Drake wrote about his response to watching the video of police fatally shooting Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge.
In a post to Instagram, the musician described how watching the video left him “feeling disheartened, emotional, and truly scared.” The relationship between black and brown communities and law enforcement, Drake added, has not improved.
“No one begins their life as a hashtag,” he wrote, “yet the trend of being reduced to one continues.”
Drake is not the only public figure to respond to the shooting publicly. Read his statement in full below.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Cybersecurity Experts Are Sounding the Alarm on DOGE
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Michelle Zauner Stares Down the Darkness
Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com