Drake recently collaborated with Chris Brown on “No Guidance,” but the Toronto rapper revealed that he was hesitant to work with Breezy out of respect for Rihanna. During his lengthy chat with Rap Radar, Drizzy said, “I actually had a moment of hesitation before because I didn’t want her to ever feel disrespected by me linking up with him but I also know how many nights she knows that me and him have both been consumed by this issue. I think she’s a good person with a good heart that would rather see us put that issue to bed than continue childish s–t that can end up in a serious situation, so I decided to go ahead with it.”

Drake also spoke on mending fences with Brown despite their longtime feud. “We’ve come together before and tried to link and make music and I think we were always kind of forcing it. I think there was always resentment on both sides,” said Drake. “You know, really at the end of the day when you kind of step away from it and break it down you start to feel silly ’cause it’s over girl stuff, you know? But obviously, that can snowball into real sh–t and that’s what happened in this situation.”

Drizzy added that he still cares for Rihanna and feels the collaboration was possible because she is no longer in the “middle.” “I think we just both grew up to the point that that person that was in the middle of us is like, no longer a part of either of our lives currently and I have the utmost love and respect for her,” he said. “I think of her as family more than anything.”

Drake, however, received backlash after explaining how the collab with Breezy came to life. “Drake linking up with Chris Brown after being curved by Rihanna gotta be the most pathetic thing,” one person tweeted.

Another wrote, “‘I was trying to date Rihanna so I didn’t work with Chris Brown. When she curved me, I took my hurt a— & worked with him bc I didn’t actually care that she was an abuse survivor & just wanted in her pants’ – drake, basically.”