"I don't really understand": Joe Budden discusses why Drake canceled his "sold-out" Australia tour dates

Drake, through his spokesperson, has officially announced the cancellation of the remainder of his tour dates in Australia, claiming a "scheduling conflict" as the reason.

Drake threw shade at podcaster Joe Budden in his new song "Gimme a Hug," which is part of the Valentine's Day collaboration with PartyNextDoor, Some Sexy Songs 4 U, after sharing a slow-motion video of him entering a venue on February 11 on his "finsta" page.

The story of Drake and Joe Budden's feud is still ongoing, as the Canadian-born artist repeatedly made fun of the rapper-turned-podcast host.

In the song, he first paid tribute to Melyssa Ford, the iconic leading lady of hip-hop music videos, before making fun of her co-host on the "Joe Budden Podcast."

Deflecting, Budden seemed to dismiss it, stating that the phrase might be directed at two persons while simultaneously emphasizing that he gave Ford credit.

When Drake recently released his collaborative album with PartyNextDoor, Some Sexy Songs 4 U, it opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.It seemed as though he had found his way back to the people, at least on the charts.

However, his reaction to the dispute could follow him for some time to come, as his "scheduling conflict" can be connected to his ongoing defamation claim against Universal Music Group.

The "God's Plan" performer started her arena tour on February 4 in Perth's RAC Arena. After a few nights there, she went on to Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and Qudos Bank Arena, also called The Sydney SuperDome, in Sydney. He then performed at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in consecutive shows.

The spokesperson said in a statement given to Rolling Stone: "We are actively working on rescheduling these dates along with adding some additional shows."

The remainder of the engagements were either originally planned in New Zealand or were extra performances added because of the tremendous demand. Drake was scheduled to travel to Sydney on March 7 after visiting Brisbane on March 4. The last two performances were scheduled for March 15 and 16 at Auckland's Spark Arena.

The statement said that all tickets for the cancelled shows would remain valid for the new dates that might be scheduled in the future. The statement made clear that refunds would be available for those who prefer that instead of rescheduling.

But fans are advised to note that since these shows were sold out, any refunded tickets will be re-released for sale.

The statement continued: "We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. Drake and the entire team have had an incredible time doing these shows and are excited to return soon."

The statement concluded by saying that the management looks forward to sharing the rescheduled dates with the fans as soon as possible.