“I was sure he’d have a rebuttal”: Why Pusha T was disappointed by Drake
Competition is an essential part of hip-hop and has been a part of the genre from the beginning. That said, Pusha T and Drake’s feud was a pivotal moment for the culture and saw a change in what people wanted from the Scorpion creator.
Although Drake had released multi-platinum albums and reached the top of the charts, much of his commercial success was no longer impressive to the culture, and people wanted to see him tested lyrically. Pusha T most definitely did this.
The diss tracks exchanged by the two were lyrically impressive and hard-hitting. However, Pusha T has since revealed that he expected much more from Drake and thought the feud would go on for longer than it did. Most say that the ‘Story Of Adidon’ destroyed Drake, but the Daytona rhymer didn’t think it would be the knockout punch it was.
Reflecting on the 2018 feud, in an interview with Variety, Pusha stated, “I was in it for the long haul … for hip-hop. I thought this was going to be a running thing, back and forth. I was sure he’d have a rebuttal. I did what I wanted to do. I only deal in truth, how I see things.”
Pusha admitted that ultimately, the public responded that most probably put a halt to the battle, explaining, “When you’re dealing with words, it’s a way of dealing with truth and how the pubic process that, how they interpret that. And what touches them and what touches the person you’re going against. I actually thought we were going to keep on.”
The ‘Diet Coke’ lyricist did admit that the feud between himself and Drake was inevitable and explained how the hunger and drive to be the best is a part of the true essence of rap. Delving into the beef’s unavoidability, Pusha told Variety, It was always going to be, always going to happen. I was always going to get off. ‘Infrared’ had to happen. We were doing the back and forth.”
Speaking about his first diss track and the strategic nature of rap battles, the Virginia native continued, “This is what rap is. He is… it is a machine in dealing with him. So we deal. But I had to do things at my own time. You can’t just jump out there. We’ve seen how that works when you just treat it like a street battle. It’s really not. You have to play chess.”
Despite Pusha’s expectations, the beef didn’t go further than his iconic diss track ‘The Story of Adidon,’ which revealed Drake had a son. The Toronto native never responded to the track and it has since been rumoured that J. Prince advised Drake not to respond in order to protect his brand and place in the industry. However, during an appearance on an episode of HBO’s The Shop, Drizzy feebly insisted that he decided not to respond to cleanse himself of the negative energy.