Is Drake Jewish ?

Just in case you wonder: "Is Drake Jewish?", the truth is that Drake is 100% Jewish.  









In detail, the Canadian hip-hop star and former "Degrassi: The Next Generation" actor Drake (real name: Aubrey Drake Graham) grew up in a Jewish neighborhood of Toronto with his white Jewish Canadian mother Sandi Graham, attended a primarily Jewish high school, and had a Bar Mitzvah (Jewish coming of age ceremony). Drake's father is an African American from Memphis, Tennessee.

It has to be noted that Drake appeared on "Chelsea Lately"  with fellow Jewish artists Matisyahu and Mac Miller, joking: "We all reenact Bar Mitzvahs...We do very Jewish things together."

According to Pitchfork, Drake claimed  in a behind-the-scenes clip released around the time of the video "HYFR": "When I had a bar mitzvah back in the day, my mom didn't have much money. I told myself that, if I ever got rich, I would throw myself a re-bar mitzvah."

Needless to say that the "HYFR" clip sparked controversy in some circles, but members of the Jewish media, such as Stephanie Butnick of Jewcy, found the video to be, well, a mitzvah.

"It's about young people taking ownership of their Jewish identity and engaging with it in a way that's comfortable and meaningful," she stated according to Pitchfork. "It doesn't need to be super serious all the time."

Back in 2010, Drake revealed to Heeb writer Amos Barshad: "I went to a Jewish school, where nobody understood what it was like to be black and Jewish. When kids are young it's hard for them to understand the make-up of religion and race."

Conclusion: Drake is considered Jewish by Jewish law and self identifies as Jewish. Though Drake's dad is not Jewish, according to Jewish law one is Jewish if their mother is Jewish.
 

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