Rob Markman: What's up Geniuses?
Welcome to ‘For the Record.’
I'm your host, Rob Markman.
Now, if you thought the war of words between Drake and Pusha-T was over, you're wrong.
And if you thought that the battle was going to end after 2018's “Duppy Freestyle”
and “The Story of Adidon,” then you haven't been paying much attention.
In fact, very rarely do hip-hop beats come to an abrupt stop.
So here's the latest.
On Friday July 3rd, the late Pop Smoke's posthumous album ‘Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the
Moon’ was released.
The album featured 19 tracks but was missing one that fans were expecting, “Paranoia.”
It featured Young Thug, Gunna, and a Pusha T verse which also included a couple of more
shots aimed at Drizzy.
And that was absent from the album.
Now, according to Push, it was Drake who got the heads of Universal Republic to stop the release.
Rob Markman: The casual rap fan might've assumed that “Duppy
Freestyle” and “Adidon,” after that the battle was over.
But the fact is both MCs have been throwing subtle shots ever since.
Drake's ‘Scorpion’ album featured a bunch of unconfirmed shots on songs like ‘Mob
Ties’ and ‘8 out of 10.’
And more recently, songs like “War” and “Toosie Slide” featured ambiguous lyrics
about unnamed opps, which could be interpreted as a Pusha diss.
The Clipse MC hasn't been shy either.
His verse on Jadakiss' “Huntin Season” came with the boast for a “headshot to keep
Adidas pure.”
His “Paranoia” verse, he checks an unnamed rapper for empty threats and rapping with
the Jamaican Patois accent.
Now, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what that's all about, right?
Rob Markman: This isn't part of a strategy to market a
new album, this isn't about clout.
General consensus is that Pusha won the battle.
Even Drake himself admitted that on the Rap Radar podcast in December 2019.
So Pusha really has nothing to gain here.
When you look at Drake, one of the most successful and influential artists that hip-hop has ever
seen, an L or a W rematch against Pusha will never change that.
His legacy is pretty much cemented.
As often is the case in battles like these, the continued back and forth is about unresolved
feelings and issues between the two.
Rob Markman: The battle has been building since around
the time Drake threw shots at Kanye and the G.O.O.D.
Music camp on DJ Khaled's “I'm On One.”
That's 2011.
As well as Drizzy's own “Over My Dead Body” from the ‘Take Care’ album, which came
out that same year, Pusha engaged with “Don't Fuck With Me” and “Exodus 23:1.”
And since then, it built all the way up to “Duppy” and “Adidon.”
Rob Markman: Look at Jay-Z and Nas's battle, arguably the
most famous rap beef ever.
That back and forth was brewing since 1996, when Nas refused to appear on Jay's debut
album.
Then Nas threw a sneaky shot referencing Jay's Lexus with TV sets in the headrest on "The Message."
The beef hit its peak in 2001 when both artists dropped “Takeover and Ether” respectively,
but continued long after with songs like “Blueprint 2,” Ja Rule's “Pledge” remix, Nas's
“U Wanna Be Me” and too many other songs to name.
Even after their peace treaty and reconciliation, Nas rapped about worst enemies that want to
be best friends when he was featured on his 2007 track “Success.”
That was a whole six years after the fact.
Rob Markman: 50 Cent and Ja Rule still haven't gotten over
their beef, which began in the streets in 1999 and hit a peak in 2003 with “Back Down”
and “Clap Back.”
Just last month, Fif was clowning Ja for his gyro commercial.
It's not like Drake hit the brakes on Meek Mill after 2015's “Back to Back” either.
He dropped “Summer Sixteen” several months after he cemented the victory.
When Drake did it, it wasn't for clout.
It was about unresolved feelings, ego, and just the general bravado that comes when you
have every rap fan watching and judging.
Rob Markman: And with that context, the amount of Pusha-T
vs Drake records that we're getting, it doesn't seem so out of the ordinary. Does it?
Rob Markman: Let me know how you feel in the comments.
What's your favorite rap beef of all time?
I mean this is the stuff I love to talk about.
It's a combat sport, baby.
So I'm going to be in there with y'all.
We're going to argue.
We're going to debate.
We're going to have fun, but we're going to keep it peaceful.
Thanks for watching “For the Record.”
Peace.