Drake had his fans in a fierce debate over the Christmas holiday thanks to a surprise two-hour interview with Rap Radar's Elliot Wilson and Brian Miller.

The interview with the Grammy-winning musician caught the attention of many people, but Twitter focused on his comments about cultural appropriation, specifically of Afrobeats.

When asked by Miller about critiques from those who claim Drake appropriates music styles like New Orleans bounce and Afrobeats for his own personal gain, he said they came from “a bunch of people that weren’t on this boat to begin with.”

“Even the definition of ‘appropriating’ a culture is not supporting that culture, doing songs with people deeply rooted in that culture, giving opportunity to people in that culture. That’s not appropriating. Appropriating is taking it for your own personal gain and denying that it was ever inspired from this. That’s the true disservice that somebody could do to the U.K., to dancehall, to Afrobeats. Any time I embark on one of those journeys, I ensure that I am not only paying all due respects verbally. I make a point to give opportunity to people that I respect,” he said.

“I definitely feel like because when I do things, they do get magnified and amplified, people can sometimes feel uncomfortable. Like “One Dance” goes No. 1… but it’s like Wizkid was on the song with me. I had blessings from the real dons in that space. I know those guys, I link with those guys. I go to their shows, they come to my shows. They touch my stage. The chatter is one thing, but in the community amongst the real Gs that are doing this shit, I’m solidified for sure,” Drake added.

He admitted that no Afrobeats music could be better than the stuff produced by those working in the space, but he took some credit for helping popularize the genre through songs like "One Dance" and "Come Closer."

The comments sent people into a frenzy on Twitter.

Some Drake fans logged on to say the internet was making a big deal out of something they considered to be factually true. Miller notes that people at YouTube said "One Dance" did have an effect on the wider popularity of Afrobeats.

This is not the first time Drake has faced criticism for his evolving music tastes. British rapper Wiley went after the superstar in an interview, calling him a culture vulture and slamming him for stopping his collaboration with OVO artist Popcaan.

In response, Drake told BBC Radio that most of the criticism was coming from people who were mad they were not chosen for features or others who "are no longer even relevant in that space.”

“But they have a radio interview that day and they want to be like, ‘Ah yeah, Drake, him doing Jamaican music is wack.’ They’re also mad that OVO signed Popcaan…They’re mad that I linked with this person and that person, but not them…You can always tell when it’s fueled by personal gain that was never granted to them,” he said.

Drake was embroiled in another "culture vulture" controversy last year with New Orleans bounce artists who chafed at how the legendary Big Freedia was credited on the hit song "Nice For What."

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