Drake has signed on as an investor and collaborator with Los Angeles-based sustainability and financial services startup Aspiration, the company tells Rolling Stone.
The rapper joins other celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., and Orlando Bloom in investing in Aspiration, but Drake’s partnership goes deeper than financial backing: He will use Aspiration’s personal and enterprise services to monitor and cut down his own carbon footprint, the company’s execs say, with the hope of making his personal life carbon neutral. Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg declined to give specifics on how much Drake invested. But, on the collaboration front, Sanberg says his team is working with Drake — whose environmental footprint is larger than the average person’s, given the star’s frequent travel and Hollywood lifestyle — to cut down his environmental footprint.
Aspiration offers environmentally-focused financial services, positioning itself as a sustainable alternative to other banks and fintech companies because it doesn’t invest in fossil fuel companies or other non-sustainable endeavors. It also gives its customers tools to track their carbon footprint and put some of their spending toward tree planting and charitable donations. For example, Aspiration has a credit card with an option to round up every customers’ purchase to the nearest dollar to go towards planting trees. Aspiration currently has five million users and has planted 15 million trees from its users’ financial activity, the company says.
“The way we deliver carbon neutrality for Drake or larger partners of that size is with the extra analysis our team applies to all the things they’re doing in their lives,” Sanberg says. “They give us information with travel and activities that’ll have a carbon footprint, and then we draw on our reforestation program in excess of what we’d do for an everyday consumer. But fundamentally, we’re delivering the same outcome for them as we can deliver for anyone who wants to open an Aspiration credit card, and that’s knowing they’re aligning their money and their values.”
The Drake deal is the latest in a busy celebrity investment cycle, buoyed by artists who have spent the past year looking to other revenue streams and business opportunities while the touring business shuttered.
Through Drake, Aspiration hopes to evangelize its concept to millions of fans and other influential artists who might want to jump on the platform. Drake and Aspiration are currently exploring how to implement the company’s services in his professional life as well as his personal one. (A career as a global music artist carries a hefty physical impact — from printing vinyl and CDs to charting an international tour shipping tons of cargo, flying in jets, and taking buses all over the world.)
“We want this to be the beginning of a trend,” Sanberg says. “Part of our intention here is making the music industry sustainable. This is our first leadership move together with, I’d argue, the most influential artist in the world, and I can’t think of a better partner to open this book that we’re going to write. And I think that kind of audacious vision is exactly what Drake is in for.”
In a statement, Drake said he is excited to partner with a “company that’s found a simple way to offer everyone the ability to reduce their carbon footprint,” and that “Aspiration’s approach to climate change is really inspiring and I hope together we can help to motivate and create awareness.”
The world leader, who has repeatedly faced criticism for featuring songs from artists who do not want their music connected to his political views, shared a viral clip of We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) that focused on the lyric: “Me and my truth we sit in silence.”
The footage shows Trump at a rally while the statement “Men can’t have babies and should never compete in women’s sports” appears on screen.
The Team Trump TikTok account posted the video with the caption: “This shouldn’t be controversial! #trump #arianagrande #maga.”
Ariana responded in a comment that was later removed, saying: “Never use my music again. Also, your truth is false.”
Trump has a well known record of opposing transgender rights, and the US Supreme Court recently ruled that states can prohibit transgender women from taking part in women’s sports. In a 6 to 3 ruling, the justices determined that such laws do not breach Title IX or the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
The decision in June came after several other actions by the Trump administration involving transgender policies. Earlier in May, the Supreme Court also permitted the administration to continue with its “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” order, which would prevent transgender individuals from serving in the US military.
Ariana’s statement arrived soon after Taylor Swift also took steps to stop Trump from using her music on TikTok. Trump had featured a number of her songs in his social media posts, including a video of him and his wife Lady Melania Trump watching fireworks accompanied by August.
The song was later taken off the post and replaced by a notice that read: “This sound isn’t available.”
Trump appeared to deliberately select Taylor’s track, adding the message: “I’m sure @Taylor Swift is going to be super excited we used her song!”
He also responded to the Team Trump video with: “Mood because it’s August and Donald Trump is your president.”
Other Taylor Swift songs that were removed from Trump’s TikTok content included The Fate of Ophelia and Father Figure.
Trump previously made headlines when he wrote “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” on Truth Social after the singer publicly announced that she planned to support Kamala Harris in the previous presidential election.
