Drake admits using drugs to cope with pressure of fame

Rapper Drake has revealed how has previously turned on drugs to help him cope with the pressures of fame.

In an interview with The Guardian, the 'Take Care' star revealed how he had turned to substance abuse when the stress of his music career became 'overwhelming'.

"You get artists in this position who go crazy and don't know how to handle it," he told the broadsheet. "There are people who have killed themselves. There's the overwhelming stress, how tired you are, the weight on your shoulders of going out there and giving 18,000 people entertainment… it's a lot of pressure."

"Have I sipped codeine before? Yeah, of course," he added. "Have I smoked weed? Yes. Do I drink wine? Yes. But do I do it excessively? No. I'm not a reckless guy. I do it all within moderation."

Drake recently performed at London's O2, drawing celebrity guests such as Florence Welch, Tulisa and Rihanna to the shows.

Drake also recently revealed to GQ magazine that he had calmed down his party lifestyle, telling the style bible: "There's just a time where it was like, just getting p*ssy, Where I was in that sort of 'I'm young, I'm going to disconnect from my emotions and just do what everyone else tells me I should do and just be a rapper and have my fun.'