Tia: The rap game just got a little more interesting after Drake dropped “Duppy Freestyle”
in response to Pusha T.
The track came after years of back-and-forth subliminals, and most recently Pusha T’s
diss on the song “Infrared,” off his newest album ‘DAYTONA,’ where he criticizes Drake
for using ghostwriters, specifically name-dropping Quentin Miller.
But Drizzy fired back the same day, and immediately addressed the accusations.
‘DAYTONA’ was produced by Kanye West, and Drake called him out for also using writers
and collaborating with other artists, including Drake himself.
In 2016, Kanye publicly thanked Drake for helping to write his songs,
“Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” and “30 Hours.”
They also collab'ed on Drake’s own song “Pop Style.”
And while Kanye was spending time in Wyoming prepping for his upcoming album, tons of rumors
circulated that Drake was out there working with him.
Virgil Abloh, the fashion designer recently named as Louis Vuitton’s new Men’s Artistic Director,
was previously known to have worked closely with Kanye’s creative agency, DONDA.
Kanye West: There is some validation in the fact that someone that I came up with
is now the head of Louis Vuitton.
Tia: Both as a solo act and as part of the duo Clipse along with his brother Malice (who
later changed his name to No Malice), Pusha’s been known for rapping about selling drugs.
But Drake's suggesting Push wasn't as close to the action as his rhymes might suggest,
an idea No Malice's interview with VladTV seems to support, explaining that it was their
cousins who ran the dope game, and Pusha came after as a result of their own street cred.
No Malice: It was very easy for me to go out because my cousins ran everything…
My younger brother Terrence he was out there a lot...telling me what he was doing.
And he was running with the guys that I was running with when I left.
Tia: As Genius’ Michael Heal points out in an annotation, Drake used to own a microphone
signed by Pusha T himself that he bought off eBay.
But according to Drake, Pusha’s career is beginning to fade just like the signature
on that mic.
And as for Quentin Miller, Drake explains that he just wanted to help put his friend
out by giving him a job in the music industry.
Quentin himself followed up on this line, tweeting: "It was actually a Publix."
Drake uses these verses to mimic Pusha T and imply that he could easily replace him,
even going so far as to mention his fiancee, Virginia Williams, on this verse.
Pusha’s shots at Drake are just a continuation of his previous beef with Lil Wayne and Birdman
that started back in 2006 after Wayne was accused of jocking Clipse’s style for wearing
a BAPE hoodie.
Drake’s final verses on his freestyle were also some of his most talked about.
Drake is suggesting that dropping this track will boost ‘DAYTONA’ album sales by 20,000 units,
and Pusha responded pretty quickly, tweeting:
Send the invoice for the extra 20…
Drake posted a screenshot of an invoice for $100,000 sent to G.O.O.D. Music
on his Instagram.
And the subject line?
For promotional assistance and career reviving.
The term “duppy” comes from Jamaican patois, meaning an evil spirit or ghost of a dead person.
And the song's producer Bo1-1da went on Twitter to confirm the meaning himself.
I’m Tia with Genius News bringing you the meaning and the knowledge behind the music.