When it comes to beef in the last 20 years, Pusha T has usually had a role in it. All of Drake’s major adversaries after his Meek Mill feud have his name on it. Kendrick Lamar used a lot of the same angles Push did in his own feud with Drake. The love-hate relationship between the Toronto MC and Kanye West saw Pusha on the sidelines, too.
But why is the Clipse legend at the scene of every conflict in hip-hop? All of it traces back to one inciting incident: Birdman just didn’t want to pay The Neptunes for their work.
Back in 2002, Birdman and Clipse collaborated on “What Happened to That Boy”, produced by Pharrell and Chad Hugo. However, according to prominent DJ Ebro Darden, the head of Cash Money never properly paid what was owed. Consequently, Pharrell, Pusha T, and Malice allegedly vowed never to work with Birdman or any of the rappers on his label ever again.
Additionally, when Lil Wayne reached out to get his hands on Billionaire Boys Club clothes, he was allegedly turned down by Pharrell. When Wayne wore it anyway in a music video, Clipse responded with a scathing diss in “Mr. Me Too”.
25 Years of Hip-hop Beef Can Be Traced Back to Birdman Not Paying Pharrell
This led to years’ worth of beef as Lil Wayne defended his boss and mentor Birdman. But Push is a firm believer in the art of war, never easing up on his enemy. Eventually, Wayne fizzled out and had deeper problems that Push himself mentioned in “Exodus 23:1“.
History would eventually repeat itself, seeing Drake defend Lil Wayne’s honor. He threw shots at Pusha T on French Montana’s “Pop That”. “We don’t dress alike, we don’t rap alike/I shine different, I rhyme different/Only thing you got is some years on me/Man f**k you and your time difference,” Drake rapped.
The Virginia legend responded with “Millions”, but that beef simmered until 2018, when Push kept pushing buttons and trashing Drake’s ghostwriting allegations. Drake would respond with “Duppy Freestyle”, where he made a sly reference to Pusha T’s wife.
Then, the gloves were off. Pusha T revealed Drake was hiding a child on “Story of Adidon” and made some deeply personal digs at his best friend and producer.
Fast forward to 2024, Pusha T’s scathing diss reverberated into Kendrick Lamar’s battle against Drake. He used many of the same strategies and angles, but dug even deeper. Now, with hip-hop culture deeply entranced in beef and battle culture, it’s impossible to tell the tale of modern hip-hop without 25 years of Pusha T defending Pharrell’s honor.
Photo by Josh Brasted/FilmMagic
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