DRAKE STUDYING TO GET HIS HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA

Singer Drake leaving the Villa Blanca restaurant after lunch in Beverly Hills, July 12, 2012

*Rapper Drake is preparing to hit the study books this summer to obtain his high school diploma.

The Canadian artist dropped out of Toronto’s Forest Hill Collegiate Institute when he booked a plum role on the television show “Degrassi: The Next Generation.”

He went on to pursue his love of music and is scheduled to stage his third annual Ovo Festival in his native Toronto this weekend. But once it’s over, Drake says he’ll throw himself into studying for his high school diploma.

“I’m actually spending my summer graduating high school. That’s my main focus after Ovo Fest,” he said. “I only have one (college) credit left (to complete), and I’m really excited about that.”

Meanwhile, Drake has dismissed rumors of a rift with his record label boss Lil Wayne and his Young Money Entertainment crew.

Taking to Twitter.com, he writes, “Despite what your daily dose of bulls**t may lead you to believe, I am forever about this Young Money team.”