Drake, the Grammy-winning Canadian artist, provoked outrage on Nigerian Twitter after revealing the results of his father’s lineage.
In the early hours of Monday, the rapper — born Aubrey Drake Graham — rushed to Instagram to reveal a screenshot of the results of his father’s DNA heritage test, implying he might be Nigerian at some point.
The result, which he said was sent to him by Dennis Graham, his dad, showed he is “30% Nigerian”.
The singer asked if he could finally call himself a “Naija man.”
“This my dad’s results, does this mean I’m a Naija man finally?” Drake asked.
The screenshot also showed Nigeria has the highest percentage of ethnicity followed by Cameroon, Congo, and Western Bantu Peoples, which is 28%, then Ivory Coast and Ghana, 11%.
The results further showed Drake’s father has a multi-ethnic background, including roots in Mali, Benin, and Togo.
The post has triggered a floodgate of reactions from Nigerians on Twitter.
“Drake went to do check DNA to know if he has Nigerian root so that when he drops an Afrobeats album, nobody would question him,” a user wrote.
“Drake being Nigerian means he’s likely an Akwa-Ibom, Yoruba or Warri man. Leaning heaviest on him being an Akwa-Ibom man because he has that accent in him despite all the Americanization & then I saw his dad’s image,” another user added.
“That man looks like one of my uncles. Tell me I wrong.”
https://twitter.com/benedictaosei_/status/1655526463955775493?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1655526463955775493%7Ctwgr%5E324761aa6b398761bf50390ecede27edb7f67f97%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Flifestyle.thecable.ng%2Fdrake-dad-ancestry-nigerian%2F
Drake being Nigerian means he's likely an Akwa-Ibom,Yoruba or Warri man. Leaning heaviest on him being an Akwa-Ibom man because he has that accent in him despite all the Americanization & then I saw his dad's image. That man looks like one of my uncles.😂😂
Tell me I wrong.😁 pic.twitter.com/M9yzPrAdYv
— #AnonManMediating 💭°°°🕴🏿°°💭 (@EdegheF) May 8, 2023
Finding out drake is Nigerian has ruined my day already
— damilola (@thereaaaldd) May 8, 2023
Drake said “Ikebe, pressing on me heavy” on a song & you guys are still doubting his Nigerian genes
— We$t (@flygodT) May 8, 2023
Drake wants to be Nigerian so bad 😂 pic.twitter.com/4SrEBLqmF7
— The Wizkid Bible 🦅 (@Thewizkidbible) May 8, 2023
https://twitter.com/itzbasito/status/1655503643884285953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Drake is a Nigerian ?🇳🇬 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/xOXChmVoVp
— 𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕎𝕋𝔽 𝔾𝕌𝕐 (@jamiu_XXIV) May 8, 2023
Drake was born on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Ontario. His father is an African-American Catholic drummer from Memphis who once performed with country musician Jerry Lee Lewis.
He has also collaborated with some Nigerian artistes like Wizkid, Burna Boy, and Tems.