.

He is committed to staying true to his creative process no matter what may come of it.

"At the end of the day, we rap, we say things, and sometimes you can't factor in everybody that's going to be personally offended by the bars that you write," Drake said.

"Sometimes it's just for the effect of finishing a punch line, so there is something to be said for being careless with your lyrics, but writing is a [also] free-mind thing. That's what rap is — it's just wherever your mind goes."